At this very moment, there are dozens of vessels, some sunken, dumped in our waters. President of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, Gary Aboud, says the most recent dump was done by a local businessman. He's calling for the offender to be made an example of, and for the government to bring decommissioning legislation. Rynessa Cutting reports.
00:00Abandoned vessels litter the shore along Escondido Bay, diesel leaking unchecked into the water.
00:07I don't know if you can see the iridescence on the water, but the place is laden with diesel everywhere, the entire surface.
00:14President of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, Garryabud, says the practice has been ongoing for years,
00:21with the majority of the offenders being international companies.
00:24Below the floating vessel that you're seeing there in the video, there are multiple other vessels that haven't fully decomposed yet.
00:32There's no law and order regarding the abandonment of ships and vessels, international fleets that know it.
00:42And so they come here and dump vessels.
00:44If you go to Claxon Bay, you'll see many.
00:47It was estimated 20 years ago to be 90 that were floating.
00:51So I would estimate to be successfully well over 100.
00:56Belay the amount of diesel between Gasparri and Escondido Bay.
01:01We know the owner and he goes to all the conferences and speaks about the green economy.
01:08Tradition in the third world is that the corporate sector is above the law and that the law only applies to the average man.
01:17And from everything that our new prime minister has said, I want to believe that this will not happen.
01:25So we sit and wait and pray and hope that the culprit is incarcerated.
01:30He's a local person.
01:32All you have to do is lock him up and you'll be sure every corporate entity in our region will sit up and prevent disasters like this from happening again.
01:44The adverse effects from this pollution are many, including harm to marine species, disruption and contamination of food chains, and threats to human health.
01:55Abu is urging the government to update its fisheries management and maritime legislation.
02:01We need decommissioning legislation.
02:03What is lacking in law, an enforcement arm of agencies who will respond to us because as it stands, nobody responds.
02:13Nobody responds.
02:14We're just barking in the night like stray dogs.
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