Chris Shelton
Sealiner
Hi All
Last year we ( a bunch of likeminded concerned indigenous fish enthusiasts, in conjunction with Cape Nature Conservation) launched a Yellowfish working group. We have done a few field trips to date where we have caught and relocated juvenile Clanwilliam Yellows, Sawfin and Witvis into other bodies of water within conservancies that we have identified, all in the interest of increasing the valuable resources at our disposal. Below is an extract from the original letter that I put out to the public. As always, we are looking for more like-minded individuals to join us.
We are looking for are a bunch of likeminded guys who have the best interests of our indigenous Yellowfish at heart.
This will not be a fishing club as such but a working group. What we will be needing are committed individuals who will be able to contribute of their individual skills, whatever that may be, and their quality time, however frequently or infrequently that may be, to the benefit of the group and ultimately to the benefit of our Yellowfish. There is much work to be done, and the bottom line is that Cape Nature Conservation do not have the staff, or funding to see all their projects through. They need our support and help. As you are all no doubt aware, the Clanwilliam Yellow and the Witvis are both critically endangered species, and they need our protection. The field is wide but and the helpers are few. We need to rally together anough people to take on whatever tasks are required to ensure that what we still have stays protected and we need to do whatever we can to help sustain and improve the existing habitats where these fish still reside.
We need to stand together and do whatever is necessary to protect our Yellows and this alone is a multi-faceted task. It will involve education, stream management, law enforcement, breeding programs, stocking of dams and rivers, re-introduction into rivers where they no longer exist and much much more.
The long term goal is a tall order by any standards, but it can only be to restore the populations in certain streams and rivers to their former glory. At the same time, we need to create a public awareness of the value that these fish have, from an environmental point of view, because they are so uniquely ours, and also as a recreational resource. Simply put, they could provide excellent sport for anglers for centuries to come, but this will certainly not happen at the present rate of decline if we don't step in now and do what we can to help change this sad state of affairs.
If anyone of you feel the calling, please feel free to join us.
Please email your details to me at chris@pprint.co.za and I will include you on the mailing list (google group), which will keep you updated about all future working group activities.
Regards
Chris
Last year we ( a bunch of likeminded concerned indigenous fish enthusiasts, in conjunction with Cape Nature Conservation) launched a Yellowfish working group. We have done a few field trips to date where we have caught and relocated juvenile Clanwilliam Yellows, Sawfin and Witvis into other bodies of water within conservancies that we have identified, all in the interest of increasing the valuable resources at our disposal. Below is an extract from the original letter that I put out to the public. As always, we are looking for more like-minded individuals to join us.
We are looking for are a bunch of likeminded guys who have the best interests of our indigenous Yellowfish at heart.
This will not be a fishing club as such but a working group. What we will be needing are committed individuals who will be able to contribute of their individual skills, whatever that may be, and their quality time, however frequently or infrequently that may be, to the benefit of the group and ultimately to the benefit of our Yellowfish. There is much work to be done, and the bottom line is that Cape Nature Conservation do not have the staff, or funding to see all their projects through. They need our support and help. As you are all no doubt aware, the Clanwilliam Yellow and the Witvis are both critically endangered species, and they need our protection. The field is wide but and the helpers are few. We need to rally together anough people to take on whatever tasks are required to ensure that what we still have stays protected and we need to do whatever we can to help sustain and improve the existing habitats where these fish still reside.
We need to stand together and do whatever is necessary to protect our Yellows and this alone is a multi-faceted task. It will involve education, stream management, law enforcement, breeding programs, stocking of dams and rivers, re-introduction into rivers where they no longer exist and much much more.
The long term goal is a tall order by any standards, but it can only be to restore the populations in certain streams and rivers to their former glory. At the same time, we need to create a public awareness of the value that these fish have, from an environmental point of view, because they are so uniquely ours, and also as a recreational resource. Simply put, they could provide excellent sport for anglers for centuries to come, but this will certainly not happen at the present rate of decline if we don't step in now and do what we can to help change this sad state of affairs.
If anyone of you feel the calling, please feel free to join us.
Please email your details to me at chris@pprint.co.za and I will include you on the mailing list (google group), which will keep you updated about all future working group activities.
Regards
Chris