Hundreds of fish die mysteriously at Moshupa dama

Investigations are being carried out after several hundred fish were washed up dead at Moshupa dam last week. Following a foul smell on Tuesday, residents noticed dead fish popping up at the dam, which until recently has been dry.

“I’ve fished at the dam for many years when it had water like now and periodically saw dead fish, but nothing of this magnitude,” said Jomo Motlogelwa. On a fishing trip, the 33-year-old fisherman said he counted over a hundred catfish floating belly up a couple of kilometres downstream from the dam.

“It was really shocking to see all this. It’s such a precious resource to see wasted like this,” he said. Delving into his years of experience, Motlogelwa said he suspected the water temperature was too low for the fish to handle following the heavy rains accompanied by hail that wreaked havoc in some parts of the country in recent weeks.

Investigators from the Department of Fisheries under Wildlife and National Parks say relevant authorities are carrying out all necessary tests on samples to determine the specific cause for this unsettling incident. “At this moment in time we are not sure what has happened.

We have had investigating officers down at the scene investigating many various factors as to how this could have happened,” said Wildlife officer, Montshwari Molefe.

According to him the Water Utilities Corporation (WUC) is testing water quality while the National Food Lab has taken samples of the dead fish for further investigation. Unfortunately, he revealed, efforts to catch live fish proved to be futile. “We are really trying to get to the bottom of this, to try and understand what has happened or what may be happening,” he explained.

However, he said a combination of low temperatures and the heavy rainfall experienced was most likely to have flushed dirt into the previously dry dam, causing the fish to suffocate. “If the fish are in the wrong place at the wrong time it can catch them out and overwhelm them. It is unusual but it does happen,” he said.

Molefe is unaware how long investigations will take. At this time, there is no knowledge of any specific human dangers or risks associated for fishing in the dam.