A fish farm in the Karoo that the NSPCA accused of leaving fish in putrid and inhumane conditions has since been identified as Karoo Catch (Pty) Ltd situated in Graaff Reinet.
Founder Leslie ter Morzhuizen called the allegations by the NSPCA inflammatory and wanted to set the record straight.
Last week a spokesperson for the NSPCA Keshvi Nair said they went on a proactive inspection trip earlier this month where they found the farm abandoned with only a security guard on duty.
Nair says a further investigation revealed live fish eating one another as they had not been fed, and maggots eating and burrowing into the rotting flesh of the fish that had already died.
Ter Morzhuizen says their start-up business received great funding and was gaining solid traction with sales when the double jeopardy of the Covid19 lockdown, combined with business cash flow challenges, emanating from a policy change, created restrictions.
She said a decision was made to mothball the farm, which was a difficult decision to make.
Ter Morzhuizen says by the end of 2020 it was clear that they would no longer be able to provide the required support to sustain the project.
"Between May and July many social organisations were approached and invited to collect fish from the farm at no cost for their outreach programs, and our staff were invited to take fish home with them at no cost. By the end of July almost all of the fish on the farm had been harvested and given away," he said.
During the first week of August a team of casual labourers, supervised by a Director, harvested the remaining fish and euthanised them.
"We were aware that small numbers of un-harvestable fish remained in the tunnels but switched off the power as the low density of catfish did not require water circulation. Further, it was deemed critical that water be kept in the tanks during this mothball period to prevent cracking and therefore unnecessary infrastructure damage and additional maintenance costs in the future," said ter Morzhuizen.
She says when the tanks were completely drained last week an average of six fish per tank was found on the farm; six catfish in a 7 000 litre tank is completely sustainable without circulation or filtration.
Ter Morzhuizen says catfish are also carnivores and the greatest challenge with farming these fish is that they do eat each other, as this happens in nature.
Catfish also have a high mortality rate, therefore the sight of dead fish would not only be normal but expected, he added.
Karoo Catch directors refute the suggestion that not feeding catfish is cruel, as catfish aestivate, meaning they go into a state of low energy usage and survive months, even years, under these conditions in nature.
"The NSPCA's claims that the conditions are putrid and the water quality poor is pure speculation without any quantitative evidence to back this claim. The tunnels are dark and it is therefore impossible to see to the bottom of the tanks even if there are no fish in the system. Such a claim is thus completely irresponsible" he added.
The NSPCA's Nair says they do not agree with some of the statements made by Karoo Catch and will respond in due course.
