Tracking the ocean’s fossils
An incredibly rare species, the coelacanth can be found in the deepest offshore canyons of Sodwana Bay.
ONCE thought extinct, the coelacanth is now the subject of numerous research projects, producing invaluable insight into the life of this living relic.
The iSimangaliso Wetland Park permits numerous research projects as part of its management strategy. One such project is the ‘biology, behaviour, evolution and conservation of the coelacanth population from iSimangaliso Wetland Park’ and includes the satellite tagging and monitoring of this fish.
An incredibly rare species, the coelacanth can be found in the deepest offshore canyons of Sodwana Bay.
During a six week collaborative coelacanth research expedition in May 2013, numerous coelacanths were tagged in Jesser Canyon at an approximate depth of 120m. Nine months later, as programmed, the first data-logging satellite tag released itself and was retrieved offshore of Nine Mile Reef at Sodwana Bay. The tag was identified as belonging to the 26th of 32 known individuals and emerged 12km north of where the fish had been tagged.
This alone provides new information about coelacanths’ range, extending their known range by 7km in a northerly direction.
According to Andrew Zaloumis, CEO of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, ‘This tagging study… is the first time that longer term data on coelacanth movement has ever been collected.’
He went on to say, ‘We are greatly encouraged by the progress being made in all spheres of research in this incredible park.’
These tags are designed to continuously collect environmental data that can inform scientists about the depth, position and temperature of animals that do not spend enough time at the surface to allow the use of ‘real-time’ tags. When the tag reaches the surface it transmits data to the Argos satellite network.
Previous coelacanth studies in Sodwana Bay showed the species to remain in caves during the day, becoming active at night, at times travelling a distance of 2.5km. The study also showed Sodwana’s coelacanths to enter waters as shallow as 73m. This differs vastly from coelacanth studies in the Comores, whose fish move into deeper waters at night, usually between 200 and 300m but have been known to dive as deep as 700m.
Peter Timm, owner of Triton Dive Charters, a licensed scuba diving operator in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, is assisting scientists in this research project owing to his long history in coelacanth research. Timm was one of three trimix divers who discovered the coelacanths at Sodwana Bay in 2000.
