State of SA Rivers

[Stones]

[QUOTE=flybum;198130]WTF ! - did you even read my post ?

Dude! Would you like me to raise my hackles here? I read every word thank you!

Like I said before; I don't want to argue about what your take is or isn't on it.
I am aware of eveything, and so is CB on the whole situation countrywide, rivers, mines ect.

All I'm asking is for scouts/fellow fisherman to get proof and assist in nailing the bastards destroying what is unique to our country.

Cheers, support or no support.

[0266395]

E.T.
It would be very unwise to introduce yellows to areas where other yellowfish species are. It could destroy the natural diversity because if they interbreed (it is quite possible) you may end up with one "new" species and in the process lose four. Numurous other unwanted effects are also possible. The outcome of such a venture can in my view not be predicted and can do much more harm than enticipated. There are already smallmouth yellows in other river systems than the Orange and Vaal and I am sure that we don't have an idea what their impact on those systems are. If the authorities in this country provide sufficient funds and support for proper research we may have a chance, but I think under the current circumstances we are very lucky that nothing serious has happened so far. Or maybe we just don't know.
Herman

[flybum]

Not just a pretty face after all.
Enjoyed reading this.

Got one question though? What will this kill the invasive species with rotenone clan do, if I take a stretch of river maybe somewhere, somewhere and I decide to chuck in a truckload of these mussels?

I know that breeding the fish in dams, etc and having these mussels around would help a lot, but what I would like to see is what these things would do in a section of water that is not polluted currently?

Another question would be why no one has ever thought of introducing SM & LM Yellows in some of the river systems where we get LS & SS Yellows? Would it be wrong to do such a thing?

According to all the research I could dig up this mussel does absolutely
nothing bad to the aquatic life except to impact on the existing indigenous mussel. In fact it does the following :
1. 2 cases reported of massive fish population increases directly linked to the mussel.
2. actual case studies indicated an increase in the population of aquatic invertebrate due to the increased habitat and action of mussels.other studies inconclusive
3. the mussels control their feeding and thus do not digest ALL the algae filtered out of the water , but excrete some of it to the bottom so fish larvae/ invertebrate do have nutrients.
4. the mussels filter out all sediments out of the water there by increasing light penetration into the water and allowing the prolifiration of aquatic plantlife and invertebrate habitat.
5. the mussels remove pollutants including heavy metals from the water collumn
6. crustacean populations(crabs & shrimp) explode in the presence of the mussels

what is the negative effect of these mussels ? simply put it can greatly inconvenience humans (love it when nature gets her own back)

BTW - you definately do not need a truck load of mussels . 5 mussels in a dirty fishpond will produce enough larvae&mussels within weeks to stock a whole watershed.

as for your question on the yellows ;
sm yellows has already been stocked into the Olifants .they are there , but I think the altitude hinders their potential to really take over.
LS & SS do much better at altitude so in effect , if stocking were to take place the sm yellows would occupy the lower raches of the system with the SS & LS in the upper reaches of the northern drainage watersheds.

[E.T.]

Herman

I am aware of all the positives, etc. What I was thinking and referring to is the fact that you would probably need some license to transport and maybe stock these into a river system. That was what I was thinking. Now I know that one could stay quiet and just drive over said system and have these mussels jump off the truck into the water

What you are saying about the SM vs LS/SS makes perfect sense.
Maybe you should come over for a braai sometime? Or invite me out on the water sometime and we could talk about the birds and the bees, perhaps?

[Stones]

Direct and to the point this time flybum, thank you! But this is my argument; why oh why should we even begin to think about introducing an alien species of whatever to help save our indigenous fish? But I understand what you are saying and thanks for the research info. It can be used as a suggested solution if things really get out of hand in future.

[Garage]

Hi Flybum,

Which Olifants river??

[E.T.]

Hi Flybum,

Which Olifants river??

You do not have Large or Smalescales down in the Cape, so this has to be the one that runs through Kruger in Mpumalanga.

[smallstreams.co.za]

BTW - you definately do not need a truck load of mussels . 5 mussels in a dirty fishpond will produce enough larvae&mussels within weeks to stock a whole watershed.

H, do you not see a problem right there with that statement?

[Andre s]

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Ne...-area-20120318


Water warning for Vaal area
2012-03-18 14:35


Pretoria - One big drought in the Vaal River catchment area over the next eight years could jeopardise the region’s agricultural and industrial output, senior Eskom and Sasol managers have warned.

Speaking at the end of the World Water Forum in Marseille, France, they said the period from now until 2020, when Phase II of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) starts delivering water to the Vaal, was one of “major risk”.

While a drought would not necessarily pose a threat to the two corporations' ability to generate power and manufacture fuel - both Eskom and Sasol are deemed “strategic water users” and unlikely to have their supply curtailed - the same would not apply to others.

Particularly vulnerable would be large industrial water users, agriculture and municipalities located in and around the country’s economic heartland, Gauteng.

Eskom’s general manager for water and environmental operations, Nandha Govender, told Sapa a drought would see the region “pushing the boundaries” of available water supply.

At risk


“The capacity of the Vaal system is a major risk. We see the crucial period being between now and 2020, when Phase II of the LHWP starts delivering water.

“The risk lies with large industrial water users, agriculture and the municipalities… It’s a situation we don’t want to get into.”

Govender also said although 2020 was the date set by government for Phase II to start delivering more water to the region, large projects of this nature often missed such targets, and the first water might only start flowing from Lesotho in 2021, or 2022.

Sasol sustainable water manager Andries Meyer said while the region “hadn’t had a drought for a long time”, and had enjoyed good rains in recent years, this did not mean a drought would not occur.

While Sasol would focus on improving its water-use efficiency, this alone would not be enough to significantly reduce the risk.

The answer lay in developing partnerships between the private and public sector on the one hand, and national, provincial and local government on the other.

Reducing risk


“Particularly in the areas of municipal water conservation demand management, as well as in the agriculture sector. This is the way to go to reduce the risk, particularly in the Vaal.”

The government needed to foster incentive schemes to encourage and promote such partnerships, Meyer said.

Govender also noted that while Eskom was doing a lot to improve its water-use efficiencies, this alone would not solve the region’s supply problems.

Currently, it was producing more electricity using less water, and had taken a “step change” in its water management practices. Its water usage would “peak” in 2021, but start dropping after this date as the new dry-cooled power stations, Medupi and Kusile, came on line, together with a shift to renewables and nuclear power.

In the short term, however, the solution lay with encouraging both local government and the agriculture sector to manage water more efficiently, he said.

Leaks


According to reports, many municipalities in the region lose a quarter to a third of the water they abstract from the Vaal system through leaks. The region has also had problems with farmers illegally abstracting water.

Like his Sasol counterpart, Govender also stressed the importance of partnerships to solve this problem.

“We need to lead by example. There is not sufficient water, but working in partnerships, with national and local government, we can address challenges of water availability and quality.”

Asked how “tight” things would get for Eskom in the event of a big drought - the utility still relies largely on “wet” coal-fired power stations for the bulk of its electricity generation - Govender said there was concern.

“We’re definitely concerned. Not from a point of view of our water supply, because we are a strategic water user, in terms of the hierarchy of allocation. We wouldn’t be necessarily curtailed, not in terms of our production.

Water use


“The biggest risk we see is reputational - in terms of water being allocated to energy production versus water being taken away for basic human needs, and people not being able to do what they’re used to doing because of restrictions.

“Also with agriculture and water for food security, there you’re going to have a lot of pressure,” he said.

Eskom, which produces almost all South Africa’s electricity, uses about 330 million cubic metres of water a year to keep its power stations running; Sasol, which produces 40 percent of the country’s fuel, uses just over a third of this amount: 120 million cubic metres.

According to the department of water affairs, Phase II of the LHWP, which includes the construction of the Polihali Dam in Lesotho, is set to deliver an additional 15 cubic metres of water a second to the Vaal system from July 2020.

According to last month’s national budget, South Africa is set to spend R75 billion constructing new and renovating old water supply and sanitation systems over the next three years.

[Stones]

Eish!!!

I really hope that this does'nt deploy in a bad way.......hopeful as always but will be there and take action if our beautiful river & fish start dying