Concern about Swartvlei management

SEDGEFIELD NEWS - A disgruntled Sedgefield resident Voy Spohr said that the recent episode of numerous fish dying in the Swartvlei Lagoon is "a disgrace".

Spohr explained that he and his family had been visiting Sedgefield every year since 1963 and his parents bought their property in the town in 1969. He moved to Sedgefield permanently in 1979 "therefore I have known this town and lagoon since I was a child".

"Since the South African National Parks (SANParks) board took over, a lot of people complained about the way everything concerning the lagoon has deteriorated," he claimed. Spohr is further of the opinion, "The grunters dying is because the lagoon's mouth is closed nearly 80 percent of the time and this is due to the fact that when [SANparks] opens it, it is done on the wrong side of the mouth."

Spohr added, "The grunters, cob and leer fish come into the lagoon to mate and breed, with the mouth not open, this can not happen."

According to him, his father and several Sedgefield residents had informed SANParks of this in the past, but "they just ignore their input and advice and go ahead, making the same mistake every time.

All you have to do is look at the pictures in the brochures that are available at the local information kiosk; there you can see what the mouth looks like. If it is correctly opened, it stays open."

Garden Route National Park spokesperson, Nandi Mgwadlamba, responded to the allegations and comments: "As is procedure, our work is based on scientific evidence and we can not base decisions on speculation.

This would be dangerously misleading. We have an obligation to inform, educate and also enlighten the public regarding conservation and tourism work in the Garden Route National Park."

At the time of print, SANParks had not yet received the test results to explain the fish deaths. "If the closing of the mouth is the reason for grunter dying, we would have collected more each day, which has not been the case."

She said that the collection of dead fish had decreased although the mouth remained closed. "The incident is also restricted to a specific site, mostly the area South of the picnic area at Placid Waters and North of the slipway off Kingfisher Drive."

Mgwadlamba explained further, "The mouth is breached when water levels reach 2 meters above mean sea level. This breaching is done by SANParks, the custodians of the system which is now part of the Garden Route National Park, with the assistance of the Eden District Municipality’s Disaster Management Division. Rangers and municipal officials keep a close watch on the levels of the water."

According to her, breaching the mouth before set levels has dire long-term repercussions on the biodiversity they are mandated to protect.

"Previous studies conducted on the conservation significance ranked Swartvlei sixth in the country for biodiversity (richness in animal and plant life) as well as its size."

In conclusion, Mgwadlamba recommended that Spohr refers to comments "made by Sedgefield residents on Sedgefield Locals (a local Facebook page) to see that not everyone agrees with him".

Related articles: