News
Oil Link to Ghana’s Dead Whales Denied
Ghana has dismissed accusations that oil operations could have caused the deaths of several whales washed up on beaches over the past week.
A local environmental group said that the whales had only started to appear since oil production began in 2009.
The Friends of the Nation group called for a full enquiry into the deaths.
Oil firms refused to comment but the Environment Protection Agency said there were no links between the oil industry and the beached whales.
It noted that such incidents occur around the world, not just in Ghana.
The EPA also said it was groundless to say that most dead whales and other marine species were found near oil rigs.
It said it was not clear what had caused the deaths which were a matter “of much concern” to the agency.
A Friends of the Nation statement entitled “Save Our Whales” is being carried prominently on Ghanaian websites.
“Though the death of whales is not an uncommon phenomenon, the frequency within the last four years is worrying,” it says.
It says that five dead whales appeared in the past week, taking the total since 2009 to 16.
The BBC’s Akwasi Sarpong says that on the beach in Kokrobite, a coastal village just outside Accra, crowds of curious people holding their noses had gathered to catch a glimpse of the dead mammals.
Nearby, chief fisherman Nii Asaase Ayittey supervised as boys from the village dug a deep hole to bury a rotten carcass.
“It is a blessing for us because it will bring our fishermen more fish to catch,” he told the BBC .
In the next village of Dampase Langma, fisherman Sammy Tetteh Otchie said he had never seen anything like it before.
Source: BBC News
Over the next 12 months, specialist scuba holiday company Dive Worldwide will be supporting Bite-Back Shark & Marine Conservation with donations collected from client bookings to any one of its stunning dive destinations around the world. The independently-owned operator expects to raise £3000 for the UK charity.
Manager at Dive Worldwide, Phil North, said: “We’re especially excited to work with Bite-Back and support its intelligent, creative and results-driven campaigns to end the UK trade in shark products and prompt a change in attitudes to the ocean’s most maligned inhabitant.”
Bite-Back is running campaigns to hold the media to account on the way it reports shark news along with a brand new nationwide education programme. Last year the charity was credited for spearheading a UK ban on the import and export of shark fins.
Campaign director at Bite-Back, Graham Buckingham, said: “We’re enormously grateful to Dive Worldwide for choosing to support Bite-Back. The company’s commitment to conservation helps set it apart from other tour operators and we’re certain its clients admire and respect that policy. For us, the affiliation is huge and helps us look to the future with confidence we can deliver against key conservation programmes.”
To launch the fundraising initiative, Phil North presented Graham Buckingham with a cheque for £1,000.
Visit Dive Worldwide to discover its diverse range of international scuba adventures and visit Bite-Back to learn more about the charity’s campaigns.
MORE INFORMATION
Call Graham Buckingham on 07810 454 266 or email graham@bite-back.com
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