The Clanwilliam Sandfish is South Africa’s most threatened migratory freshwater fish. Its need for free-flowing rivers throughout its life makes it especially sensitive to human impacts—but also a powerful symbol for healthy river ecosystems. Once common in the Olifants-Doring River system, it has vanished from the Olifants Catchment and is rapidly declining in the Doring River and its tributaries. Its Endangered IUCN status reflects this, with almost no young fish seen—signaling a widespread breeding failure. The Biedouw River is now the only tributary where Sandfish still return reliably to spawn.
Each spring, adult Sandfish swim upstream into the Biedouw to lay eggs, which hatch into thousands of juveniles. Sadly, most don’t survive, as alien predators (like Bass and Bluegill) and excessive water use take their toll. As a result, the sandfish population in the Doring is aging, with few young to replace them. Without urgent action to protect spawning areas and help young fish survive, the species faces a bleak future.
To help prevent the extinction of the Clanwilliam sandfish, the Freshwater Research Centre and its partners launched the Saving Sandfish project in 2020. This effort includes Africa’s largest-ever freshwater fish rescue. So far, over 36,000 young Sandfish have been saved from the predator-filled Biedouw River and moved to six specially prepared sanctuary dams, free from invasive species.
Once the rescued fish grow to a safer size (15 cm), they are released back into the wild with tiny tracking tags. Nearly 3,000 have been released so far, with early results showing a 16.4% return rate and more than double the number of spawning fish in the Biedouw.
Enjo Nature Farm is proud to be part of the Saving Sandfish project, providing one of the sanctuary dams where rescued baby Sandfish can grow safely before being released back into the wild.
