DEAD FISHES: Researchers List Croaker As Most Affected Species Along Niger Delta Coastlines

A group of researchers under the auspices of Finima Youth Congress (FYC) has declared that croaker fish was the only affected specie affected in the recent mysterious death of aquatic lives in the Niger Delta shorelines, calling on the public to avoid the consumption at the moment.

The researchers also called on law enforcement agencies to mandate and enforce the ban on the specie, especially harvesting.

Croaker, popularly known as ‘Broke Marriage’ ‘Onah’ in Ibani dialect is the only observed fish affected by the incident while others species are alive .

The team of researchers also accused local fishermen who first witnessed the dead fishes without raising the alarm to relevant authorities to carry out the needed investigation, even as they observed that the odour of the dead fish scared away other living fishes thus depriving fish hunters of their daily catches.

According to the team’s findings recently, confirmed that several communities along the Atlantic shoreline across the area referred to as the Gulf of Guinea was affected . These include Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom States in Nigeria.

The researchers also affirmed that several fishing boats were sighted harvesting the fish at the sea during the peak period of the disaster pointing out that inspite of the injunctions by various community heads , that people should not fish, locals were sighted harvesting in large quantities.

The team led by Godswill Jumbo, explained that several people confirmed that the fish were been sold in the markets , a situation that would cause health complications if not stop on time.

The FYC team said the dead fish were seen lying and littered along the shoreline from Lighthouse all the way to Ifoko on the fringe of the boundary between Bonny and Andoni LGA.

“The fish were also sighted dead and floating on the sea and being washed ashore by waves.

“A declaration that the Croaker Fish as at now should be avoided, should not be bought or sold, and not harvested wherever it is sighted whether dead or alive.

“Law enforcement and security agencies should be mandated to enforce the ban on the fish, especially the harvesting of it onshore and offshore.

Law enforcement and security agencies to enforce the ban on the sale of the fish.

Engagement of experts to explore the possibility of breeding that species of fish so that it doesn’t go extinct.

“Public health office should be mandated to study and recommend the best approaches to checkmate any outbreak of infection arising from consuming the fish.

“The results from the laboratory tests of the fish samples should be made public and where there exists dire consequences, the public should be properly sensitized about it.

“The relevant public health, environmental and related stakeholders should be converged to engage in a multi-stakeholder approach to address the issue and find a proper and sustainable solution to it.

Similarly, their observations further confirmed that “The fishermen observed out at sea that some of the fish kept popping up on the surface of the water and some were alive when sighted only to be struggling to stay alive and then they die.

“Within 2 nautical miles from Lighthouse the fish were all dead but beyond that and as far as the Fairway Buoy many of the fishes were sighted alive only to die later.

“On the body of the fish, swellings were sighted looking like a lesion or boil. When pricked something pus would be excreting from it.

“The fish begins to rotten from the tail as against the head.

“The fish begins to turn green when it begins to get rotten.

“When spread out on the fire to dry, unlike normal fish, these do not thoroughly dry up, instead they would disintegrate or scatter.

“Out at the sea, we observed that the tide was carrying them from the high sea towards the sea shores, suggesting probably that the cause of their untimely deaths maybe up ahead out there in the deep sea.