More Fish Deaths Wonnerup Wetlands.
Submitted by Howard George on Mon, 2013-04-15 13:30
Thousands of fish have died this morning in the Wonnerup wetlands, mullet, black bream and pilchard and it's a bloody disgrace that the group that manages the system sit on their bums and do nothing about improving water quality. Their only form of defence is to open up the flood gates after the fish have died.I'm really pissed off big time.
Michael Yoni
Posts: 601
Date Joined: 02/01/11
Have you told the appropriate
Have you told the appropriate authorities this and what did.they say. What caused it and how.do you propose it.should be fixed.
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Many Times Michael.
I had an article in the local paper about two weeks ago concerning the buildup of stinking rotten black crap in the wetlands that needed to be removed or else there'd be fish deaths but nothing ever gets done and I just had a run in with a staffer from water Corp. who have authority over it all and all she was doing was taking photo's of the carnage. We now have dead fish lining the banks of the wetllands causing a health hazard as they decay and all they're doing is taking bloody photo's. The whole system is supposed to be automated so when the water quality drops the flood gates open and salt water is let in to flush the system but again it's failed. I'm trying to get fisheries Dept. involved in the management of our fish nurseries as part of the FRMA but when you see the mess down there you can see why they're not keen.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Same each time
They come up with the same excuse each time, we weren't informed!!! But when they finally decide to take action its too late.
Mate has a house that fronts the estuary usually is on the ball and lets them know but may have been up at his shack at Grey and missed it. He's the one who cut a channel through with his back hoe years back.
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
Same old shit
wish whoever was in charge got the sack and they found someone with some brains to run the show.
Funny coincidence that it happens every time we get some rain during a hot spell?
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Water Corp = W.O.F.TA.M
WOFTAM waste of f****** time and money.
Instead of cutting funds from the education allowance they should offload about three quarters of the water corp staff save the funds and tell the shinny arses up in hq that they go next unless there are some big changes in the way things are looked after.
Willlo
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Date Joined: 07/10/11
Maybe you guys should get the
Maybe you guys should get the seat sniffer on to it,after all its his backyard.
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MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
You seriously
think Troy gives a toss about the local community? HAHAHAHA Thursday funnies
Willlo
Posts: 1490
Date Joined: 07/10/11
Well Matt he must do
Well Matt he must do something right down your way,cause no matter what he does or says you crew seem to keep voting him in. Maybe now he is 'THE FISHERIES MINISTER' he may feel obligated to do something about it,as he is a local boy and all.I wouldnt be holding my breath though.
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Haynes Hunter Prowler CC
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Please Disregard Matt Miller's following post
Matt Miller is a great bloke but diplomacy is not one of his strengths but yes Willo we'll certainly get Troy onto the problem. The fish deaths have gone all around the world and can you imagine the affect this will have on tourism which identify's Busselton as a shit heap.I think I'll get the opportunity tomorrow to bend his ear a little so here's hoping.
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
Terribly sorry
for having an opinion on MY local representative.
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
Lets not
Get bogged down in political opinion and get back to the issue.
Absolute disgrace and something different needs to be planned for the future.
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Agree with you There Matt
Somehow we've got to stop it happening in the future. I went to a meeting last night held by Geo-Catch which is one of the groups resonsible for the management of the wetlands and the person who opened the preceedings said there was an elephant in the room and they wouldn't discuss the fish kill. That made me laugh, not an elephant but a bloody big Blue Whale I would have thought.
lastcast
Posts: 215
Date Joined: 04/04/13
just curious
what was the point of the meeting then ?
What is the management issue that is more important than this ?
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Pro. Lyn Breasley lastcast
The Professer who is chief scientist of WA was invited by Geo-Catch to give a speech regarding the links between scientists and the public and solving problems. The fish deaths sort of contradicts the message that she is trying to get across because we the public and rec-fishers in particular have been screaming that something needs to be done to save the fish in the wetlands and the management group who has various Govt. depts. and their scientists involved decided to ignore what we're saying and do nothing hence the deaths and this is not the first time they've done that. They're saying that there was about 7000 fish deaths but there is more likely to be 3 times that ammount and some of the black bream were over 30 years of age so the loss of these fish is something that can't be fixed overnight. The point I've been trying to make and the professor sort of confirms it that rec-fishers are the eyes and the ears about what is going on out in the marine environment and these marine parks that have been announced takes us out of equation and that Greenie groups don't have the ability to identify problems as they arise and the Wonnerup Wetlands fish deaths highlights this exactly.Unfortunatley when pollies go chasing greenie votes you just know they care more about their own existence than the marine environment and that disappoints me as a rec-fisher and also an environmentalist.
TheJettyRat
Posts: 733
Date Joined: 02/03/12
Such a simple solution
Such a simple solution hindered by complicated political BS. OPEN THE GATES YOU FOOLS !
lastcast
Posts: 215
Date Joined: 04/04/13
simple solutions sometimes
have a cost involved. the cost here is that the gates admit
salt water, not fresh water. Its the same as the cut at mandurah.
In that case, CALM bangs on about how water quality has improved.
Yes the nutrients are dispersed. Yes dissolved oxygen levels are
higher. The cost is the fact that if you look around, all the paperbarks
on the banks are dead or dying. It is now just another saline system.
The problem is that the wetlands have evolved over a very long time
without nitrogen and other crap being dumped in, and with regular
flushing with fresh water. these are the two critical things that have changed.
Unless this is addressed, the kills will continue. Same for the swan/canning
and indeed most wa esturine systems, if you are reading this auslobster.
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Different Situations lastcast.
The cut at Mandurah is permanently open to the sea whereby the channel that they cut between the ocean and the Wonnerup Estuary each year had closed and the moment they opened the flood gates they suffocated the estuarine system with the putrid water from the wetlands and without having sea water flowing in, not only did we then have fish deaths on one side of the gates but the fish died on both sides making things worse. DEC then put an article in the local paper stating " this week's fish kill was not caused by the mismanagement of the Vasse-Wonnerup Estuary floodgates" and that on it's own gives everyone an insight into the lack of understanding DEC and the other groups involved have on how the whole system works. We've had 3 major fish kills in 5 years and in my book, 3 strikes and your out, finished,kaput, cactus whatever else one likes to use to define the end but in all reality that won't happen so we should expect more fish deaths and more degradation of the whole system with no solutions being offered.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
Quite frankly
I don't give a rats about all the science we are supposed to believe, it is nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
It's about time a real noise is made about the inefficiency of the "Flood Gates" and a barrage is put in place similar to the ones in place on the Mary River system in the Topend. These devices allow interchange between salt and held water at high tides which in turn also allows fish to make the journey up or down stream.
Fkn real simple in my books.
The other problem is the re-direction of the Vasse River and the piss poor bridge in the heart of town that wouldn't allow no where near enough water to flow into the estuary.
Problem is the FARMERS that use the low lying area for agriculture/grazing don't want the high tide push to interfere with their way of life.
Willlo
Posts: 1490
Date Joined: 07/10/11
Was talking to a couple of
Was talking to a couple of pro fisho"s on the beach re this yesterday.They happened to be down at the gates not sure when but there were a heap of so called experts all standing on the structure talking on their mobile phones.The fella"s noticed about 4 ton of mullet all popping the surface trying to oxygenate ,dying a slow death.One of the fisho"s asked the fisheries if they could net them before they died and became a toxic waste and were told in no uncertain terms NO WAY.While they were there they also estimated that the fish kill on the Busso side of the gates was around 6 ton including a heap of 35 to 45cm Blackies.They had one good suggestion and that was to channel into the Port Geo Marina for flushing purposes. Do you think that would work Howard?
p.s they also told me that the fish gate installed there is about a foot above the water level on a low tide good for nothing in reality.
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Howard George
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Date Joined: 10/03/11
Two Different Systems Willo.
We have the estuary system or "inlet" east of flood gates and every year they get an excavator in and open it up to the ocean but I've seen it silt up again within a few days so my personal opinion is they need to lay a large pipe underground with a riser in the ocean that is level with low tide and a riser in the estuary at the same height so water flows in at high tide and out at low tide hence the circulation of water twice a day. During the winter months the estuary cuts it's own way out to the ocean but it's the summer months that are the problem. The wetlands on the Busso. side of floodgates is another issue and the Dept. of Water claim the water in the high school drain is too rich in nutrients ( nitrogen, Phosphates etc.)to send into the Vasse River hence we don't have the required ammount of flushing into the river and in turn the wetlands so we get the stagnant conditions we experienced recently.The solution for this I feel is to establish large freshwater swamps full of rushes and other plant life that will filter out the nutrients and one needs to be out were the Vasse River meets the drain so we can access that water and another large swamp probably about Ford Road area to filter out the algal bloom coming out of the River and that is consistant with what is happening in other parts of the world. Years ago the farmers put in the floodgates to hold back the salt water and plant spuds in the wetlands so they cleared the swamp of all vegetation and ploughed the bejesus out of it for decades until it wouldn't yield any more and they then just walked away from it and thats why we have the vaste ammount of barren land in the wetlands with no growth on it. If it was a Mining Comp. that did this they would be asked by law to return it to it's original condition but this all happened years ago so unless we do it ourselves no-one else is going to rehabilitate the wetlands. As for your question Willo. it comes down to if you want a freshwater wetlands which at present is Ramsar rated and that complicates matters or convert everthing back to a salt water system but when nothing happens like we've got at the minute and no-ones listening it gets very frustrating.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Mining
I remember there being a mineral sands mine on the southern bank of the town side floodgates arm. Not sure how long it operated for and or who owned it.
Willlo
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Date Joined: 07/10/11
Maybe a dump truck full
Maybe a dump truck full of dead fish dumped on the water boards front step mught give them the message.
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mw87
Posts: 123
Date Joined: 20/07/11
Yep, Howard you are right.
Yep, Howard you are right. The damage has already been done with the irrigation methods used in wetlands years ago (and development). This caused the precipitation of acid sufates and arsnic from soils that are naturally permanently damp. The metals have now leeched and are stored in the surrounding soil, so every time it rains the elements travel into water systems, then when the area dries again, more are precipitated to form a damaging cycle. It will take many years for any remediation to take effect.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
Cable Sands
was the mining company. The pipe idea would be great, til it filled with weed.
I would be with willo's idea.
No seriously, the gates have to go, f..k the farmers and all the bullshit that's been going on and on and on.
saltatrix
Posts: 1075
Date Joined: 30/03/08
The solution to Wonnerup is
The solution to Wonnerup is prventing cow crap entering the system.
You do wonder what the water quality does to animals.
Reducing cow crap and nutrient run off should improve it.
The gates back up with cow crap. It stinks like crap!
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
you know , there area couple
you know , there are a couple of things here that need mentioning I think
first one is anyone who was born in busso like me will remember in the early 60s the hell winter floods that used to take place in some winters and put a lot of busso under water, especially all the flat land around the town entrance from bunbury next to the railway line ,back along into town near the train station the main bridge into queen st and right out to the high school bridge which was partly washed away and shut one winter back then , it all went under water ,very easily , it also flooded much of the low lying farm land along the estuary & town surrounds
our old home address at 11 falkingham rd flooded every winter just about back then , so did the timber mill next door to us !!30+cm under water in july august often
many parts of busso where totally inundated , and it peaked at times of high tides in strong northwesterly storms as they came across the bay flood water did not flow away quickly ,this had been happening for years right back so the vasse diversion drain was built along with the floodgates at wonnerup
I think you will find any kind of horticulture on the wetlands themselves for spuds had little to do with it , spuds where grown along the lower parts possibly , but not many &, I doubt they where the sole cause of the floodgates etc
other thing is farmers I know personally who used to own most of the port geo section from ford road back to port geo , where ardent greenys back in the 70s , yearly planting peppys , melalucas , rushes etc , isobel & jim wilmot did this of there own back every summer for years , I helped on the odd occasion , isobel watered those trees and so did her family
they fenced off sections of the wetland from their cattle etc even built nest mounds for swans , and other ramsar birds back before it was under ramsar, so don't hang shite on the farmers , they are among the best conservators of that bit of land going , unlike the developers and houses now there !!
as iv said before the gov needs to open the wonnerup up into the back of port geo , let it flush it out , they also need to remove the floodgates on all of the estuary , and put in at two locations two sets of large hydraulic ram gates that are automated and will close in times of high tide winter storms to stop flooding , this would return it back to how it was , let nature take care of how far up it goes back to be saline , just as it did in the beginning ,
my nanna Claire heslewood/nee ellis told storys of fish being caught at the back of the old butter factory in busso in her younger days ,that's going back to the 1920s and earlier possibly
the fish deaths don't need to occur the gov just needs to open it back up and manage it better , the tidal effect would be minimal back up the system imo , the return as a fish nursery & the benefits would be huge though
the water quality right back up to rosemary drive etc would be greatly improved at present its just filthy and dead
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
carnarvonite
Posts: 8627
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Too Tired
The ones in charge of the floodgates are too tired, too lazy or have no interest in the fish life to regularly open the gates. The new gates can be opened in a matter of minutes compared with the old ones that had frozen up from lack of use over many years
willy2668
Posts: 122
Date Joined: 18/10/11
The river at the town bridge
The river at the town bridge is that bad it stinks and takes your breath away. they opened the river mouth and the water looks good up to the flood gates. I thought they were going to open the gates but they don't look open I think the fish gate is
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
Not wrong
its pretty feral ATM and could certainly do with a flush.
I wonder if they could hold some water upstream at the overflow and flush that through around this time of year?
Dale
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Date Joined: 13/09/05
I'm with you on that one Mike, a good flush from Port Geo end would do wonders.
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
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