Conservationists, anglers and scientists are up in arms over plans by CapeNature to poison four rivers to get rid of invasive alien fish like trout and bass.
They fear poisoning the rivers will not only kill off the alien fish but could result in a mass extermination of all endemic insect and aquatic species in the rivers and devastate the fragile eco-systems.
CapeNature has embarked on an environmental impact assessment (EIA) to look at the best methods of eradicating alien fish, and has indicated that a poison called Rotenone is the preferred option.
But Bill Bainbridge, chairperson of the Federation of Southern African Flyfishers, said they were concerned about the use of Rotenone, a poison that affected all organisms, including humans.
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'We want to turn the clock back' "It is a shotgun approach that kills everything in its path so we need to know beforehand what the implications are and how it will affect the long-term rehabilitation of the rivers," he said.
Alien fish like trout and smallmouth bass were introduced more than 100 years ago to cater to the lucrative flyfishing industry, which attracts anglers from all over the world.
CapeNature has identified the Krom, the Suurvlei and the Rondegat rivers in the Cederberg and the Krom River in the Eastern Cape where it believes alien fish should be eradicated, and anglers are concerned about which rivers could be next.
If the EIA gives the go-ahead for Rotenone, action could start next summer.
Writing in Piscator, the journal of the Cape Piscatorial Society, CapeNature's Dean Impson, in charge of freshwater conservation, says worldwide invasive alien fish have "significantly contributed to the decline of most, if not all, indigenous fishes through competition, predation and hybridisation and often are the greatest dangers to their conservation".
'It is misleading to talk of aquatic deserts'
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