Concerns for Collie River fish

Concerns have been raised about the safety of eating fish and shellfish taken from the Collie River after a survey by Griffin Coal found increased incidences of heavy metals in the river.

A report released last week by Griffin found elevated levels of mercury, iron and aluminium in the both the Collie River and one of its tributaries Boronia Gully.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Environment and Conservation said the levels of heavy metals in the report were triggers for further investigation but did not necessarily indicate a risk to the environment.

The survey was commissioned last year after run off from Griffin’s Ewington Mine flowed into the waterway in July and August.

However Griffin said the report showed the run off from the Ewington Mine was not the source of the mercury, as it was detected both up and downstream of the mine.

Collie river activist Ed Riley has been monitoring the waterway for years and said the report had set alarm bells ringing for people in the town.

He said there was significant public concern about the safety of eating fish from the river, but it did not stop him eating freshwater perch.

Collie-Preston MLA Mick Murray has called for the DEC to conduct a full investigation of the river to ensure the safety of both the environment and people eating food caught there.

‘‘You just can’t ignore something like this — we don’t want to go through the issues they had in Esperance with lead,’’ he said.

The Department of Health said the occasional consumption of marron and fish from around Boronia Gully and Collie River should not pose a risk to the public.

Mr Riley said there was the risk of bio-accumulation of mercury through the river’s food chain, where mercury in lower organisms would accumulate in fish and marron further up the food chain.