This report provides historical overview on river catchment, ecology, biotic and abiotic characteristics and available information on the Gourits estuary. The Gourits Estuary, in common with other estuaries whose mouths are open for part or all of the year, is likely to be important as a nursery area for many species of fish which are to a greater or lesser degree dependent on estuarine conditions for part of their life cycle (Wallace et al. 1984). It must therefore be ensured that dam building and any further developments will never reduce the amount of water reaching the mouth to such a degree that the mouth closes for any length of time. The river is formed by the confluence of the Gamka and Olifants rivers just south of Calitzdorp.
Reference:
Heydorn, HJ. 1989. Gourits (CSW25). Report 38 of the Estuaries of the Cape, Part 2: Synopses of available information on individual systems series, edited by Heydorn, AEF and Morant, PD. Stellenbosch: CSIR. (CSIR research report 437)
Heydorn, H. (1989). Gourits (CSW25) (CSIR Research Report number). CSIR, National Research Institute for Oceanology. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10204/3474
Heydorn, HJ Gourits (CSW25). CSIR Research Report number. CSIR, National Research Institute for Oceanology, 1989. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/3474
Heydorn H. Gourits (CSW25). 1989 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/10204/3474
