eThekwini lambasted for 'devastating' Isipingo Lagoon fish disaster
Fishermen in Isipingo, south of Durban, are demanding answers after hundreds of fish washed up dead at Isipingo Lagoon.
eThekwini Municipality sent out a notice on Tuesday warning fisherfolk and locals not to pick up on eat the fish there.
The city has sent out teams to clear them away.
Some fisherfolk turned up on the beach on Monday to find the sand littered with dead fish, their eyes popped out and skin blackened from the pollution in lagoon water.
Flies have descended on the carcasses.
One fisherman says he's been fishing in this water since he was a boy and has never seen anything like this.
READ: WATCH: Something's fishy at Isipingo Lagoon as sewage spill blamed for dead fish
John Narayanasamy from the Subsistence Fishing Forum says this takes food out of the mouths of many in the community.
"Forty-five years later, for me to see this fish on the beach contaminated with the pollution is really devastating. The chemical that is in the water is not useable for anybody.”
Desmond D’sa from the South Durban Environmental Alliance suspects the water's been polluted by a sewerage leak at a nearby pump station.
"For the city to come here and assist and really not do the right thing shows clearly once again they don't have a disaster plan, resources available on hand."
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