Feature

Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean

 

Coastal Fishes of the Western Indian Ocean follows the fine tradition of producing multi-authored, illustrated volumes on fish diversity pioneered by Margaret Smith and Phil Heemstra with Smiths’ Sea Fishes. This multi-volume work took 25 years to complete and involved more than 100 authors, photographers and illustrators from many parts of the world.

The book is divided into five volumes and its primary purpose is to aid in identifying about 3500 species of fishes that occur in the coastal waters (to about 200 m) of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO). The latter covers the Red Sea, Persian/Arabian Gulf, to Kanyakumari, India, in the east; west to Cape Point, South Africa; and south to St Paul and Amsterdam Islands at 38° S. The book has generated renewed interest worldwide in the diversity of coastal fishes in the WIO.

The digital version of this seminal 5-volume publication on the diversity of the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) was launched at SAIAB's annual Smith Memorial Lecture on 29 September 2022.

Watch the recording from the live event: https://youtu.be/ae5Xb35BLSA

SAIAB showcased the publication in an exhibition at the 12th WIOMSA Symposium in Gqeberha/ Port Elizabeth, South Africa from 10-15 October 2022. Each of close to 800 delegates attending the Symposium received a USB card containing the full 5-volume set of the COASTAL FISHES OF THE WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN.

Searchable pdf versions of each volume have been created and all links to the publication are now live. Click here for more information