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Fact Sheet
for Giant
Guitarfish
Scientific Name:
Common Names:
Family:
Rhynchobatus djiddenis
giant guitarfish, giant sandshark
Rhinobatidae
Size: up to 280cm (about 12 to 13 years), 127 kg
Identifying features: It has a noticeably long snout, making the head longer than it is wide. The
upper surface has many white spots on a khaki to dark-brown background.
Distribution: Red Sea and tropical waters of the western Indian Ocean south to South Africa.
Habitat: They occur along the coast in the surf zone off sandy beaches.
Diet: bottom dwelling molluscs, crustaceans, squid and small fish
Reproduction: Males mature at 1-2 years (156cm) and females at 2-3 years (177cm). Their
breeding season is in summer in northern KwaZulu-Natal. They are ovo-viviparous (produce live
young from eggs stored in the body), producing about four pups of 60 cm.
Behaviour: This fish is nomadic moving southwards to the Eastern Cape in summer and returning
to KwaZulu-Natal in winter.
Capture: They are commonly caught by shore anglers, forming an important component of shore
fishing competitions (where most are released). North of South Africa artisanal fisheries and
foreign long-liners target them for meat and their high-value fins.
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Anglers have expressed concern at the decline in number and size of this species since the early
1990s. This fish appears to be overfished and there is a need to manage commercial harvesting
and trade across its range.
Sources:
Mann, B. Q. (Editor) “Southern African Marine Linefish Species profiles” O.R.I. South Africa, 2013