2 Apr 2021 V&A Waterfront’s harbour clean-up The clean-up operation to remove as much of the dead fish within our waterways and harbour is on-going and we have increased the number of personnel involved. This has been a very unusual occurrence in our waters. Every year we have mullets breeding in the basin, and this year the number was quite high. We also saw a large school of mackerel entering the harbour, and the high volume of fish impacted the levels of oxygen in the water, causing the fish to die off in large numbers. The dead fish is a great source of food for the Cape Fur Seals and the seagulls, hence the heightened activity of marine life in the harbour. It is also confirmed that the school of mackerel was followed by a pair of humpback whales, so the harbour basin literally had a “system overload”. Our Marine and Harbour team sees this kind of activity every year and when it happens, they mitigate the reduced oxygen by opening the lock and flushing the Marina and Basins with clean water from the canals (this gets done up to six times a day). Similar events to this happen within estuaries, and this is viewed as a natural occurrence. We are working with the Two Oceans Aquarium who are monitoring the oxygen levels in the water while the clean-up operation takes place. Roadworks at Dock Road When leaving the V&A Waterfront, you would have noticed the roadworks taking place between the Plaza intersection and Canal Bridge. Outgoing lanes will be reduced during the day, but we endeavour to keep all lanes open during peak hours. Pedestrians will also be redirected to alternative routes as times. We apologise for any convenience and will take every precaution to ensure that the disruption is minimal. Construction will be completed in early May. Caltex Waterfront fuel station now closed As mentioned in February, further improvement and redevelopment of the Canal District will be taking place and as such, the Caltex fuel station and is now officially closed and will be relocated to a more convenient site. Footfall update With it being the Easter weekend, we’ll report on visitor numbers next week. Wishing you a happy Easter weekend.
