A dead whale was washed ashore at Atuabo in the Ellembelle District of the Western Region last Sunday.
Measuring about 10 metres, the sea mammal was found in-between the pre-fabrication area of the Ghana Gas Company and the Atuabo cemetery.
The Assembly member for Atuabo, John Quashie, who confirmed the story, indicated that as at 3:00 pm on Monday, the mammal was still lying at the shore decomposing.
He told DAILY GUIDE that at about 7:00 am last Sunday, he had information that a whale had been washed ashore in the area and so he went to the scene to catch a glimpse of it.
“In fact when I went to the scene, I saw the mammal and even took photographs of it, but I can’t confirm whether or not it is a whale”, he pointed out.
The Atuabo assembly man indicated that the mammal had been decomposing and the stench emanating from it was too bad.
He noted that even though he had reported the case to the district assembly, nothing was done about the situation as at last Monday.
“If by tomorrow morning nothing is done about it, I will ask some of the boys in the area to find somewhere to bury the mammal,” he stressed.
An eyewitness was worried about what was gradually becoming a periodic feature of the Nzema area and called for an urgent investigation into the recurrent death of whales there.
He asserted that there had been over 21 reported cases of dead whales being washed ashore in the Nzema areas of the region since the drilling for crude oil started in 2010.
Another eyewitness alleged that the mammal was decomposing because he suspected the whale was hit by a heavy object or it might have collided with a vessel.
He asserted that parts of the sea mammal appeared to have been damaged, which suggested that it might have had an impact with a heavy object that was huge enough to kill it.
According to him, the issue of dead whales being washed ashore in their area was becoming rampant, and called for a proactive measure to check it.
He also suggested that a team from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should move to the area and initiate investigations to find out the cause of death of the whales.
Source: Daily Guide