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Off to a great start: the Coelacanth Programme
The South African Coelacanth Conservation and Genome Resource Programme is off to a swimmingly good start. The Programme,
officially launched on April 12 is a commitment of R10 million over two years to
the conservation of coelacanths. Coelacanths were first spotted off the
South African coast by recreational
divers in Jesser Canyon off Sodwana Bay in 2000 and early 2001.
As part of a multidisciplinary programme outlined by the Coelacanth
Conservation Programme, a team comprised of South African and German experts aboard the mother ship,
Algoa, are exploring several canyons identified through the successful mapping of the ocean floor conducted earlier.
These maps, help to plot the route followed by the underwater submersible, Jago
during the scheduled dives to search for coelacanths from 31st March to 25 April
2002.
The team will be monitoring and filming coelacanth movements and behaviour. From
the vantage point of the Jago, several coelacanths have
already been spotted. The most recent observation was on April 13th at 102m in Wright Canyon - the first coelacanth to be found outside Jesser Canyon off Sodwana Bay. This is an important finding as it provides much hope that the coelacanth population within the Sodwana Bay region is larger than that initially observed by Trimix divers Pieter Venter and
team.
The first coelacanth observed on this current expedition was observed on the first day of diving in Jago in Jesser Canyon at 120m. Interestingly enough, this first coelacanth proved to be the very same one first spotted by Pieter Venter and his team during dives in November 2000.
(This coelacanth was named "Harding" after the diver who tragically
lost his life during one of the trimix dives filming the coelacanths). According to experts, it is possible to identify a coelacanth by the spot pattern as these are unique to each coelacanth. This also fortuitously permits accurate identifications and counting of coelacanths.
Seven coelacanths were spotted on dives during the 3rd April, three of which had
previously been photographed by Pieter Venter and team. The fact that three of these
coelacanths were spotted 18 months prior fuels speculations as to whether
coelacanths are territorial for at least this length of time, or, whether subsequent to the first sighting, left and returned to the same area. These questions can now be answered by
continued surveillance through tagging and monitoring of individual coelacanths movements over a period of time. According to the crew on board the Algoa, "These coelacanths appeared to be quite curious, several of which came out of the cave to inspect Jago. This is unusual because normally coelacanths remain passively within caves throughout the day. At night, coelacanths leave the caves to hunt for food. "
More information on the coelacanth programme as well as daily updates on
monitoring of the coelacanths, is available at the South African Coelacanth
Conservation and Genome Resource Programme web-site.
Other Information:
In this edition find out why the Comores may not be the "home of the
coelacanth" enter here.
For maps of the ocean floor showing canyons off Sodwana Bay, enter
here.
For an article detailing current knowledge of coelacanth habitat and
behaviour, enter here.
For more information on the 2000 coelacanth finds by Pieter Venter and
team, enter here.
For more on Trimix diving, enter
here.
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