YOUTH from the Merebank community have taken it upon themselves to do a clean-up at Merebank’s Cutting Beach on 2 October after they were left in dismay at the amount of filth scatted on the shore and in the Umlazi Canal.
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An on-site municipal worker who was also on the beach said people want to use the beach but refuse to clean up after themselves. “It’s frustrating to clean today and come back tomorrow only to find more filth like beer bottles, bait and wrappers scattered about. People just don’t care,” he said.
Local fishermen at Cuttings Beach Andy Anderson and Steven Naiker said they often noticed the water in the canal is discoloured and completely black and for a few months thereafter, the fish don’t venture close to shore, as if something in the water prevents or deters them from doing so. “To add to the problems at Cuttings Beach, there are vagrants living alongside the canal. They cook and throw their unwanted waste into the canal which washes into the sea,” said the fishermen.
Chadley Joseph, oil and gas exploration officer at SDCEA said: “I work closely with the subsistence fishermen of Durban and visit Cuttings Beach often to hand out flyers. I always notice litter and debris washed up on the shore. Some of it is from the fishermen who throw away old gear or bait and some of it is washed up from the ocean. Numerous clean-up efforts have been organised by communities, schools and organisations such as SDCEA. However, the problem still remains. Cuttings Beach is a popular and vital fishing area as it provides fruitful fishing grounds. The litter and toxic waste from the canal is depleting fish stocks. If these issues are not resolved soon, Cuttings Beach will be lost to present and future generations.”
