More than 500 dead fish removed from Christchurch river, cause remains unknown

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Some of the hundreds of dead fish in the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River, following an unknown “discharge” on March 2, 2023.

Supplied

Some of the hundreds of dead fish in the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River, following an unknown “discharge” on March 2, 2023.

More than 500 dead fish were removed from a Christchurch river following an unknown “discharge” – at least 200 more than originally thought.

Residents first reported concerns about dead fish found washed up in the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River on March 1. Environment Canterbury issued a warning the following day, and put signs up on some areas of river bank on March 3.

But it wasn’t until nearly a week later that staff collected the corpses of the dead fish still floating in the river. Initial reports put the number of dead fish at 300.

But ECan spokesperson Nathan Dougherty said this week more than 500 fish were collected and disposed of.

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It’s unlikely to be an accurate tally, as Dougherty has previously acknowledged birds would have removed some of the dead fish, while others “may have gone down to the estuary”.

However, Dougherty said the cause of their deaths was still not known.

Birds swim and dive into Christchurch’s Heathcote River on Friday after hundreds of dead fish were discovered in the water earlier in the week.

“We suspect their deaths were caused by a discharge incident but don’t yet know the source of the discharge.”

ECan expected to have the results back by the end of next week.

People are still being asked to avoid the river in the vicinity of Connal St, Cumnor Tce, Long St and Garlands Rd, not carry out any recreational activity on or in the water area, not to come into contact with the water, keep dogs away, and not to eat fish from the area.

An ECan spokesperson said they are undertaking water sampling to determine if the current warnings can be lifted.

A map of the Christchurch area where at least 500 dead fish were removed from.

Environment Canterbury

A map of the Christchurch area where at least 500 dead fish were removed from.

But Linwood city councillor Yani Johanson remains concerned at the lack of communication with the community and disappointed in the scarcity and placement of signage informing people.

Johanson called ECan’s pollution hotline over the weekend to ask if the warnings had been lifted after seeing people fishing and walking dogs along the river.

He was told the river should still be considered off limits.

Johanson has repeatedly asked City Council staff for information including clarification on which agencies would lead the response to a chemical spill, and which council had the responsibility to erect signage, communicate with the public, clean up and carry out environmental impact assessments, as well as how many fish or birds were assessed to have been affected, and what the likely cause was.

Council staff told him they had referred the questions to the regional council, but he had yet to receive a substantial response.

MP for Banks Peninsula Tracey McLellan said the number of fish deaths was “confronting and disappointing”.

“I expected this event would be a priority for local authorities, but it wasn’t easy to get information about the cause of fish death and importantly what authorities were doing to find out the cause.”

In the absence of officials signage, Johanson erected his own signs on March 2, concerned at the lack of warnings regarding the still unidentified contamination event that poisoned hundreds of fish in the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River (File photo).

Supplied/Stuff

In the absence of officials signage, Johanson erected his own signs on March 2, concerned at the lack of warnings regarding the still unidentified contamination event that poisoned hundreds of fish in the Ōpāwaho Heathcote River (File photo).

Residents had raised concerns about the lack of information and didn’t feel enough was done to communicate what had happened and risks to people and animals, she said.

”I think the city and regional council need to work better together to get information and signs out quickly when these events happen.”

The Ōpāwaho Heathcote River has long been one of the most polluted waterways in Christchurch.

The council is continuing to appeal for reports from the public of any unusual or suspicious happenings in the area. Anyone with information can call 0800 765 588.

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