Piscatorial Research off Linene Island, Mozambique

In between injections of gin and quinine we went to test the health of gill-bearing aquatic vertebrae off Linene Island, on the southern tip of the Bazaruto Archipelago in Mozambique. On the surface there were plenty of healthy signs; breaching whales, popping heads of loggerhead turtles and pods of spinning dolphins. Below the surface too there was plenty of action. We were ‘taxed’ catches by sharks and even ‘upgraded’, when the fish on the line was swallowed and became part of a larger catch. Most of the fish were tagged and released save some sashimi and seared tuna, succulent king mackerel and ‘chicken of the sea’ dorado. Seven species were recorded, although the estimated 250 kg of Black Marlin escaped after 10 minutes of blistering bursts, and the yellow spotted kingfish was de-bodied by a shark.