Following the washout and stranding of around 1.5 tons of West Coast Rock Lobster (WCRL), 20 kilometre north of Lambert’s Bay, since late yesterday afternoon, the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) has raised the alert level to red.
Satellite images taken last week confirmed that the toxic red tide bloom on the West Coast, that stretches from Eland’s Bay to Doringbaai (around 80km long), moved closer inshore and that the density of the phytoplankton increased.
These mortalities are a direct consequence of low oxygen waters following the decay of the bloom in near-shore waters and it is very difficult to predict at this point whether more walkouts or washouts are expected.
At this moment our officials, with the help of other local agencies, are putting stranded WCRL back into the waters and are in full control of the situation.
For more information contact:
Lionel Adendorf
Tel: 021 402 3702
Cell: 076 267 5838
