Some people may think they’re doing the eels and local aquatic wildlife a favour by providing a free feed, but they are potentially causing ecological damage.
In the most recent case, fish frames and filleting waste have been dumped into Reservoir Creek on Hill Street in Richmond, but we’ve had reports of other fish waste dumping over the past few months.
Our Senior Resource Scientist for Freshwater and Estuarine Ecology Trevor James says when fish frames are dumped in large numbers it negatively affects the ecology of some waterways.
He says in small streams with relatively low water flows there is little dilution which is likely to affect dissolved oxygen in the creek and potentially spread disease to any other fish living in it.
Trevor says another problem is habituating any wildlife like eels, to be fed by humans because they become increasingly dependent on people, and therefore much less resilient.
But he says another growing problem is the dumping of lawn clippings and garden waste into residential neighbourhood waterways.
Trevor says a lawnmower catcher full of grass dumped into a waterway is as bad as 5 – 10 fish frames. Again, the problem is the dumped organic material starves the water of oxygen as it decomposes.