Something fishy about this talk…

THERE will be something fishy about the August Tuesday Rostrum meeting.

For a start, the speaker is ichthyologist Paul Cowley. He will tell guests how his philosophy of always following his heart has seen him convert his passion for fishing and his love of fish into a successful career that has taken him around the world. The principal scientist for the South African Institute of Aquatic Biodiversity and a Rhodes University research associate, he knew from an early age that he wanted to become an ichthyologist.

To achieve this goal he obtained a BSc from the University of Port Elizabeth in 1985 and his BSc honours, his MSc and PhD at Rhodes University.

Wanting to know what fish were doing when he couldn’t catch them led him to take a particular interest in fish behaviour and movement ecology.

“My job, catching and tagging fish, has taken me to many different countries and I have worked on research projects in remote areas, ranging from northern Norway to remote tropical atolls. I have been privileged to witness pristine fish populations and have even had the chance to catch and tag fish in areas where few people are allowed to go,” he said.

Because of this he is passionate about conserving recreational fishery resources, promoting responsible angling and developing best handling practices to maximise survival in catch and release fishing.

With appropriate tackle Paul doesn’t mind targeting anything from mullet to marlin. His personal challenge is to catch them on artificial baits.

Paul has approximately 100 publications under his belt and has collaborated on research projects with scientists all over the world. Student training forms a very important part of his vocation and he has been involved in the supervision of no less than 16 MSc and eight PhD students. As a member of the Faculty of Science at Rhodes University, he presents a lecture series.

As a speaker he comes highly recommended by other luncheon clubs. To hear his talk, ‘Fishing for Data’, book for the August lunch, at Mbango on August 12 at 12.15pm by contacting Denise Millar at 039 3172600. Local anglers and environmentalists would particularly enjoy this talk. Non-members, including men, are more than welcome to attend this or any other lunch and talk.