In the latest Saving Sandfish film, Koning Vannie Doring (‘King of the Doring River’), Dr. Jeremy Shelton and Dr. Otto Whitehead showcase some spectacular, trophy-size Clanwilliam yellowfish and Clanwilliam sandfish in the Doring River in the Cederberg mountains, caught as part of a scientific survey conducted along the length of the river. However, the excitement (of catching these big specimens) is limited and overshadowed by the overwhelming number of alien predatory fish species (smallmouth bass, spotted bass, largemouth bass and bluegill sunfish – all introduced from North America as part of the sport fishing interests of mankind) that they caught in their fyke nets compared to previous surveys.
Reality, as we know it, is harsh, and this movie shows the viewer just how badly the natural habitat of our indigenous fish has deteriorated (by mainly: overextraction of water, building of dam walls, and the introduction of alien predatory fish) over decades – keep an eye out for a future blog on this subject, called The Silver Bullet.
There is hope though! For instance, the scientists and volunteers working on the Saving Sandfish project (spearheaded by scientists from the Freshwater Research Centre) have caught 33 391 baby sandfish from a stretch of the Biedouw River that dries up annually, in their attempts to rescue the species since 2020 – read more about that HERE. As a fly fisher, you can be a proud supporter of Saving Sandfish by donating money directly to this project on the FRC website, or by being a member of FOSAF (FOSAF has been a sponsor of Saving Sandfish since 2020).
Hello there, I am trying to find out how often the Doring river flows and how full it stays.
I attended a talk, by a researcher of the sand fish, at ‘keeping it wild’ on Driehoek farm and I thought to ask you folks. Do you have a contact address for someone who could please help me?
Hi Lachlan, sorry for the delayed response, try contacting the Freshwater Research Centre, their scientists will be able to provide you with more detailed info: https://www.frcsa.org.za/
According to my (basic) knowledge, the Doring used to flow year-round, but stopped flowing throughout summer in the last 50 years or so due to water abstraction and also possibly due to climate change. The Doring rarely flows throughout the year these days, it has become the norm for the Doring to stop flowing end Oct/early Nov nowadays and then it will start flowing again properly from about June/July (depending on winter rainfall) and for the rest of the winter months after the catchment (mainly the Groot River system and its tributaries in the Kouebokkeveld area and Tankwa Karoo closer to Ceres side) received enough rain to push the flow down into the Doring mainstem. Although big thunderstorms in the Tankwa Karoo in summer may also cause the lower Doring to flow sporadically at times (usually muddy water though).