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90 000 COPIES WEEKLY WEDNESDAY April 22, 2015 |0 041 503 6111 | Email express@media24.com | www.peexpress.co.za |
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EDITOR: BETTIE GILIOMEE
Swartkops Estuary fish could poison REPORTER
F
ISHERMEN should heed the warning against eating fish caught at the Swartkops Estuary as they are dangerous and if consumed can be fatal.
This is the message from campaigners who are trying to get the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality to put up warning boards at Swartkops after a recent study done by NMMU marine biologist and Associate Professor, Dr Na-
dine Strydom. She cautioned subsistence fishermen to not eat fish from the Swartkops Estuary until the Department of Water Affairs and the metro could stem the pollution. The study, funded by the National Research Foundation, found that extremely high concentrations of the heavy metal cadmium, and to a lesser extent lead, had been found in fish tissues. The levels measured exceeded international safe standards for food. “When collecting samples, my research
team discovered fish with discoloured livers and/or ulcerated livers despite the fish looking ‘normal’ from the outside. We focused our attention on immature fish only so we could be sure they were still in their nursery phase in the Swartkops Estuary.” Strydom said given what they knew about fish behaviour and the movement of adult fish among estuaries in the region, eating fish that were top predators from any estuaries in the region should be avoided. Fish at the top of the food chain that should
be avoided are spotted grunter, dusky kob, white steenbras, and garrick (leerie). DA councillor Brenda Matthee said the contamination was a result of decayed sewage pipes and water treatment pipes in the entire Bay which needed to be upgraded. She said R1.5-billion was urgently needed to upgrade the underground piping system, which could not cope with the volume which was increasing each year.
Continued on page 2
Local group hiphopping off to America Local dance crew, PE’s Finest, has qualified to represent the country at an international competi tion in San Diego. They won silver medals at the SA National Hip Hop Dance Competition in Johannesburg in March. Read more on page 8.
PHOTO: SUPPLIED