220 freshwater fishes occur in South Africa, of which 21 are threatened. There are more than 2 000 marine fish species, for which no information is available about threatened species. Many fish species are of economic importance. Most of the small barbels are valuable aquarium species, while the majority of the larger species are important angling species. The Tigerfish (Hydrocynus vittatus) is well known for the vigorous fight which it gives to the angler.

The West Coast has an Atlantic Ocean coastline where the cold Benguella Current flows sluggishly northwards.The west coast offers some of the richest fishing opportunities in the world and thanks to the cold water, fishing is the primary tourist attraction all along this coast.

The East Coast is warmed by the warm Mozambique current. Here you will find a greater variety of of fish species, which are more ornate. The warmer water means the predation levels are increased, so most of the fish species here would have evolved accordingly. This coast has a predominance of large, fast predatory fish and smaller fish which have advanced defence mechanisms.