Fish rescue at Jack Ellis Park saves 1 500 fish
During a recent visit to a restaurant with his family, Ruan Myburgh (33), a local outdoorsman and Selpark CPF member, became aware of the pond's situation.
The Springs community came together at Jack Ellis Park this past week to relocate fish from the park’s ponds to nearby bodies of water.
This effort was prompted by a severe water shortage at the pond, flagged by local fishermen as published in the Springs Advertiser on September 5 (Duck Pond is running dry).
During a recent visit to a restaurant with his family, Ruan Myburgh (33), a local outdoorsman and Selpark CPF member, became aware of the pond’s situation.
Seeing the dire state of the pond, Myburgh spoke with Selcourt residents who were also concerned about saving the fish.
This concern led to an immediate response when Myburgh and Charl Pieterse from Selpark CPF mobilised to address the issue.
“On Friday, Pieterse and I loaded our nets with buckets and bins full of water and went to the pond to see what’s going on,” said Myburgh.
“We caught about 16 fish from about 16:30 until dark and moved them to the private pond in Springs.”
The following morning, Myburgh said he was contacted by Pieterse, notifying him that loads of fish were struggling for oxygen on top of the silt and sludge.
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Myburgh said he sought additional help through community channels for people who were willing to dive into the mud and help save the fish.
“Within an hour, over 40 people arrived with scoop nets, buckets, drums, flow bins, and inflatable pools for stabilising and oxygenating the fish during transport.”
The group continued their efforts on Sunday morning, and with even more volunteers joining in, they managed to relocate the rescued fish to several new locations.
An estimated 1 500 fish, weighing approximately 4.5 tons, were relocated to nearby dams such as the Aston Lake, Struisbuilt Dam, D’Arrigo Dam, and various private ponds.
The rescue effort received substantial support from Strubenvale CPF, Selection Park CPF, Sector 5 CPF, Brakpan CPF, Casseldale CPF, Spring Afriforum, local businesses, and community members.
Despite these significant efforts, Myburgh said that there are still plenty of fish left at the pond, which they had to leave due to a temporary halt to interventions.
“While the water level continues to sink, we were advised that it is Heron breeding time.
“We are now waiting for permission to make another rescue attempt. We are ready to act if we are given another opportunity to save more fish by this weekend.”
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