A project that uses invasive carp to feed underprivileged communities in the Garden Route and Little Karoo, has so far fed over 100 000 people and it continues to grow.
The Project is in collaboration with the Gift of the Givers, Cape Nature and other stakeholders.
The carp, which is bad for the local environment, is being harvested and being used as much needed meals for those in need. Stakeholders see it as a win-win situation.
Illegally introduced
Carp is an invasive species, illegally introduced to the Groenvlei Lake in Sedgefield in the 1990’s.
Their growing numbers led to poor water quality and the collapse of a once outstanding bass fishery. In an effort to get the Lake back to its former glory, the mass fishing of carp is taking place. This addresses the problem of invasive carp that has long plagued the Garden Route fresh water lakes, while also tackling the problem of hunger that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cape Nature CEO, Dr Razeena Omar, says the project now restores the ecological balance of the lake and provides meals to thousands.
“For us it’s a win-win situation in terms of making biodiversity relevant, biodiversity conservation relevant. We remove the alien invasive and that then can be utilised to feed hungry people.”
Since the launch in 2020, Gift of the Givers has brought in a number of new stakeholders. One of them is the fishing group, Oceana, who recently donated a trailer-mounted freezer for the fishing haul.
Gift of the Givers, Mario Ferreira explains, “We’re here at Smutsville in Sedgefield doing a contribution to the community thanks to a new trailer we received. A refrigeration trailer that now extends us to even reach out to the Karoo. What we’ve got on distribution here today will feed just short of 3000 people.”
Feeds 400-800 daily
Each catch at the lake can feed between 400-800 people per day. Soup kitchens in the townships are the ones that benefit the most, providing nutritious meals for children and adults in the communities.
Erica Kordan who runs a soup kitchen in Smutsville says, “I want to thank the people of Cape Nature and Gift of the Givers, because putting fish on the table of our people at that time and now still, it gives our people their dignity of having something to eat before they go to bed at night.”
Jim Mitchell, from Slow Town Mobile Meals, is also a beneficiary.
“This has the ability of really solving the food shortage issue. It has helped Sedgefield specifically, because we’re able to extend our outreach to other communities who are also suffering. So it’s enabled us to do more work because of the gift of fish.”
So far, the project has been a huge success. Fish from the lake is also sent to organisations in the Little Karoo for distribution.
The project partners also want to build on their success by investigating other lakes in the area to feed even more communities.
Communities in the Western Cape continue to benefit from the Carp Harvesting Project 4 October 2022:
