Greenpeace has called on the Mauritian government to conduct an “urgent investigation” after several dead dolphins washed up on the island’s coast, a month after a major oil spill caused by a shipwreck.
“This is a deeply sad and alarming day for the people of Mauritius,” Happy Khambule, Greenpeace Africa’s senior climate and energy campaign manager, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“Greenpeace calls on the authorities to carry out a rapid, transparent and public autopsy on the bodies collected.”
The Japanese property MV Wakashio hit a coral reef off the island of the Indian Ocean on July 25 and began spilling oil on August 6, prompting the government to declare a state of emergency in the environment.
The game spreads over a large area of endangered corals, affecting fish and other marine life in what some scientists have called the country’s worst ecological disaster.
The impact of the spill is still developing, scientists said, and the damage could affect Mauritius and its tourism-dependent economy for decades.
The Associated Press quoted environmental groups and experts on Wednesday as saying that at least 14 dead dolphins had been washed off the coast of Mauritius. Other dolphins stranded ashore and appeared seriously ill, according to environmental consultant Sunil Dowarkasing.
“This is a terrible day. We see these dolphins swimming to the shore in distress and then dying,” said Dowarkasing, a former MP. “We have never seen this death of these very intelligent marine mammals. Never.”
Jasvin Sok Appadu, a government official from the Ministry of Fisheries, put the number at 17.
“The dead dolphins had several wounds and blood around their jaws, however, no trace of oil. Those who survived, around 10, seemed very tired and could barely swim,” Appadu told Reuters news agency.
This incident must be fully and transparently investigated!
If the oil spill was in fact the cause of this tragedy, then the polluters should be held responsible for the damage to coastal communities and their #Biodiversity >> https://t.co/OHBtIChDzf #BreakFreeFromFossilFuels
– Greenpeace Africa (@Greenpeaceafric) August 26, 2020
A spokeswoman for local Mauritian environmental group Eco-Sud called for the results of the autopsy to be released publicly, saying the group wanted to attend the autopsy “to better understand why the dolphins died”, but waited still on a response from authorities.
Concerns the news agency AFP reports at least nine whales with melon heads were also washed along the coast of the country.
The animals, some of which were still alive when they were found and later died, were stranded on the southeastern shores of Grand Sable, and some of them appeared to have injuries.
Local government official Preetam Daumoo told AFP he had seen 13 dead whales and one still alive. Authorities loaded some of the bodies in the back of a van to be taken for autopsies.
Daumoo, like other residents, said he was afraid the beaching of animals was a result of the ship running aground and spilling more than 1,000 tonnes of fuel into the unclean waters.
However, experts said it was too early to say what caused the deaths of the animals.
Owen Griffiths, of the Mauritius Marine Conservation Society, told AFP, “it’s probably a very unfortunate accident,” referring to a similar stranding in 2005.
“They probably followed a school of fish into the lagoon, got confused, could not find their way back to sea and tried to go directly to sea over the coral reef instead of finding the pass. In their panic and stress they collided with corals, was depleted and died, “he said.
“At this stage we have no idea of cause of death. An autopsy with analysis of stomach contents and lung examination – to look for oil traces – should be done.”
Mauritius has called on the United Nations for urgent assistance, including assistance from experts in oil mines and environmental protection.
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Oil spills off the coast of Mauritius threaten the ecosystem |
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
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