Oil Slicks in Fujairah Waters

Further to the recent postings on this site about oil on the Fujairah beaches and the resulting death of fish is the scientific testing and satelite photos of oil slicks as reported by Aftab Kazmi in the Gulf News article, 5 May 2007 entitled:

'Concentration of oil slick found off Fujairah.'

Geoff Pound

Image: Fujairah Waters with ships in the background.

Dead Fish, Oil and the Fujairah Beaches

A regular reader of this Experiencing the Emirates site has written today in response to my previous articles entitled, Extra Oily Fish in Fujairah, Further Fish Deaths in Fujairah and Further Fishy Stories from Fujairah.

This person who lives in Singapore asks, ‘How are the Fujairah beaches now following the oil spill?”

Last Friday morning there were large areas of oil on the beach (north of the Hilton Hotel). We are still trying to get the oil and sand combo off our shoes.

Earlier this week there were stretches where there were lots of oil globules. These have gradually disappeared over the last few days.

The beaches do look much better but looks can be deceiving and oil takes a long time to break up, especially when it is untreated.

Today there were lots of little fish washed up on the beach, although it is difficult to ascertain whether this was due to an ominous cause or whether these were fish that escaped the net when it was pulled onto the beach.

Low down on the mud flats this morning I found a mobile phone (pictured) which was caked in oil and sand.

I visited the official at the Environment Management Division of the Fujairah Municipality. He was still of the view that the carpets of dead, small fish last week were the result of the mismanagement of fishermen. I told him of the presence of large fish that had died on the beach the day before and in subsequent days, the visible signs of oil in the water, on the beach and on our shoes. I left the phone with him so that he could see the oil.

The official said that his department is hamstrung regarding the investigation of oil spills out in the deep. His jurisdiction extends 10-12 kilometres out from the beach so it is over to the police to deal with tankers further out in the sea. This seems to be a difficulty especially as the Sharjah Municipality is currently probing into oil spills reported by residents and fishermen out from Kalba beach. He also said that his department regularly tests the water to check on levels of oil and other impurities.

Thanks for the enquiry. It is good to know that international readers are concerned about our Fujairah beaches, the fishing industry and the marine life.

Geoff Pound

Image: The mobile phone found today on the Fujairah beach. It is a Nokia phone. If it is yours you can collect it from the Environment Desk at the Fujairah Municipality.

Extra Oily Fish in Fujairah

Yesterday dead fish were laid up on the beach just north of the Hilton Hotel. The normally azure-colored waves were inky black.

Today, much of the evidence has been cleared away by the Municipality beach cleaners, picked over by the birds and sucked back into the sea by the tide. A decidedly dead fishy smell lingers even a kilometer away from the beach. This spill appears to be small but the effects last long after the initial victims are removed from the beach.

Unfortunately, this is not the best time to be swimming in the briny or buying fresh fish, unless, you like your fillets cooked with crude, rather than olive oil.

“Fujairah's port works closely with government agencies throughout the UAE to protect the marine environment,” said Capt Mousa Murad, general manager of the Port of Fujairah, at the first session of the recent (24-28 March) Fujairah-hosted Bunkering Conference.

But how are spillages from the scores of oil tankers in Fujairah waters investigated and who carries the can for the damage to the fishing industry, let alone the marine and bird life?

Earlier this week, in a Gulf News article on the water activities around the Fujairah coastline, staff writer Maey el Shoush, was waxing eloquently about the ‘pristine beauty’ of this area.

Pristine, our environment might be, but so vulnerable.

Geoff Pound

Image: One of the many voiceless victims.