WATCH: Another disaster for Bluff National Park wetlands
The fish were spotted at the surface of the polluted black water, battling for air, while hundreds more were dead.
HUNDREDS of dead fish were removed from the canals after the vandalism of local pumphouses linked to the continuous problem of sewage and pollution overflow at canals intertwining inside the Bluff National Park Golf Course, killed marine life, on Thursday, March 3.
Sparking concern after fish were spotted at the surface of the polluted black water, battling for air, the park’s environmental representative, Trish Barras, notified authorities to the crisis on Tuesday, March 1. Members of the Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (Crow) were called in to assess the situation and examine the birds which flock to the park, as they were noticeably disorientated and were unable to fly.
After examination and close observation, it was found that the birds were unable to fly as they had eaten too much of the fish. Ward councellor for the area, Zoë Solomon, said continuous vandalism, with no proper method of securing the area to deter criminals, is the main contributing factor to the problem. “Vandalism of the local pumphouses has caused sewage to flood the golf course for the umpteenth time. There are three pipes that run into the canal from Moss, Club and Tara roads.
There are no security measures for the structures and putting a generator in to back-up when it malfunctions, might be seen as extra alluring loot to the criminals. The golf course has an amazing bio-diversity that has now been compromised yet again, after more than 130 species of bird have been documented this year. There is a team restoring the pump and fixing the issue, they are responsive and do their best with what they have. It is not the workforce that is letting us down,” said Solomon.
Manager of the Bluff National Park Golf Course, Nicolet Day said, “We are going through what feels like a war, fighting pollution issues week after week. The combination of plastic, sewage and chemical spillage makes it a hard battle to win. The club’s canal feeds into the park from both the club, as well as Moss Road. Both sides have been fitted with grids to catch some of the plastic pollution.
Sadly, we have no solution yet for non-solid pollution. Being a national park with wildlife, sewage or chemicals in the water is devastating and the results are gruesome to witness.
“During the last two weeks, we experienced the worst pollution we have ever witnessed in the history of the club. On Thursday alone, we filled 35 black bags with dead fish and we are, to date, still collecting dead fish to keep the birds from feeding on contaminated carcasses.
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“On Thursday, March 3, officials from eThekwini Municipality witnessed our plea. Various departments were dispatched and played a vital role in relieving us from this disaster. We thank Richard Hawksworth, who brought the city manager’s officials to the park to assess the situation. Help was then sent and several water trucks released water into our canal to help flush the toxins. We have never experienced help from the council at this level. It was indeed much needed,” said Day.
“We successfully, with the help of residents and members of the club, moved most of the fish to another canal. After two years of trying to get the water clean and re-attract the vast species of birds back to the club, it now seems like it was all in vain as the fish, once again, died due to the state of the canal. We hope and pray for a permanent solution,” said Barras.
A comment from eThekwini Municipality could not be obtained by the time of going to print.
