Categories: Report

New release of Common Sea Fishes of Southern Africa by Rudy van der Elst needs your photos!

We have ALL paged through Common Sea Fishes of Southern Africa by Rudy van der Elst. Published first in the 80s, this book has been a guide and an inspiration for conservation-minded fishing since then. And continues to be.

And now, its getting an upgrade. And Rudy, as can be read below, is asking for contributions on the form of fish photos! And if you get this all right, you will receive a signed copy of the latest published version of Common Sea Fishes! – Sean

Letter from Rudy van der Elst

Dear Angler
You may have come across my book ‘Common Sea Fishes of
Southern Africa’, originally published in 1984 by Struik
publishers. Because of its popularity, not only as an
identification guide but also as a source of scientific
information about the habits and behaviour of our main
angling species, I have decided to substantially update the
book by adding important new species, updating the latest
scientific information, and refreshing some of the photographs.
In view of the strong support I have received from the angling
fraternity, it would be a pleasure to have a number of the
photographs attributed to anglers. So, if you have a good photo of
one of the species on my list, and it meets the quality standard set by my publisher, I will formally include your photo in the new book and, in addition to being acknowledged, you will receive a free
signed copy, hot-off-the-press. Alternatively, if you catch one of the required species you can take a fresh photo as described below.

There are some basic quality criteria:

The photo must be your own, at least 2Mb in size, and freshly caught (with a twinkle in its eyes).
The specimen must be clear, in focus, and without sun or shadow marks.
There is no need for the lucky angler to pose for the photo. S/he will be photo-shopped out anyway.
Avoid having too many hands or tackle, etc. masking the fish.
Place fish, ray or shark on any background with fins exposed.
Background should not be too bright (white) or dark – as it will expose the specimen too light or dark respectively.
I can modify the background by using photoshop.
Please try to expose the fins – by pulling them out. Use a piece of line if needed even a finger can be removed from the photo.
Try to face the upper (darker) side towards the sun direction as it gives a better light balance.
Place the fish in full shade and avoid light spots on the specimen.
Avoid using a flash.
Take photo side on but if possible position the camera slightly in front of the midpoint. This provides a better image with the head a little accentuated.
Take a number of photos of each specimen to be sure we cover the different options.
Be sure that each photo is at least 2Mb

I look forward to receiving your pictures, by email or ‘we transfer’. Preferably one at the time. Please attach your name plus the location and the size of your specimen. I will indicate immediately whether the photo meets the basic quality criteria. In which case you will be informed around mid-2021 if your picture is selected for publication.
Rudy van der Elst
rudyvanderelst@gmail.com
3 August 2020

Priority Species

Priority Species list . pg number refer to pages in my book –1998 edition,
Pg species
49 diamond ray
50 brown stingray
51 honeycombe ray
52 bluespot ribbontail
53 round ribbontail
55b sixgill shark
55 sevengill shark
57 manta
60 eagleray
61 bullray
63 zebra shark
61 cownose
65 spearnose skate
69 banded catshark
70 tiger catshark
71 puffadder shyshark
72 striped catshark
73 blackspot catshark
74 leopard catshark
76 spiny dogfish
77 bluntnose spiny dogfish
155 Cape yellowtail
348 blacktail (S Cape)
243 rock salmon
288b silver kob
288a dusky kob
290 geelbek