The small-scale line-fishery (already discussed in the context of the west coast) is another important fishery on the South African south coast with around 80 small vessels active; important species in this region include the kob (Argyrosomus spp.), geelbek (Atractoscion aequidens), carpenter (Argyrozona argyrozona) and several seabreams (e.g. Chrysoblephus spp.), and average annual catches are of the order of 2 000 tonnes. A dramatic increase in fishing effort and improvements in fishing technology during the 1980s and 1990s resulted in over-exploitation of and massive declines in populations of many line-fish species targeted by the commercial and recreational fisheries, with one species (dusky kob, Argyrosomus japonicus) falling to below two percent of pristine levels (DAFF, 2016).Whereas substantial reduction in fishing effort implemented in both sectors in the early-2000s has enabled the partial recovery of some line-fish species, other important species have not recovered and may need more drastic measures to facilitate re-building. There is also a jig fishery forchokka squid, which is caught when aggregating to spawn in summer in inshore areas between approximately 24 °E and Port Elizabeth, with annual catches ranging between 3 000 and 14 000 tonnes