Fish Kill below Vaal Dam wall

FlyFanatic · 23-08-11

Originally Posted by 0266395

The problem will not be solved by jumping to conclusions and speculation on what the reasons for the fish kill are. A proper investigation to determine the true reasons should be the starting point. Only then can possible perpetrators be identified. The problem is that government structures are unlikely to do their job. They will only respond when 10 000 people protest in front of their offices. Or if criminal charges are laid against specific individuals. Is SAVE aware of this?
Herman

Probably not, but having a brainstorm to highlight a few ideas will not hurt, even a proper investigation needs a starting point, least we can do is give some ideas..

We could just as well sit back and say what a bugger up and not actively contribute to help.

My experience is that outside opinions from people who know relatively little or nothing regarding a certain situation is normally some of the best you will get cause they are not blinded by pre-conceptions and ideas which sometimes exists with being an expert in a certain area/field.

**mornesm** · 23-08-11

I wonder how far downstream is affected, since recent fishing reports aren't that great.

**Gerrit Viljoen** · 23-08-11

Fish are starting to get really active. Some nice fish coming out in the last 10 days.Wait for Spring Equinox, mahem!

**schloshd1** · 23-08-11

Originally Posted by Gerrit Viljoen

Fish are starting to get really active. Some nice fish coming out in the last 10 days.Wait for Spring Equinox, mahem!

I think you are right G. Fish were active and rising in +- 1 meter deep water on Sunday.

**saml** · 23-08-11

Originally Posted by Gerrit Viljoen

Fish are starting to get really active. Some nice fish coming out in the last 10 days.Wait for Spring Equinox, mahem!

you talking about good SMs in the last 10 days G?

**Shamwari** · 23-08-11

finally ... some positives on this thread...geepers!

**Byron Grant** · 23-08-11

Hi All

As a keen flyfisherman, I've been visiting the forum for some time now and getting loads of useful info, so a big thanks from my side to all those that have posted on the various subjects. However, I've never really registered on the forum, but felt that I had to when this subject popped up. Now, apart from being a keen flyfisherman, I am also a consulting aquatic ecologist and have seen and investigated a number of fish kills, so felt that I could contribute some guidance on this subject.

When doing fish kills, its critical to be on site ASAP after the kill was first reported (i.e. within the first 24 hours) to start collecting clues... sort of like a fisherrman's version of CSI (cue music). The clues collected at the site within the first 24 hours will basically help to identify the preliminary cause and will often guide the rest of the investigation. Obviously, the more experienced the individual in fish kill investigations, the more accurate the preliminary result. Clues that will need to be collected even before you find a fish to send to a lab are the time of year, the activities upstream of the site, weather in the last couple days, species of fish, size of fish, water colour and temperature,... the list goes on. Once all this seemingly trivial info has been collected, an experienced ecologist can normally make a pretty good assumption as to what the actual cause was even before the lab looks at the fish, and guide the process further. I can't stress enough the importance of collecting this info before making a case... without it, its very difficult to determine the probable cause, and even more difficult to identify the responsible party.

I'm in the process of getting funding from a research organistation to actually develop a manual for the investigation of fish kills in South Africa with the guys from the Department of Water Affairs and Onderstepoort, so will hopefully have some good news about a guiding document soon. In the mean time, if anyone needs a bit of guidance, let me know and I'll help where I can.

**schloshd1** · 23-08-11

Originally Posted by Byron Grant

Hi All

As a keen flyfisherman, I've been visiting the forum for some time now and getting loads of useful info, so a big thanks from my side to all those that have posted on the various subjects. However, I've never really registered on the forum, but felt that I had to when this subject popped up. Now, apart from being a keen flyfisherman, I am also an consulting aquatic ecologist and have seen and investigated a number of fish kills, so felt that I could contribute some guidance on this subject.

When doing fish kills, its critical to be on site ASAP after the kill was first reported (i.e. within the first 24 hours) to start collecting clues... sort of like a fisherrman's version of CSI (cue music). The clues collected at the site within the first 24 hours will basically help to identify the preliminary cause and will often guide the rest of the investigation. Obviously, the more experienced the individual in fish kill investigations, the more accurate the preliminary result. Clues that will need to be collected even before you find a fish to send to a lab are the time of year, the activities upstream of the site, weather in the last couple days, species of fish, size of fish, water colour and temperature,... the list goes on. Once all this seemingly trivial info has been collected, an experienced ecologist can normally make a pretty good assumption as to what the actual cause was even before the lab looks at the fish, and guide the process further. I can't stress enough the importance of collecting this info before making a case... without it, its very difficult to determine the probable cause, and even more difficult to identify the responsible party.

I'm in the process of getting funding from a research organistation to actually develop a manual for the investigation of fish kills in South Africa with the guys from the Department of Water Affairs and Onderstepoort, so will hopefully have some good news about a guiding document soon. In the mean time, if anyone needs a bit of guidance, let me know and I'll help where I can.

Hi Byron and welcome to Flytalk.
Thanks for this, it's great information for future reference.

**jock0** · 23-08-11

Originally Posted by Byron Grant

Hi All

As a keen flyfisherman, I've been visiting the forum for some time now and getting loads of useful info, so a big thanks from my side to all those that have posted on the various subjects. However, I've never really registered on the forum, but felt that I had to when this subject popped up. Now, apart from being a keen flyfisherman, I am also a consulting aquatic ecologist and have seen and investigated a number of fish kills, so felt that I could contribute some guidance on this subject.

When doing fish kills, its critical to be on site ASAP after the kill was first reported (i.e. within the first 24 hours) to start collecting clues... sort of like a fisherrman's version of CSI (cue music). The clues collected at the site within the first 24 hours will basically help to identify the preliminary cause and will often guide the rest of the investigation. Obviously, the more experienced the individual in fish kill investigations, the more accurate the preliminary result. Clues that will need to be collected even before you find a fish to send to a lab are the time of year, the activities upstream of the site, weather in the last couple days, species of fish, size of fish, water colour and temperature,... the list goes on. Once all this seemingly trivial info has been collected, an experienced ecologist can normally make a pretty good assumption as to what the actual cause was even before the lab looks at the fish, and guide the process further. I can't stress enough the importance of collecting this info before making a case... without it, its very difficult to determine the probable cause, and even more difficult to identify the responsible party.

I'm in the process of getting funding from a research organistation to actually develop a manual for the investigation of fish kills in South Africa with the guys from the Department of Water Affairs and Onderstepoort, so will hopefully have some good news about a guiding document soon. In the mean time, if anyone needs a bit of guidance, let me know and I'll help where I can.

Welcome Byron, glad to see someone with a pretty strategic focus on the environment here...

Chances are you, know my younger brother Craig.