By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
ANGLESEA River fish-kills will claim a land-dwelling victim when long-standing business Anglesea and Great Ocean Road Outdoor Centre closes at the end of Easter.
Owner Gary Kerr said three successive years of kills spelled the end of his business.
The Independent has reported on the river’s series of mass fish deaths, which prompted several investigations and reports.
The reports blamed heavy rain flushing acid soils from coal deposits and tea tree marshes into the river.
“It’s a bloody mess,” Mr Kerr said.
“They had time to do something and didn’t and now its cost the business.
“This was a quarter-of-a-million-dollar business and now it’s down to $100,000. If we try to keep it going next summer and the same thing happens we’ll be in debt to the tune of $50,000 or $60,000. It’s a joke.”
Mr Kerr said authorities “sat on their hands” while his business suffered.
“They had a secret report, never released to the public, saying opening the river to the sea would help mitigate the effect of the acidity,” he said.
“They had three months to open it up and did nothing, just put up warning signs.”
Victoria’s top recreational fishing body called for urgent action on river and its “longstanding water quality issues”.
VRFish chairman Russell Conway said authorities must improve their management of the river.
A 2012 Corangamite Catchment Management Authority report said opening the estuary would reduce the impact of acidic events but “nothing has been acted upon,” Mr Conway said.
Previous authorities had conducted artificial openings of the river after careful consideration of environmental issues, he said.
“Currently, a significant proportion of the estuary mouth is closed via an artificial rock wall, of which only part has been removed, meaning the mouth is still prone to closing due to sand movements,” Mr Conway said.
“We’re of the view that this system warrants special consideration and an urgent plan needs to be developed in consultation with fishers and other stakeholders for the betterment of the river and associated fishing businesses.”
