Jackson Dam fish doing well

ALBERTON – Jackson Dam may soon be teeming with fish once again following the disasters that ended the lives of hundreds of fish back in June.

Robin Norton, the Jackson Dam Fishing Club president, told the RECORD that he tentatively introduced five fish into the waters in early October. According to Norton, there have been no reports of dead fish after this. “It’s safe to say they’re fine,” he said.

The Jackson Dam Fishing Club is currently making inquiries into obtaining a license to restock the dam with fish.

Earlier this year, on June 28, club members, who had cared for the fish for years, discovered a great number of dead fish floating on the dam.

A statement from Rand Water suggested that a possible reason for the death of the fish was a temperature impact created by extremely low temperatures on June 27. A temperature impact sounded unlikely to Norton as he witnessed the surviving fish gradually end up on the banks of the dam too.

Two weeks after the discovery, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) released the results of their investigation. Spokesperson Themba Gadebe stated that the death of the fish was not due to pollution but may have resulted from a high level of chlorine in the water. “It is known that chlorine, even in the amount found in tap water, is toxic to fish,” he said.

The EMM stated that meetings would be held to discuss re-mediating the water and relocating the surviving fish.