Between Wednesday and Saturday last week, 40 dolphins have been found washed ashore near the site where a Japanese ship had run aground last month. After the bulk had struck a coral reef, more than 1000 tons of oil had spilt into the water, raising fear of an environmental catastrophe. After the cargo ship broke apart, parts of the vessel were sunk on Tuesday last week against the warnings and protests of locals and environmental organisations.
Only a day later, 17 dead and ailing dolphins had been found on the shores close to the site. The number had climbed to 40 by Saturday of the same week. While the marine fisheries minister claims that the case “looks to be unconnected to the spill”, thousands have protested against the “diluted information they’ve been fed [by the government] regarding the management and response to the oil spill”.
The calls for investigation were answered by the government by promising autopsies on 25 of the dead stranded dolphins from Wednesday and Thursday. An autopsy on the first two did not show any traces of oil in the bodies according to preliminary results. The results for the rest are expected soon. Local groups are calling for civil society representative to be present during the autopsies, as well as a second opinion from an independent specialist.
The full articles on the situation can be found here https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/aug/29/thousands-protest-mauritius-dolphin-deaths-oil-spill and here https://www.sapeople.com/2020/08/26/dead-and-sick-dolphins-wash-up-after-mauritius-oil-spill-greenpeace-calls-for-investigation/
Comments