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.

Further Fishy Stories from Fujairah

In a recent Gulf News article, ‘Dead Fish Cleared from Fujairah Beaches’ on 5 April 2007, the head of the Fujairah Municipality was swift to dismiss suggestions of an environmental cause, insisting it was due to bad fishing practices. The same report quoted a Fujairah Municipality worker saying he had never seen the long carpets of dead fish in his 30 years of service in Fujairah and earlier Gulf News reports have written about the scarcity of fish, making it even more surprising that fishermen would waste their catch.

I reported on my web site, in an article entitled, Extra Oily Fish in Fujairah (dated 3 April 2007) not only the presence of large numbers of small fish but the sight of many large fish washed up on a different beach, (north of the Hilton Hotel) where oil was clearly visible. This article was followed up the next day with another posting entitled, Further Fish Deaths in Fujairah.

It is important to note that the Khaleej Times today cites many reports by fishermen and residents of the presence of oil in the waters further south, in an article entitled, ‘Probe Ordered Into Kalba Beach Oil Slick’.

A similar, independent probe should be extended to all the Fujairah beaches, for the sake of the fishing and tourism industries, the health of Fujairah fish consumers and the preservation of the marine life.

Geoff Pound

Image: One of the many victims.

Further Fish Deaths in Fujairah

Further to the earlier posting, a large team of workers from the Fujairah Municipality was doing overtime early this evening, clearing up dead fish from the Fujairah beaches.

With rakes and shovels and amid the intensifying stench, they put heaps of fish into bags.

In one private beach the sand appeared as a large, white carpet of small fish.

Along other beaches today many larger fish have also been found dead.


Geoff Pound

Image: The Fujairah Municpality clean up
and More dead fish.