The number of dead dolphins found on Mauritius beaches near the oil spill site has increased to a total of 38, Mauritius' L'Express Maurice newspaper reported on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th August, 2020) The number of dead dolphins found on Mauritius beaches near the oil spill site has increased to a total of 38, Mauritius' L'Express Maurice newspaper reported on Friday.
During the last check carried out on Friday afternoon, eleven more dolphin corpses were found on the shores of the Mauritius island not far from the oil spill site where Japan's Wakashio cargo ship ran aground in the Indian Ocean on July 26 with a major fuel leak into the water. According to the recent preliminary results, the death toll of dolphins found on Mauritius shores has raised to 38.
The media outlet noted that despite the authorities denial that the Wakashio's oil spill caused the deaths of marine mammals, many believe it to be the reason for an increase in dolphin deaths.
"We must not rush to say that there is no connection with Wakashio. It takes a complete autopsy on several dolphins, two of which are too few, and with toxicological and histopathological analyses to come to a definitive conclusion, which takes a lot more than a day," Noemie Hofman, French veterinarian and specialist in marine mammal pathology, told the newspaper.
Another specialist said that dolphins usually avoid oil-polluted sites.
The Wakashio ship of Japanese O. S. K. Lines company was on its way from China to Brazil when it crashed into a coral reef off the coast of Mauritius in the Indian ocean. After it split in two in mid-August, at least 1,000 tons of oil got into the water, causing the Mauritius authorities to declare an ecological emergency and ask the UN and Japan to help remove the ship.
Meanwhile, ecologists predict that Mauritius is to endure a long-term recovery due to the consequences of the oil spill.
