Snorkeling Port Elizabeth, Sardinia Bay, March 2020

Snorkeling Sardinia bay, very good visibility after prevailing light Easterly winds and small swell, around 1.3m. Water temperature was definitely below 20°C! Time into the water 19 March 2020, 5pm. We were out just after 6pm. High tide at 2pm, low tide at 8pm.

There is a fairly strong current running between the rocks we were perched on at the end of the video and the next set of 5 rocks to the West. This current pulls out just beyond the reef and then runs Westward parallel to the shore. Observe the smooth surface of the water indicating the rip.

Fascinating interaction with Karel Groot Oog (KGO) or Fransmadam, "French mistress", an old Cape name possibly a reference to unadorned French Huguenot women. This fish may nip. I had a finger nipped, not painful. I've heard of them taking an earing off a diver though! Can attain 40cm. I wouldn't like to be nipped by a KGO that size!

A very curious (opportunistic in my opinion) shoaling fish "rarely enters estuaries". Omnivorous feeding on crabs, worms, red bait and small pieces of seaweed. The vegetable matter is not fully digested and may carry more nutritious microorganisms (van der Elst, 1981)

We also saw mullet, strepie, juvenile black tail and shrimp not to mention a multitude of reef fauna and flora.

Note error in video text Strepie latin name. It's Sarpa salpa, not Sarpa sarpa. Sarpa meaning unknown and selpa a latin name applied to certain food fishes (van der Elst, 1981).

Reference:
A Guide to the Common Sea Fishes of Southern Africa, Rudy van der Elst. First Ed, 1981.