DURBAN - Hundreds of fish littered Karridene Beach on Thursday after washing up on the shore.
Andre Beetge, eThekwini ward 97 councillor, said the seawater at high tide had breached the Msimbazi River banks during the early hours of Thursday morning.
When the water subsided because of the low tide, the fish became stranded in the fresh water with some dying.
“These were small fish no bigger than 6cm. They could not adapt to the river fresh water.
"The river fish were not affected. By 9am, the tide rose again and cleaned up the seashore taking with it the stranded fish, many of them already dead,” Beetge said.
The municipality has taken samples from the Msimbazi River for testing.
Beetge believes it was an act of nature.
Emil Pirzenthal, a resident and deep-sea diver, said he managed to save the rarer fish like the mangrove gobies and mudskipper.
By mid-morning, Pirzenthal said enthusiastic local children helped save some of the fish by putting them back in the seawater.