Mauritius oil spill threatens unique wildlife.
A Japanese cargo ship, the MV Wakashio, struck a reef off the coast of Mauritius more than a month ago and has now leaked more than 1,000 metric tonnes of oil into the waters and has threatened the unique ecosystem of the island nation.
Mauritius has declared a state of environmental emergency, and the French government has sent technical support to assist with the disaster response. In addition, independently organised local volunteers have been working to clean up and protect beaches with improvised materials. Efforts are also underway to pump the remaining 1,800 metric tonnes of fuel oil inside the vessel before it breaks apart.
The island nation of Mauritius is located east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. It is home to a number of endemic species - plants and animals that live nowhere else. Such species include the pink pigeon, recently saved from extinction, to the blue-tailed day gecko, which pollinates a rare flower that only has 250 plants remaining.
According to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, the Mauritian marine environment is also home to 1,700 species including around 800 types of fish, 17 kinds of marine mammals and two species of turtles. The coral reefs, seagrasses and mangroves make Mauritian waters extraordinarily rich in biodiversity.
Dr Corina Ciocan, a senior lecturer in marine biology at the UK’s University of Brighton commented: -
“There are very few such marine areas with such rich biodiversity left on the planet. An oil spill like this will impact almost everything there. It is not about the light oil slick you see on the surface of the water caused by the spill. There will also be soluble compounds from the oil that will dissolve in the water, a mousse-like layer underneath the surface of the water, and then very heavy residues on the bed - so the entire marine ecosystem will be affected.”
One of the major concerns has been for coral reefs in the lagoon as they are home to the diversity of life found in them. Around 25% of fish in the ocean depend on healthy coral reefs, as well as protecting coastlines from storms and erosions. Unfortunately, toxic hydrocarbons released from spilled oil will breach the coral reefs and they eventually die.
The company that owns the oil tanker said that it will do the “utmost towards resolving the situation quickly”, but did not give further explanation.