Floral, Mauritius – The bodies of whales, turtles and other sea creatures have been washed ashore in Mauritius five weeks after thousands of tonnes of oil spilled off the coast of the Indian Ocean island.
Fishermen told NBC News they found a watermelon-headed whale near the spot where the Japanese-owned MV Wakashiyo crashed into the D-Sni reef on the southeastern coast of the small country on July 25. The ship began spraying oil on 6 August and crashed. Two parts after 11 days. It sank intentionally on Monday.
“I know this charmer is responsible for his death,” said IYN year-old Ann Nick Fine. Added that some whales were pregnant because their babies had their breeding and nurse season.
He added, “He was frolic next to my boat.” Now he’s dead. I’ve seen his mouth covered in oil, I know the shock is responsible for his death. “
Stephen Gua, a member of an alternative activist group Resistance, said he and other members had seen dead creatures floating in the water earlier this week. He added that others were found alive with blood in their mouths.
Pictures shared on social media and published in the local press show deformed carcasses of whales, some with black faces. Other reports say sea turtles, fish and crabs have been found dead across the country’s coast.
“This is catastrophic and this death is just the beginning,” said Vasan Kaupaimathu, an oceanographer and managing director at Delphinium Limited, a private company.
“The situation is getting worse. We’re just looking at the top of the iceberg, ”he said, adding that“ many dead animals ”would have been eaten by sharks or drowned at the bottom of the ocean. “
He said shark bites found on some of the whale’s carcasses were an indication that they had been weakened by pollution. “They will have to endure pain for a long time,” he said.
He added that it was difficult to imagine that anything other than the oil spill would have killed MV Kakashiyo.
Owner Tokyo-Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd. said in a statement earlier this month that the ship was carrying an estimated 20,000,000 metric tons of oil, 8,800 tons of very low sulfur fuel oil and 200 tons of diesel.
While the government said it is capable of pumping out most of the fuel and on small tankers, some ships survive the cracks by hanging the island’s turquoise water and threatening to dump its coral reefs, protected marriages and shoreline – important for the country’s main industry, tourism.
The United Nations report said more than 880 metric tons of oil waste had been collected at 14 sites.
Hundreds of volunteers also joined the civilian-led effort, which UN satellites revealed had a “heavy impact” more than 18 miles off the coast of the small country.
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The captain and first officer were arrested on Aug. 18 and charged with dangerous safe navigation of the ship, which broke in two and was deliberately sunk on Monday by the Mauritius government.
The decision was condemned by Greenpeace, which called for an investigation into how the ship was handled.
“Given how fast the decision was made between the shipwreck and the start of construction, we think it is possible that any and all contaminants have been removed,” the organization said in an open letter on Monday.
Oceanographer Kauppayamuthu said it was “very difficult” to think that anything other than oil spills and spills could cause the death of the animals on the shore.
However, Mauritius Fisheries Minister Sudhir Madhu disagreed with the assessment, saying at a press conference on Wednesday that he had been informed that the deaths were not linked to MV Wakashiyo.
NBC News has contacted the government for an independent and frequent comment.
Autopsies are being carried out on some creatures and many are skeptical of the government’s assessment, including Carina Goundden, a member of Aret Cocaine Nu Lap Plaza, an environmental organization of citizens and non-governmental organizations on the island.
“They are insulting our intelligence,” he said, adding that the government was “in a hurry” to conclude that there was no connection between the death of the ship and the animals.
He said, “I’ve talked to people on the beach. “They’re saying this is definitely unusual.”
He added that the government was not so transparent about its response.
“In Mauritius, there is a feeling that we have not been told everything,” he said. “It’s a cover-up.”
Kaupaimathu agreed that the authorities had downplayed the seriousness of the situation.
“There is a lack of transparency and coordination,” he said. “We need easy and efficient recovery. I recommend scientists to create an independent scientific body.
He further added, “The more time we lose, the more it will affect the environment and we need to be prepared for more horrific events to come.”
