Goukou Estuary fish tracking

Estuaries are highly productive ecosystems that provide an important nursery function to many marine-spawning fish species. To gain a better understanding of the importance of these systems to estuary-associated species, knowledge on their movement patterns within estuaries is necessary. This is particularly relevant in the development of alternative management options such as estuarine protected areas (EPAs).

The Goukou Estuary in the Western Cape has a formalised EPA within its boundaries, therefore this study aims at assessing the efficacy of this EPA by studying the movement behaviour of two important estuary-dependent fishery species with two very different movement behaviours.