IDENTIFICATION
This is the largest member of the family Sparidae (seabreams) occurring in South African waters. Colouration is a light red above, and yellow below. Juveniles have a dark red spot on the base of the tail which disappears with age. Adult females are generally a uniform copper colour while males develop a black coloured back and upper lip. Red steenbras have a formidable set of canines in both the upper and lower jaws.

DISTRIBUTION
Red steenbras are endemic to South Africa and occur from Cape Vidal to Cape Point. They inhabit rocky reefs at depths from 10 to 160 m. Juvenile red steenbras are predominantly found in the southern Cape while adults tend to migrate northwards towards the former Transkei and KwaZulu-Natal. Larger specimens are generally found in water deeper than 50 m, often close to the edge of the continental shelf.

FEEDING
Red steenbras are voracious predators feeding on small fish, octopus and squid. They appear to be territorial during certain stages of their life history and act as important predators in reef ecosystems.

REPRODUCTION
Sexual maturity is attained at about 575 mm fork length and there does not appear to be any sex change in this species. Different coloration between adult males and females is clearly evident during the spawning season. Peak spawning occurs between August and October with most spawning taking place off the Transkei coast.

GROWTH
Red steenbras live to at least 33 years and attain sexual maturity at an age of 7 years. They grow to a maximum size of at least 130 cm fork length or 52 kg.

FISHERY
Red steenbras make up an important component of the linefish catch in the southern and eastern Cape, and are particularly important in the former Transkei region. They are active predators and aggressively take most fish baits making them susceptible to overfishing. They possess a large swimbladder and suffer from barotrauma when caught from any significant depth, which makes it difficult to return under-size or excess fish to the sea. Catches of red steenbras in KwaZUlu-Natal and the southern Cape have declined considerably and the species is heavily over-exploited.

MANAGEMENT

• Categorised as a critical species.
• Minimum size of 60 cm - well under the size at sexual maturity (63 cm total length).
• The closed season is the 1st of October to the 30th of November
• Bag limit of 1 per person per day for recreational anglers and commercial fishermen.

The most effective method of conserving red steenbras is by establishing Marine Protected Areas and these should be sited where spawning aggregations occur, eg off the Transkei Coast, and in nursery areas.

Rudy van der Elst and Bruce Mann are acknowledged for the scientific information on which this web page is based.