We came across a relatively large (for False Bay, in the year 2014) group of schooling hottentot (Pachymetopon blochii) at Photographer’s Reef, on a day with magnificent (uncommonly so) visibility. Hottentot are relatively common and are currently on the SASSI green list, but it is believed that catches are massively under reported. They are targeted by recreational and artisanal fisheries.
[youtube=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYcZf7zRjM4&w=540″]
If we’re going to see any fish in a large school while diving in Cape Town, it’s most likely to be these unassuming silver creatures that look so much like the archetypal “fish” sketched by school children and stylised in bumper stickers. We see large schools of them at Atlantis Reef, too. Unfortunately a lot of the information about them on the internet – like the alikreukel – is recipes.