Activists take Vetch’s saga to government level

THE SAVE Vetch’s Association (SVA) has taken decisive action against eThekwini Municipality, stating it has committed an environmental crime at Vetch’s Pier on the Durban beachfront. 

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The association is demanding compliance and enforcement action against the municipality and have written to the KZN Department of Economic, Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) Compliance, Monitoring and Enforcement Unit,

SVA activist, Johnny Vassilaros said: “It has now been confirmed that half of the largest inshore sub-tidal mussel beds on Durban’s Vetch’s Reef are dead, after being smothered for years by tonnes of sand from the poorly managed and dysfunctional sand pumping scheme.”

He said this is one of the key findings of what SVA calls a ‘damning’ report by the Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI), commissioned by the eThekwini Municipality.

Originally formed to save Vetch’s Reef from the proposed and later abandoned marina, Vassilaros said the SVA continues to strive to save this reef.

“This time from the continued threat of excessive, reckless and unnecessary sand pumping by the municipality, in order to provide more beach frontage and defend the new promenade, which has been built below the high water mark, in serious contravention of the law and a condition of its authorisation,” he said.

Vassilaros said this same “poorly managed” sand pumping operation has also left the Moyo’s Pier (in front of the uShaka Marine World) high and dry on many occasions, compromising the aquarium’s water intake points (placed beneath the pier), and prompting the municipality to propose a costly extension of the pier.

Vetch’s Pier has been in existence since the mid-19th century and became one of the largest sub-tidal mussel beds on the entire KZN coastline, hosting an estimated 85 tons of mussels. It was also home to millions of other marine creatures, which helped sustain the food-chain on the Durban beachfront.

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“Today, this valuable public asset that SVA fought so hard to save from certain destruction, is being deliberately and systematically destroyed. The ORI report only confirmed what the SVA already knew and had been telling the municipality for over 10 years Even when photographic evidence and site visits showed beyond any doubt that at least the first 150 metres of the reef had vanished completely, the pumping continued unabated! The base of the reef has now been converted into a bathing beach, with no sign that a reef had ever existed,” he said.

ORI findings revealed

Making comparisons to a study carried out in 2004, the latest ORI study revealed the reef is being smothered by excessive sand pumping, detrimentally affecting its marine life.

It revealed that half of the mussel beds on the reef have been lost – 40 tons of mussels.

Most of this loss was in the section of the reef closest to the shore, which is the most highly impacted by sand pumping.

As far as fish stocks go, entire species that were once abundant on the reef, have now totally disappeared.

Another shocking finding was that non-living matter in the form of sand and rubble almost doubled and approximately 75 per cent of the reef has been transformed into a sterile bed of algae.

Recommendations must be acted on

Vassilaros said the ORI report made several recommendations in the reef’s management with the goal of enhancing its biodiversity and returning it to its former glory.

He said the municipality is responsible for the replenishment of sand, provided by Transnet, on Durban’s beaches, and the activity is undertaken under a Maintenance Management Plan (MMP), intended as a means of regulating the activity to prevent and mitigate any environmental impacts.

“It must be noted that this plan, which has been in a draft form for years, has never been finalised or approved by the EDTEA – a shocking finding, given that the sand pumping has been on-going for decades!” he said.

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The goal of the SVA is for the sand pumping to return to the pre-2004 regime (as recommended in the ORI report), so the reef can recover from over 15 years of abuse.

“It can be done! All that is needed is the will of our authorities to do what is right and what we pay them to do and start caring for our environment, before it is too late,” he said.

To obtain the full ORI report, contact Johnny Vassilaros on 083 458 6650 or email: atlantistrade@mweb.co.za.

The eThekwini Municipality was not available for comment at the time of going to print.

Caxton Local Media Covid-19 reporting