KwaZulu Natal Environmental Affairs MEC Nomusa Dube-Ncube says fishing will not be allowed at the Umbilo River and the Durban Port following a spillage of crude oil.
Dube-Ncube has visited both sites, the area by the river and the Bayhead area of the port, where crude oil is visible and is currently being managed by clean-up teams.
She says they are assessing the impact of the spillage on the environment.
“There is a huge impact to the biodiversity right now that we are seeing, the birds that are here, the fish, this area here is bound by the estuary, the estuary carry very important biodiversity for our city and for our province and it is one of those protected areas that we need to guide very seriously. We have also further advised that at least for seven days the fishing will have to stop, because of this it is not safe,” says Dube-Ncube.
Transnet crude oil pipeline tampered with in KZN
Transnet has implemented containment measures to limit the extent of the crude oil spillage which occurred on 19 October, in the Bellair area, Durban due to an attempted theft incident on the crude oil pipeline.
— Transnet SOC Ltd (@follow_transnet) October 21, 2020
