Restaurant owners have been fingered as partly to blame for recent sewage spills into the Durban harbour and local rivers, the Mercury newspaper reported on Thursday.

As a result, the eThekwini water and waste department has appealed to local restaurant and take-away owners to install proper traps and equipment to capture "fog" (fat, oil, and grease).

It apparently blocks up sewer pipes and reduces the efficiency of municipal wastewater treatment works.

Chris Fennemore, pollution and environment head said fog traps were essential to dispose of fats properly.

He welcomed complaints and urged people to report sewage pollution to the municipality.

Earlier this month, veteran yachtsman Chris Bonnet was fuming when the Lavender Creek area of the Durban Yacht mole was heavily polluted with sewage.

He said it was inexcusable that sewage was allowed to pour into one of the city's prime tourism attractions and give Durban a bad name.

When the eThekwini wastewater department investigated, officials found sewage pouring directly into the bay from a restaurant with a disconnected sewage line.

Sewage pouring into the Durban harbour was also one of the reasons the city lost its blue flag status.

A pilot study at the Heritage Market showed that 50 percent of restaurants were exceeding "fog" discharge levels.

Sapa