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Dead tilapia on Durban beach due to low temperatures
11:11 CAT | 23 Sep 2021
Dead fish collected in Umdloti beach.
A report has found that the dead tilapia fish that washed up on the Durban north beach had died due to changes in temperature.
Residents near Umdloti beach started getting worried when many fish washed up onto the beach on Saturday, September 11.
The beach has been closed following a toxic spill that emanated from the United Phosphorus Limited (UPL) Chemical Plant warehouse in Cornubia.
The warehouse was torched during July’s unrest.
The spill resulted in hundreds of dead marine life, that were later collected by an environmental waste company.
Residents last weekend thought the dead fish on the shore were also as a result of the UPL chemical spill, but a report by the Marine and Estuarine Research (MER) found that the fish were killed because of a change in weather.
“Its distribution further south is limited by its temperature tolerance due to its inability to maintain the composition of its body fluids under an environmental combination of fresh water and low temperatures,”
Report by Marine and Estuarine Research (MER)
MER specialists conducted a site visit to the area and identified Mozambique tilapia, a common “estuary-opportunist” species that is usually found along South Africa’s eastern coastline.
“Its distribution further south is limited by its temperature tolerance due to its inability to maintain the composition of its body fluids under an environmental combination of fresh water and low temperatures,” the report stated.
The report also found that the fish were likely killed by an intolerance to the concentrations of salts in the estuary’s water.
Source: News24
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