Burnett Matthew J, O'Brien Gordon C, Blackmore Andrew, Wade Melissa, Downs Colleen T
School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
Ecosystems, Institute of Natural Resources NPC, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa.
River Res Appl. 2025 Feb;41(2):426-447. doi: 10.1002/rra.4359. Epub 2024 Aug 27.
In South Africa, fish kill events are increasing in frequency because of multiple stressors associated with managing natural resources. Despite the ecosystem services associated with fish, South Africa's progressive legislation towards environmental protection seems to negate the management of fish kills. In this study, we provide an overview of reports and regulations associated with acute pollution spills resulting in fish kill events in South Africa. In addition, we highlight the implication of these using a fish kill event from 2019 on the Msunduzi River, South Africa, as a case study. The fish kill on the Msunduzi River showed a decline in relative abundance by up to 41%, and its ecological condition was already impaired by poor management. The poor condition of the Msunduzi River has jeopardised the recovery of the fish populations, and intervention is needed to restore the fish population that includes species red-listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. We found that despite the severity of fish kills and the detriment to the fish fauna, including near-threatened species, there is a general apathy, incapacity and lack of knowledge on managing fish kills in South Africa. In addition, although several legislated Acts have good intentions for protecting nature, they do not align and show that a fish kill is an afterthought rather than a need to prevent. Poor management practices have exacerbated this in an already stressed state from excessive use of environmental water. As a way forward, the alignment of the various Acts associated with various ministerial departments in South Africa is needed so that better protection of the environment may occur. Finally, we argue that the African proverb '' is not considered when managing water resources and that with the present ecological state and water resource use there may be no fish to 'come out of the water' warning us that our water is unsafe even for human consumption and use.
在南非，由于与自然资源管理相关的多种压力源，鱼类死亡事件的发生频率正在增加。尽管鱼类具有生态系统服务功能，但南非在环境保护方面不断推进的立法似乎忽视了对鱼类死亡事件的管理。在本研究中，我们概述了与南非因急性污染泄漏导致鱼类死亡事件相关的报告和法规。此外，我们以2019年南非姆孙杜齐河发生的一次鱼类死亡事件为例，强调了这些事件的影响。姆孙杜齐河的鱼类死亡事件显示，鱼类相对丰度下降了高达41%，其生态状况因管理不善而已经受损。姆孙杜齐河的恶劣状况危及了鱼类种群的恢复，需要进行干预以恢复鱼类种群，其中包括被国际自然保护联盟列为易危物种的鱼类。我们发现，尽管鱼类死亡事件严重，对鱼类群落（包括近危物种）造成了损害，但南非在管理鱼类死亡事件方面普遍存在冷漠、能力不足和缺乏相关知识的问题。此外，尽管几项立法法案旨在保护自然，但它们之间并不协调，表明鱼类死亡只是事后的想法，而不是预防的必要措施。不良的管理做法在因过度使用环境用水而本已压力重重的状态下加剧了这一问题。作为前进的方向，需要使南非各部长级部门相关的各项法案保持一致，以便更好地保护环境。最后，我们认为，在管理水资源时没有考虑到非洲谚语“水涨鱼现”，鉴于目前的生态状况和水资源利用情况，可能很快就没有鱼“从水中出来”警告我们水甚至对人类消费和使用都不安全了。
