Rivers: Why dead fish dey float for di Atlantic Ocean Coastline?

Rivers State goment don give warning make pipo no chop di dead fish wey dey float for water along di Atlantic coastline for Bonny and Andoni local goment areas.

Commissioner for Agriculture, Fred Kpakol and Commissioner for Environment, Dr Igbiks Tamuno wey confam am say dem don take samples of di fish dem for test to take investigate wetin dey cause di fish dem to die, come add say e no dey healthy for pipo to chop those kain dead fish especially as dem no know wetin kill dem.

Na only one type of Croaker fish, 'broke marriage' na im dey affected.

Na three weeks ago naim pipo wey dey live for fishing settlements for Finima, Bonny local goment begin notice di dead fish wey dey float for di river banks and waves dey bring dem come di shoreline.

Kiridabo of Lighthouse fishing settlement for Finima community, Sodienye Alex-Brown tell BBC Pidgin say na only one type of croaker fish, di Golden fish wey local pipo dey call 'broke marriage' or 'Ona' naim dey affected so dem dey wonder why oda fish dem no dey affected too.

Alex-Brown say for sometime, fishermen no dey catch any fish when dem go out for fishing, dem go return with nothing. So many pipo begin dey pack di dead fish wey dem see dey float for di water and for di shoreline so im put law to discourage dem.

"I put law say anybody wey dey pick di fish go pay fine of one hundred thousand naira (N100,000.00) to discourage dem and I organise some local boys to monitor di river banks to catch any pesin wey go out to go pick di fish dem.

But na only dis Lighthouse I fit control. And sake of dis Covid-19 palava, hungry dey so pipo dey go pick but na danger to dia health." Na so im tok.

Nobody know wetin dey kill di fish. One tori pesin for Bonny, Godswill Jumbo tell BBC Pidgin say dem notice say dis deas fish dem dey float within 5 nautical miles from di Atlantic coastline and e dey affect all di communities wey dey di coastline from Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers to Akwa Ibom State for southern Nigeria.

Dis na as di fishermen wey follow dem for di investigation for di waterways call dia pipo wey dey fish for oda areas for di Niger Delta and dem sef confam say na so dem dey see di fish for dia areas.

"For Rivers State here, we visit some settlememts wey dey affected like Amariari, Lighthouse, River 7, Agbaja, Uku-Mbi, Mbisu2, Mbiama 2 and Ifoko communities for Bonny and Oyorokoto for Andoni.

Before us di fishermen wey follow us call dia pipo wey dey fish for Ondo, Delta, Bayelsa up to Akwa Ibom State and dem confam say na so e be for dat side too.

"Jumbo wey follow among di Environment team of di Bonny Youth Congress to investigate di matter say, even though di number of fish dem wey dey float for di river don dey reduce, dem also don collect samples of di fish for testing to know wetin dey kill dem because nobody know wetin dey kill di fish.

"From wetin di fishermen tell us, when dem pick di dead fish, e get something like boil for di body and when dem press am something like pus go comot and e no dey rotten like normal fish dey rotten from di head, dis ones dey rotten from di tail and e dey turn to green colour wen e begin rotten.

And wen dem dry am, e no dey dry well as e dey like potopoto."Jumbo add say no oda type of fish dey di water as di stench of di dead fish fit don drive di odas comot.

Dis na as fishermen wey dey catch big fish like shark dem say na when dem pass di 5 nautical miles mark for di Atlantic naim dem fit catch oda type of fish.

Im say di situation don reach to declare emergency as e dey affect di livelihood of di local pipo wey mostly dey do fishing business as no be all of dem wey fit go fish for yonder.