Fishermen In Mauritius Shoulder To Save Oil-Stuck Dolphins

The death of dolphins in the Mauritius sea (Twitter / @ MauritiusGuide)

JAKARTA - After 40 dolphins mysteriously died in the last few days, fishermen in Mauritius have worked together to save the remaining marine mammals.

The fishermen said they believed the dolphin's death was closely related to an oil spill in a lagoon after the Japanese ship MV Wakasio hit a coral reef. One fisherman, Yasfeer Heenaye, revealed that he had calculated that the dead dolphins had reached 40.

For this reason, Yasfeer and other fishermen then moved to rescue dozens of other dolphins near the lagoon.

Just in from #Mauritius. Massive and peaceful anti-government #protest over their handling of the #Wakashio #OILSpill and resultant death of over 40 #dolphins and numerous marine animals. The people are requesting the incompetent government to step down. pic.twitter.com/4oAaqWVRvN

- Shakeel J.Burkan (@shakeel_IE) August 29, 2020

Regarding the finding of wounds all over the dolphin's body, Yasfeer believes it happened because the dolphins' vision has been so disturbed by the oil spill. This made many dolphins hit the coral reefs while swimming until they got fatal injuries.

"If the dolphins stay in the lagoon, they will die like the others. We encourage the dolphins to get out of the lagoon, so the dolphins will not be contaminated by oil," he said.

Authority doesn't just agree. They say the dolphin's death could have been due to other factors. Therefore, they asked fishermen to refrain from all assumptions until the results of the autopsy were officially announced to the public.

Dead dolphins on the coast of Mauritius Saddest thing ever .... pic.twitter.com/L45MpTyC27

- Mauritius Island (@MauritiusGuide) August 28, 2020

"The initial autopsy report did not say that oil played a role. But we sent some samples of the dead dolphins to La Reunion to determine why the animals could not swim and their radars were not functioning," said Fisheries Ministry staff Jasvin Sok Appadu.

The day before, thousands of protesters had demonstrated in the capital, Port Louis. They also demanded an investigation into the oil spill and the dolphin's death. In fact, some of them asked the government to resign.