Some 2,000 tons of dead fish have washed up on Kuwait's coast in the last three weeks, but experts have failed to identify the cause. Meanwhile, Bahrain has discovered alarmingly high levels of mercury and lead in its Arabian Gulf waters.
"About 2,000 tons of dead fish have already been cleared up," said Mohammad Al Sarawi, head of Kuwait's Environmental Public Authority.
"The phenomenon is still going on, but it is not as bad as before," AFP quoted Sawari as telling the official KUNA news agency on Saturday night.
The director of Kuwait's Institute of Scientific Research, Abdul Hadi Al Otaibi, said that despite various theories of heat or pollution, the real explanation was still sought.
"The exact reason why the fish are dying is not yet known," he admitted at a press conference.
Otaibi said another week to 10 days were needed to find out the cause.
Environmental officials last week blamed a heat wave, which has seen temperatures soar above 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in the shade.
The government has slapped a ban on fishing in Kuwaiti waters and set up a committee of inquiry.
In Bahrain, marine authorities announced that high levels of mercury and lead were found in fish in the Gulf state’s territorial waters, but said that fish being sold in Bahrain's markets were “safe from heavy metal pollutants.”
“All were found to be safe, though two types had higher lead and mercury levels than the others, Abdulrahman Musaiger, environmental and vital studies research program director at the Bahrain Center for Studies and Research (BCSR), told the Gulf Daily News.
"The first stage of tests was concerned with heavy metals, which are lead, mercury and cadmium," said Musaiger.
The second stage was to determine the nutritional value of various types of seafood.
The third stage focused on the effect of cooking the fish, to determine whether there was any significant change in chemical composition.
"The fish were purchased from the central market in Manama, on the same day. We bought about five kilograms of each type," said Musaiger.
"The result showed that there was no trace of cadmium in any of the 10 varieties.
"Two types of fish were found to be higher in lead and mercury than others, but all were below the danger level," he said. "This means that the fish consumed in Bahrain is still safe, but further studies are needed into other potential forms of pollution."
He said results would be released soon from the tests on nutritional value and chemical composition – Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
