Fishermen
and stakeholders on Friday called on relevant regulatory agencies to identify
the cause of massive death of fishes littering the Niger Delta coastline and
find a lasting solution.
The
group comprising community people across the Niger Delta region,
environmentalists and members of the FishNet Alliance demanded that the culprit
be sanctioned if the incident is caused by unnatural sources
The National
Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) is leading a multi-agency
investigation with other regulatory agencies with mandates in the nation’s
territorial waters.
Mr Idris
Musa, Director-General of NOSDRA said that Nigerian Maritime Administration and
Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the National Environmental Standards and Regulatory
Enforcement Agency (NESREA) are participating.
The group made the call in a field report titled: Massive Death of Fish Across the Atlantic Coastline of the Niger Delta by the FishNet Alliance, Nigeria made available to newsmen in Yenagoa..
According to the report, the news of dead fish washing ashore first broke on 20th February, 2020 when residents of Ogbulagha in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State reported massive death of fish, floating and littering their shores.
“This
incident has replicated itself in other fishing communities along the Atlantic
coastline in the Niger Delta states of Ondo, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom.
“The
species of fish mostly affected is the Croaker Fish popularly called
Broke-Marriage or Onah in local dialect.
“The
immediate cause of the incident is yet to be known, but there are speculations
that it is related to the activities of multinational oil and gas production
companies operating in the region.
“Among
other pointers to the oil companies as source of the incident, some
environmentalists have attributed the dead fish littering the Niger Delta coastline
to discharge of toxic chemicals from oil company operations.
“The
toxic discharge was alleged to have occured at Forcados oil export terminal.
“We
want governments at the affected areas to wake-up to their responsibilities in
the protection of the environment and the service to the people, while calling
on NOSDRA to ensure that the result of the tests are not unduly delayed.” The
report stated.
According to the report some residents are picking up the dead fish for consumption and process and sale to unsuspecting members of the public.
The
report stated that if not properly and timely investigated, this trend could
continue and even spread to other communities in view of the interconnectedness
of rivers in the Niger Delta and other water ways in Nigeria.
The
report stated that the communities need help as they are faced with hardship
caused by the lockdown, to curb the spread of coronavirus and threats from
pollution of their waters, which is their major source of livelihood.
The report quoted Nnimmo Bassey, Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation, as expressing concerns, stating that when the coastlines become littered with dead fish, it is a clear indication that there is a serious public health threat..
“The
dead fish are smoking guns pointing at a serious crime. The coronavirus
pandemic should not deter the relevant institutions from getting to the root of
the matter.
“This
matter should not be swept under the carpet because we are focusing attention
on the pandemic.” Bassey stated.
The group urged other stakeholders, especially environment and health NGOs to put pressure on the authorities to see this as a major disaster and ensure that the cause of the pollution is quickly detected and the public is duly alerted.
They called for adequate sensitization to raise the awareness of people especially in environments experiencing this phenomenon to ensure that the dead fish are not consumed or sold in view of possible health implications
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