Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Dead fish

In mid-January three tonnes of dead fish were found washed ashore near Bosaso. Bosaso, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden, is one of the main ports in Somailia.

The Minister of Fisheries in Puntland has said that the dead fish are a result of toxic waste dumping in the Gulf and around the Horn of Africa.

Despite repeated calls from Somalia, environmental agencies and many people around the world for countries to halt this practice, toxic waste dumping around the Horn of Africa is ignored and allowed to continue. The UN gives mandates to countries to patrol the waters to stop piracy, but nothing is done to stop the dumping.

More can be read about the dumping of toxic waste in Somalia's waters on the following pages: 'A Rainforest of Fish' and 'Piracy or a Resource Swap?'.