"The Sink Hole"

#St_Lucia_Estuary
#Conservation101

St Lucia Estuary has been manipulated since 1911. Fact is this Fragile Eco System is the corner stone of a very large unseen Habitat.

Human emotion is only sparked by what they can see and not what counts.

For the past 15 years there has been no interactive management plan to manage the 100 year old Top Soil problem created by Flood Plain Farmers and poor soil erosion management upstream in the catchment areas.

Up until 2001 The funds obtained through Beach Driving permit sales. This funds was used in a dredging program that maintained a sand put in front of the Ski Boat Club to manage the soil erosion.

This phenomenon that we experience in front of the mouth area now, proofs that the push from the ocean pulverize the man made plug in front of the Estuary opening.

In these photos it is clear that the water table and the low tide suction creates a recession in the mouth area that is lower than the water table or better known as mean sea level.

With Spring high there is a positive wave action push that pushes this water locked pulp futher into the system.

One wonders how a bigger one mouth system between the Estuary and the iMfolozi River is going to plug this problem.

With out a positive management plan interaction between the Estuary and the Indian Ocean is absent. This leads to the decline of Prawn population, both in the Estuary and The Ocean, that has a negative impact on the Fish Migration habitat from Kosi Bay in the North stretching further South than Durban.

Hope that the Park Authorities will start focusing on what really counts and stop spending valuable resources on cosmetic superficial cosmetic upgrades.

The same Park Authorities is playing the emotional card that Recreational Anglers has a real impact on the environment and their activities should be curbed.

This is the worst case of blame shifting any one can do to create a smoke screen while real life issues is being avoided.

By Petrus Viviers
0813427371
0835847473
petrusviv@gmail.com

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