Occurrence and distribution of Cape hakesMerluccius capensisCast. andM. paradoxusFranca in the Cape of Good Hope area

Feeding of hake and a first attempt at determining their trophic role in the South African west coast marine environment

“…The relative abundance by depth of the two species of Cape hake has been documented for Namibian waters by Chlapowski (1975), for waters off South Africa's western Cape by Botha (1985) and for the south-east coast of South Africa by Payne (1986). All studies clearly show that M. capensis is found inshore of M. paradoxus where both species occur, and that juveniles predominate inshore of adults of the same species.…”

“…There they form the basis of a large commercial fishery (Botha 1985). M. capensis is the dominant hake species in terms of biomass around the coast of southern Africa, but it is replaced as the dominant species in deep water off the South African and Namibian coasts south ofUideritz by M. pa.radoxus.…”

Grasslands Ablaze: Vegetation Burning by Rural People in Pondoland, South Africa

“…firebreaks), and the fact that fire is often initiated by individuals who have their own, often quite different, livelihood needs at different times, successful implementation of the current fire legislation in areas like Pondoland appears unlikely. While fire is regarded as extremely dangerous (Marloth, 1924;Botha, 1924), local users continue to see it is one of the most powerful weapons with which they can defend their livelihoods against nature and other people.…”

“…Throughout the twentieth century, legislation and rhetoric criminalized or discouraged vegetation burning by black and poor land users who lived in the Bantustans 1 (see Cooper, 1991;Van Wyk, 1994;Barlow and Buchan, 1995). On the other hand, in addition to the fact that past and current experiments on the advantages and disadvantages of vegetation burning are mostly being conducted on white-owned commercial farms or research stations and nature reserves that mimic commercial production systems (see Botha, 1924;Marloth, 1924;Venter, 1968;Booysen and Tainton, 1984;Bijker, et al, 2001;Wiseman et al, 2002) it can be argued that earlier and current fire legislation is primarily designed for commercial and private holding situations. These include the Forestry Act (No.72 of 1968), Soil Conservation Act (No.76 of 1969 and the current National Veld and Forest Fire Act (No.101, 1998).…”

“…African savannahs and grasslands have been subjected to burning by residents and other users for several centuries (Botha, 1924;Booysen and Tainton, 1984;Bucini and Lambin, 2002;Laris, 2002). In South Africa, despite extensive research, mostly throughout the 20 th century, on the negative and positive impacts of fire on different vegetation, much confusion and disagreements still remain on what fire-related policies should be implemented.…”