Officials join in river protection

THE BREEDE-GOURITZ Catchment Management Agency, Table Mountain Fund, Garden Route District Municipality and Southern Cape Landowners Initiative have joined forces to improve the ecological well-being of the Great Brak River and estuary.

“The Great Brak River estuary has over time degraded and is now under pressure as a result of too little clean fresh water reaching the mouth,” said Cobus Meiring of the Southern Cape Landowners Initiative.

“The regular die-off of fish in the river and estuary is an indicator that all is not well in its aquatic system. This unfortunate situation may have detrimental consequences, not only for all aquatic species dependent on the well-being of the river and estuary, but also for the human population that uses the river for several purposes.”

Estuaries are vital nurseries for fish stocks along the South African coast and the Great Brak River and estuary is a particularly ecologically sensitive system.

As much as nature is resilient, it is also very exposed to the impact and threats brought about by human intervention and, if not managed well, it is quite possible that the Groot Brak ecosystem will become completely stagnant and dysfunctional, and eventually unable to sustain aquatic life.

As a first step, landowners will be informed of the pending situation. Areas upstream of the estuary – that are particularly badly affected by invasive plant growth – will be mapped and earmarked for clearing.

Ultimately, measures will be put in place in order to measure the flow of water into the estuary and to determine where the state of the Great Brak River can be improved over time. |