Oil spill in Hodeidah kills large numbers of marine life [Archives:2008/1130/Local News]
Almigdad Dahesh Mojalli
HODEIDAH, Feb, 17 ) The General Authority for Maritime Affairs, Hodeidah branch, warned of large-scale pollution at Al-Erge tourist coasts near the central power station north of Al-Hodeidah city. Yasser Al-Obiri, a branch official, stated to the Yemen Times that the pollution was caused by approximately six tons of exhaust oil leaking from the station into the coast.
The oil spill covered an area 14 kilometres long, four kilometres wide and three millimeters thick over the affected waters, leading to the deaths of large quantities of fish and other marine life. The pollution also affected the trees that the fish use to lay their eggs.
Many fishermen in Al-Jabbanah and Fenar Al-Shami districts stated that they have lost the source of their livelihoods as a result of the environmental pollution. People in the districts were surprised Tuesday to find black spots covering their coasts, considered the only source of their livelihood.
Tens of fishermen sent a message to the governor of Hodeidah appealing for compensation for the damage to their fishnets and boat engines. They also asked in their message for an investigation into concerned authorities involved in discharging oils in the sea, who they said didn't care about the negative consequences on the area's fish resources and citizens.
Sources in the General Authority for the Maritime Affairs have mentioned in journalistic reports that they went directly to the southern coasts of the power station immediately after receiving the news of the pollution. “When we saw the size of the dangerous pollution and the environmental damage that befell the district, we provided all the required equipment to fight this tremendous pollution. We formed three fighting teams and distributed them to three polluted districts, respectively: Al-Jabbanah, Fanar Al-Shami and Al-Rajeah island. The first step was to collect the coastal grass polluted by the oil in order to dry and burn it. The second step was to skim the oil off the water into cases,” said the report. It added, “We faced many difficulties, like the trees under which fish put their eggs, which we had to deal with carefully, as they constitute the environment for fish and other marine life reproduction. Oil stuck to the trees was removed and shifted to the coasts of the front island. We collected around thirty cases of oil from the southern district, Fanar Al-Shami, 50 cases from Al-Jabbanah and Marsa Al-Sayadeen districts, 57 cases from Al-Rajeah island and 40 cases off the island's coast. Each case weighs 30-40 kilograms.”
Sources in the public prosecution in Hodeidah governorate mentioned that the public prosecutor Abdullah Al-Olofi went himself last Wednesday to Hodeidah to investigate the issue, moved to the location of pollution to evaluate the volume of the pollution and discover the perpetrator behind the incident.
The prosecutor stated that he went to all the locations of the pollution, investigated, acquainted and reported about the pollution in each district. He added that he went to the reservoir of the power station to make sure that oil leaked from it, took patterns and send them to Sana'a for analysis.
The ministry of Energy and Electricity was unavailable for comment.
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