Algoa Bay fish farm gets go-ahead

The Algoa Bay fish farm has been approved, with the government touting it as a new vehicle for jobs and economic development and critics warning it will increase the risk of shark attacks and turn a bay blessed with extraordinary riches into an industrial park.

The department of environmental affairs said in a letter that it had granted permission for a fin fish farm near the Port of Ngqura as well as shellfish farms that will focus on oysters and mussels — one off the city’s southern beaches and the other just north of the Port Elizabeth Harbour.

The beachfront shellfish farm will stretch almost 3km² from Kings Beach to Pollok Beach, and will be situated about 2km offshore.

The harbour shellfish farm will comprise 479ha and will stretch from the north wall of the harbour 4.8km² along the shore.

The Ngqura fin fish farm, focused on a range of fish including kob and yellowtail, will cover 3.5km², and will be situated about 3km offshore, running adjacent to the Addo Marine Protected area.

Anchor Environmental consultancy representative Safiyya Sedick said in an e-mail to all the role players that appeals against the environmental department’s decision should be submitted before March 20.

The fisheries department first launched the Algoa Bay fish farm project nearly a decade ago with a different site configuration, and including a fish component off the beachfront.

In 2014, former environment minister Edna Molewa upheld appeals against the project on the back of a huge outcry and a petition signed by 1,700 residents.

The project resurfaced in March last year, with the fisheries department renewing its argument that it would create jobs, transform the fisheries sector and support the development of new skills and local socioeconomic opportunities.

Yesterday, Nelson Mandela Bay Business Chamber CEO Nomkhita Mona said though the chamber welcomed the development, it was concerned whether a comprehensive study had been done to assess its environmental impact.

The chamber had previously called for an independent study of the socioeconomic impact of the fish farm on future economic development projects, including in the tourism, oceans economy and property sectors, as well as the effect on sporting events, she said.

“It is the unintended consequences we need to guard against,” Mona said.

The chamber had accordingly called for a strategic environmental assessment to be undertaken instead of the basic assessment report which had been commissioned by the fisheries department from Anchor Environmental.

“The role of [the strategic environmental assessment] is to determine the most suitable development type for a particular environment or region before further development proposals are formulated.

“[The environmental assessment] has the potential to promote an integrated system of development planning that incorporates sustainability objectives and accumulative regional impact into the planning process,” Mona said.

“We are unsure if all these factors have been taken into consideration in coming up with the decision.”

For marine conservationists, one of the major concerns about the Ngqura fin fish farm is the effect on the endangered African penguin, whose biggest colony is on St Croix Island, just 10km away.

Nelson Mandela University African penguin specialist Dr Lorien Pichegru said the decision to approve this part of the aquaculture development zone was bad news for the flagship seabird, whose numbers had plummeted 30%-40% in the past four years.

“There will be pollution from the fish farm consisting of uneaten food.

“This creates eutrophication, which means less oxygen, which means less fish for the penguins to eat.

Antibiotics used on the fish farm would also pollute the environment as they entered the ecosystem, she said.

“Antibiotic pollution can change the hormone levels in animals, with consequences for their reproductive success.

“So this fish farm is one more threat to the survival of the penguins.”

Wildlife and Environment Society Algoa Bay chair Gary Koekemoer said though it accepted the approval of the two shellfish farms, the Ngqura fin fish farm was highly problematic.

“Firstly, an alternative has been proposed where money would instead be spent on rejuvenating the Swartkops estuary as a natural fish nursery,” he said.

“By ignoring that proposal and going with the fish farm at Ngqura, they threaten the penguins, the underwater reefs in that area and the entire marine protected area (MPA).

“The generation of excess food and antibiotics will create a dead zone on the edge of this brand new MPA.”

Though the department had rightly pulled back from pushing for a fin fish farm off Port Elizabeth’s beachfront because of the evidence that it could attract sharks, the last fatal shark attack in Algoa Bay, as recorded in the Global Shark Attack File, was in fact off St George’s Strand in 1972, Koekemoer said.

“The location of a fin fish farm off Ngqura in relatively close proximity to St George’s creates the real risk of a shark attack at that beach.

“The consultant agreed to assess the issue with a shark expert but from what we see this has not been done.”

In addition, in the fish farming industry, an average of 5kg to 15kg of fish food made from sardines and anchovies was used to feed 1kg of farmed fish.

The declining stocks of these pelagic species and the reliance of fishermen and penguins on them needed to be taken into account but this had not been done, Koekemoer said.

“This decision will convert our Algoa Bay biodiversity hotspot into an industrial park.

“We should be leveraging this asset, not killing it.

It’s the totally wrong approach.”

Ironman MD Keith Bowler said: “We will continue to raise our concerns with all parties involved to resolve the issues that could potentially impact the Ironman African Championship.”