Fort Hare Aquaculture Research Unit

Fort Hare Aquaculture Research Unit The FHARU focuses on providing reseach opportunities for postgraduate students to conduct research on a variety of local aquaculture species.

The unit is headed by Prof Niall Vine from the Dept of Zoology & Entomology at the University of Fort Hare.

And last, but by no means least, Dr Ziyanda Mzozo graduated from FHARU this year. Ziyanda completed all her degrees at ...
23/05/2025

And last, but by no means least, Dr Ziyanda Mzozo graduated from FHARU this year. Ziyanda completed all her degrees at UFH and was one of the first students of the FHARU where she completed both her BSc Honours and MSc projects on copepod culture. Her Doctoral studies (in Zoology) took her on a slightly different path and her thesis was titled “Factors influencing the larval settlement of abalone (Gastropoda: Haliotis midae): considerations for stock enhancement and ranching."

Her research was driven by an effort to maximise the survival and settlement of hatchery-reared abalone larvae when released into the ocean for stock enhancement or ranching purposes, Ziyanda’s research investigated factors influencing their settlement, tagging and long-term survival. Her research required her to work on local abalone and fish farms for months at a time, much of it during the Covid pandemic, where she conducted her research under commercial aquaculture farming conditions. Despite her working away from her family for lengthy periods, her continued hard work and perseverance led to her collecting robust data, of which the findings were clear: Releasing larval abalone into suitable coastal areas results in significant abalone settlement and survival. These outcomes have direct relevance and potential economic value to the local abalone aquaculture sector as well as impoverished rural coastal communities.

Three DHET accredited journal articles have already been published (https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ziyanda-Mzozo), one is currently under review and a further one is in the final stages of preparation for submission. Her project was funded by Wild Coast Abalone Fram, the DTI-THRIP and NRF ACEP Phuhlisa Programmes.

For a short video on Ziyanda’s research, watch here (starts about 2 minutes in) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISX8AhhjvXc

Well done on this fantastic achievement Ziyanda!

University of Fort Hare, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Acep Phuhlisa,

The fourth student to graduate this year through FHARU is Sibusiso Yokwana. Although his project did not involve aquacu...
23/05/2025

The fourth student to graduate this year through FHARU is Sibusiso Yokwana. Although his project did not involve aquaculture, his study did make use of FHARU's facilities. His project was titled "Genetic stock assessment of the Blue Bream, Pachymetopon aeneum (Gilchrist and Thompson, 1908), a South African linefishery species." which was funded by NRF's ACEP Phuhlisa Programme.

Sibusiso is now doing his PhD at UCT in which he aims to identify tiny particles that float in the air (mainly pollen and fungal spores) that can cause allergies and breathing problems. These will be collected across South Africa and identified using their DNA. Knowing what is in the air we breathe, how it changes with the seasons and how it differs between areas can help forewarn people who suffer from allergies to prepare accordingly.

University of Fort Hare, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Acep Phuhlisa,

Bongi Mngqushu’s MSc was on “The effect of water-off events on the growth, survival, and biochemical stress indicators o...
21/05/2025

Bongi Mngqushu’s MSc was on “The effect of water-off events on the growth, survival, and biochemical stress indicators of the South African abalone Haliotis midae” which involved him working on a commercial abalone farm in Hermanus, funded by the Abalone Farmers Association of South Africa (AFASA) and the NRF's ACEP Phuhlisa Programme.

While collecting his data, the abalone bug bit and Bongi now works as a Research Assistant on one of South Africa’s oldest and most successful abalone farms.

University of Fort Hare, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Acep Phuhlisa

Cyril Mphatsoe, a Varsity Shield winning Fort Hare Blue, worked closely with Nasi on oyster larvae (also funded by NRF A...
21/05/2025

Cyril Mphatsoe, a Varsity Shield winning Fort Hare Blue, worked closely with Nasi on oyster larvae (also funded by NRF ACEP Phuhlisa) on a project titled “The effect of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and larval rearing density on the survival, swimming speed and water quality of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas.” He too is continuing with his MSc but is working on a local copepod species which has great potential as a livefeed candidate for marine larviculture.

University of Fort Hare, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Acep Phuhlisa

Thimna “Nasi” Dengana completed her BSc Honours (in Zoology) with her Honours research on “The effect of ethylenediamin...
21/05/2025

Thimna “Nasi” Dengana completed her BSc Honours (in Zoology) with her Honours research on “The effect of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and larval rearing density on the survival, development and feeding activity of the Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas.” Her project was conducted with support from her FHARU classmate, Cyril Mphatsoe and was funded by the NRF’s ACEP Phuhlisa Programme.

Nasi has recently registered for her MSc at UFH and is investigating the relationship between ocean alkalinity and silicates on juvenile abalone settlement. She'll be collecting samples at various abalone farms which will then be brought back to Alice where they'll be worked up in the FHARU lab.

University of Fort Hare,
South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Acep Phuhlisa

At the University of Fort Hare’s recent Autumn graduation, the Fort Hare Aquaculture Research Unit was proud to have fiv...
21/05/2025

At the University of Fort Hare’s recent Autumn graduation, the Fort Hare Aquaculture Research Unit was proud to have five students awarded postgraduate degrees.

University of Fort Hare, Acep Phuhlisa

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