At least two incidents of heavily-oiled birds being rescued along the Southern Cape
Cape Town - The SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa) has issued a warning to ships to report any incidents, after at least two heavily oiled birds were rescued along the Southern Cape.
The rescue came as the eThekwini Municipality in Kwa-Zulu Natal appealed to the public to stop picking up and collecting dead marine life off the Umdloti and uMhlanga coastline which were contaminated with harmful toxic chemicals.
Along the Southern Cape, the Southern African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds’ (Sanccob), said an African penguin and Cape gannet were rescued last week.
“We are please asking the public to be on the lookout for any oiled seabirds on South Africa’s Southern Cape coastline.
“A heavily oiled African penguin was recovered on the South Coast, as well as an oiled Cape gannet on Bird Island last week.
“However, no oil has been found at sea yet.
“If you spot any oiled birds or affected ocean areas, please notify SANCCOB as soon as possible.’’
The Samsa said they were aware of the sightings of a few oiled birds, but could’nt confirm any oil spills at the moment.
“We have issued a navigational warning to ships to report any sighting of oil,” Samsa spokesperson Tebogo Ramatjie said.
Meanwhile in KZN, there are no confirmed causes of the chemical spill, but it is believed that it emanated from a chemical warehouse which was burnt down last week’s looting and civil unrest in the province.
“Authorities are urging the public to refrain from picking up and collecting dead marine life off the Umdloti and uMhlanga coastline as they have been contaminated with toxic chemicals and could be harmful to humans,” the eThekwini Municipality said.
To report oiled birds or affected ocean, contact Sanccob’s Cape Town centre on 021 557 6155 during business hours and on 078 638 3731 after hours.
Sanccob’s Gqeberha centre can be contacted on 041 583 1830 during business hours and on 064 019 8936 after hours.
Cape Times