Avid angler and conservationist Bruce Samuels, who is also a regular contributor to Reel Time, sent in today’s photograph of the Gamtoos River Mouth recently photographed from the air.
As can be seen, an accumulation of algae has developed in the blind mouth of the estuary.
I quote Trevor Ashton who has observed the following: “The river is 1m above sea level, with a 2m-high sandbar between it and the sea. Extensive flooding would have to occur before it could break over this.
“This would cause property damage and salinisation of farmland. Whenever the river level rises above the spring hightide mark, this should be an automatic conservation trigger to open it.
“We have now found dead fish and birds along the river, as well as bad smell emanating from the water in areas. It is with great concern as the estuary could also get desalinated by the continued influx of fresh water runoff. We can see the amount of fresh water that has entered the estuary as it has risen about 700mm from the recent rains.
“Besides this, the runoff from farms adjacent to the river could contribute to injecting chemicals as well. I am sure this will also start affecting the prawns, bloodworm, fish and so on, as we have already seen dead fish and birds.
“We as residents of Gamtoos are hoping we will get urgent support to assist in opening the river mouth soonest.”
There is an imminent disaster looming here, it seems, as the build-up of sand at the mouth will allow water to dam up following the next rains. This could also have disaster potential in the event of a sudden flood.
While the Gamtoos experiences these challenges, other prominent estuaries of the Eastern Cape are thriving with reports of catches in all the systems. The Kromme has an abundance of young kob.
There are reports of some decent pig-nosed grunter being caught in the Swartkops and adjacent surf zone, along with the “stock item” – the spotted grunter – too.
Sundays River is renowned for giant kob of which at least one has been caught lately. Chris Schoultz has the knack of being in the right place at the right time.
Weather-wise we can expect a light westerly wind on Saturday afternoon, but not exceeding 30km/h at its worst. Generally speaking it would be a good day out.
However, on Sunday, galeforce winds are expected from the early hours, when the cold front passes, for the duration of the day.
Cold temperatures will prevail as the barometer climbs rapidly from midnight on Saturday to Sunday. Low tide is at 9.16am on Saturday.
We will experience a good full moon lunar phase at this time, extending into next week. Take the time out during Saturday’s window of opportunity which favours the angler for a change!