How the great sandfish rescue is saving one of SA's most endangered freshwater fish

An ambitious plan to save one of SA's most at-risk freshwater fish from possible extinction is showing encouraging results, say researchers.   

For the past four years, conservationists have been rescuing thousands of small Clanwilliam sandfish from the Biedouw River in the Cederberg before they can be snapped up by non-native bass and bluegill, or become stranded in drying pools.

The sandfish, or onderbek, is a yellowish fish with a pronounced overbite that only occurs in the Olifants-Doring river basin. Their numbers have been dropping for years.