We were really troubled by this latest tip: hundreds of dead cormorants were found dead on a beach, about an hour from Dubai, according to a local photographer. A byproduct of fishermen’s nets? See the exclusive photos.
The killing field was caught on digital film by Dubai resident Anup A.k (Candle Moon), who sent us these disturbing photos taken a few weeks ago. He took the pictures of the dead Socotra Cormorant in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah near a construction area by Al sham beach, in the United Arab Emirates near the Omani border.
Shocked by what he saw, Anup wrote to us at Green Prophet: “They are a threatened species and I hope we can do something to stop this or bring it to [people’s] attention.”
At first the cause of death wasn’t clear, he told us. Then he went back to the site and asked around: “I paid a visit to the site again and got a chance to talk to one of the fishermen living there and apparently they are trapped in fishing nets and disposed of at the beach by fishermen,” he tells Green Prophet.
The Socotra Cormorant (Phalacrocorax nigrogularis) is a known threatened species of cormorant found in the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Peninsula. It is also called the Socotran Cormorant or the Socotra Shag and some may migrate as far as the Red Sea.
This is just one story among the countless sad tales we are hearing about birds in the Middle East and Near East region: Songbirds are being pickled and eaten in Cyprus (for a song); storks are considered as good as spies in Egypt; they are then caught and consumed. In Egypt migratory birds like the Golden Oriole are hunted down for the potency of “natural Viagra” they induce in those who eat them.
Please help Green Prophet report these environmental atrocities to international media. Send us your images, stories and tips so we can help make Middle East rulers, governments, cities and individuals accountable for their actions. Send to [email protected]
Amazing bro!! great and true article!!
Could this be from blast fishing?