Controversial Bay fish farm a step closer

The department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries is pushing ahead for permission to get two oyster and mussel farms, as well as a fish farm, approved in a bid to boost the aquaculture industry.

The application for permission was submitted to the environmental affairs department last week and comes amid a decision for the fish farm to be placed at a site near the Port of Ngqura while the mussel and oyster farms will be anchored off Hobie and Kings beaches.

This comes after protest action regarding the initial placement of the fish farm off Port Elizabeth’s prime beaches.

The move to get permission was revealed on Friday when Cape Town-based Anchor Environmental Consultants representative Vera Massie said the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries had submitted an application for environmental authorisation.

The application was submitted as the next phase of the public participation process kicks off this week.

In an e-mail, Massie says the Draft Basic Assessment Report has been finalised and all the information submitted by residents has been incorporated.

A new report, dated July 2019, highlights that the placement of the fish farm in the Coega area and the oyster or mussel farm off Hobie Beach, as well the Port Elizabeth Harbour, were economically feasible options. The 196-page report states that the department intends to declare three separate zones within Algoa Bay.

It refers to placement of the fish farm near Coega as “the best practicable environmental option”.

In the findings, the report also states that the finfish project off Hobie Beach had the potential to cause significant economic losses in the tourism and water sports sectors.

The report admits that there could be a significant marine ecological impact at the Port of Ngqura site.

Algoa Bay Wildlife and Environment Society of SA chair Gary Koekemoer said the submission for authorisation by the department was the first official step for getting aquaculture farms in the Bay.

“We are happy that they chose the option to place the commercial finfish farm at the Port of Ngqura but we remain concerned about the impact that it could still have.”

He said the fact that the government chose to take the Hobie Beach fish farm off the cards was, however, a victory.

“While an oyster or mussel farm will have some impact, it will be nothing near to the repercussions that would have been caused by a fish farm.”

The next public meetings will be on July 31 at the City Hall reception room and on August 1 at the Motherwell Community Hall (both from 6pm-8.30pm).