Friends of the Nation (FoN) has taken notice of the beaching of several melon-headed whales in Axim and other incidences of dead fishes washed ashore in Jamestown, Osu and La from Friday April 2, 2021 to Sunday April 4, 2021. We have also taken notice of reports from our community representatives of stressed fish near shore in other coastal communities.
We hereby recognize and applaud the timely intervention by the government through the Food and Drugs Authority, Marine Police and the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development to swiftly institute an inter-agency investigation to ascertain the cause of the beaching of the fishes.
We have also taken notice of the anxiety of the public, who are concerned about what is happening in our maritime space. We, therefore, wish to call on all to remain calm, avoid unnecessary speculation and wait for the outcome of the inter-agency investigations.
To support the process, Friends of the Nation (FoN) has also approached the International Whales Committee and other experts with such beaching experiences around the world for the underlying causative factors and will provide the inter-agency investigative team with such information for their consideration.
Whilst at that, we recommend that the government swiftly establish a dedicated communication hotline through which the coastal communities and the public can provide feedback and reports on any emerging issue on this matter for timely response.
Again, considering reports that some of the beached melon-headed whales and fishes have already been consumed by some residents, we recommend that the Ghana Health Service set in motion a system that will track any possible health effect from the consumption of the fishes that washed ashore.
We also encourage the public to desist from eating any of the fishes suspected to be part of those that washed ashore to protect public health as advised by the government.
For Humanity,
MEVUTA Donkris
Executive Director- Friends of the Nation
E-mail: info@fonghana.org Contact: 0244817020