20 Common Fish of False Bay

The many shy and inquisitive fish you may see while diving in Cape Town.

11 July 2020

By Danel Wentzel

People thinking about diving in Cape Town may be scared away by the cold water or limited visibility, but they would be missing out on the unique biodiversity that inhabits the coastal waters of False Bay. A thick wetsuit, some gloves, booties and a hood will sort out the cold factor and following good buddy procedures will minimise the issue of reduced visibility.

Now to find out what there is to see and trust me there is so much!

I love knowing what every animal I saw underwater is called, especially the Latin names. Once you have been diving in the waters of Cape Town you will realise the incredible biodiversity living just beneath the waves, out of sight from passersby. By learning more about the animals that you see underwater, you will turn to being more appreciative when you encounter a less common or even rare fish.

I find its easiest to start learning by either taking a mental image of 2 or 3 fish (or use your underwater camera) and then after the dive find out what you saw through this helpful fish guide or if you have a field guide. Even if you didn't see anything, going through the pages and matching the fish to the name will make the next time even easier.

At the beginning it may seem quite overwhelming with so many different fish and not everyone has access to an appropriate fish field guide, but it doesn't have to be. iNaturalist is a citizen science platform where you can upload a picture of the fish (or any living organism you saw) and then have the community of experts identify it for you, plus you will be contributing to science so that is cool too.