Black musselcracker

The black musselcracker (Cymatoceps nasutus) is a South African species of marine fish in the family Sparidae.[3] It is the only species of its genus Cymatoceps. It reaches 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in) in length and almost 35 kg (77 lb) in weight.[3] It is found in coastal rocky areas to depths of 80 m (260 ft), and feeds on hard-shelled invertebrates such as crabs and sea urchins.[3]

Black musselcracker
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Sparidae
Genus: Cymatoceps
Smith, 1938[2]
Type species
Chrysophrys nasutus
Castelnau, 1861
Species
  • Cymatoceps nasutus (Castelnau, 1861)
Synonyms[3]
Species
  • Chrysophrys nasutus Castelnau, 1861[4]
  • Pagrus nigripinnis Boulenger, 1903[5]

The Head of the black musselcracker is a delicate dish in some areas in India and South Africa.[6] Because the head is well sought after, this species experiences a lot of over harvesting, which diminishes its chances of a stable population.[7] The reason that black musselcracker is vulnerable to over harvesting is mainly because they have a slow growth rate, which means that they are most likely being harvested before they are old enough to reproduce.[7]

As a result of over harvesting the black musselcracker, there are now fishing regulations to protect this species. The first rule is that you are only allowed to catch one black musselcracker per person, per day. Also, the black musselcracker must be 50 cm in total length to be able to be kept.[8] Because of these new regulations, in some regions of South Africa, black musselcracker populations are on the rise.[8]

References
  1. Mann, B.Q.; Buxton, C.D. & Carpenter, K.E. (2014). "Cymatoceps nasutus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2014: e.T170204A1292756. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T170204A1292756.en. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  2. Smith, J. L. B. (1938). "The South African Fishes of the Families Sparidae and Denticidae". Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa. 26 (3): 259–261. doi:10.1080/00359193809519774, Pl. XX, XXV.
  3. Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2012). "Cymatoceps nasutus" in FishBase. June 2012 version.
  4. Castelnau, F. de (1861). "Sparoïdes". Mémoire sur les poissons de l'Afrique australe. Paris: J.-B. Baillière. pp. 24–25.
  5. Boulenger, G. A. (1903). "Descriptions of Six new Perciform Fishes from the Coast of Natal". Annals of the South African Museum (published April 9, 1903). 3 (3): 67, Pl. VII
  6. "Cymatoceps nasutus summary page". FishBase. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  7. da, Scritto; Mucedola, rea (2017-06-22). "Unsustainable fishing, case study of Africans Black Musselcracker endangered specie • Ocean 4 Future". Ocean 4 Future (in Italian). Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  8. reporter, FINSA (2019-07-25). "Good Catch! Biggest Black Mussel Cracker Caught · Fishing Industry News SA". Fishing Industry News SA. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
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