Cape Town - Beachgoers and dog-walkers have been advised to stay clear of the dead pufferfish that washed up in False Bay.
The City of Cape Town’s Coastal Management Department has confirmed that the fish mortalities in False Bay, in the Muizenberg and Fish Hoek area, are the evil-eye pufferfish.
Residents were advised to stay clear of the washed-up fish, as it carries the neurotoxin tetradotoxin and should not be eaten.
The City’s Solid Waste Department has been engaged in a clean-up operation since Monday. To date, about 70 bags of fish weighing 200 kilograms have been removed.
“The City will continue monitoring all affected areas. We want to assure residents that the clean-up operations will be ongoing. The pufferfish is not for human or animal consumption, so we advise that all beachgoers and dog-walkers avoid areas that may still need to be cleaned.
“Due to the reporting of a few pufferfish spotted at Fish Hoek beach, the Coastal Management team is now sweeping the area and will continue to monitor this beach as well,” said Mayco member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Marian Nieuwoudt.
The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) has confirmed that there were no adverse water conditions (pollution) or red-tide toxins that might have caused the large-scale mortality.
The DEFF has indicated that there are some interesting causes of past pufferfish mortalities recorded in South Africa and elsewhere. These include mass courtship; spawning and fighting that sees male pufferfish inflate themselves, and then sometimes get rolled or blown out of the water by waves and/or wind.
The City cannot, therefore, confirm the exact cause of the mortalities.
Cape Argus