Two dolphins and a sea turtle were found dead on the shores of the Indian Ocean in Kipini area of Tana Delta in Tana River county.
The deaths have been blamed on trawlers fishing in the area. Residents urged the government to ban trawling to stop the ongoing destruction of marine life.
Kenya Wildlife Service officers and Kipini Beach Management Unit members, who were on patrol, came across the two decomposing dolphins and later found the turtle, which had head wounds.
They only carried the sea turtle as the dolphins were in a bad state. Awadh Mbarak Hassan, a member of the BMU and an environmentalist, said they found the dolphins at Shekiko but could not carry them because they had completely decomposed. They had been covered by sand.
The officers also patrolled Ras ya Mwana where trawlers had been spotted fishing in Sadani fishing grounds on Wednesday night. That's where they found the turtle.
Hassan said there are many turtles floating in the water but they only managed to get one that had been pushed to the shores.
“I am among those who came up with the prawns management plan and we did research on trawling activities in which we established that trawlers did not observe the law," he said.
Citing the law, Hassan said the trawlers should be fishing from at least five nautical miles away from the shores, but, surprisingly, they have been operating in shallow waters, thus threatening coral reefs and marine life.
The turtles and some other fish species like Saw sharks, Dugong, Lobster and many others are endangered by trawling activities.
Hasan thanked KWS for its support in the fight against the trawlers and appealed to the government to ban the trawling, warning that destruction could be worse in the near future on Ungwana Bay.
He said they have no faith in the prawns management committee and vowed to work with KWS.
Twaha Muhdhar Mohamed, the secretary of Kipini BMU, said they got a report from fishermen on April 9 about two dolphins that had been found dead in Shekiko area. He said trawlers still operate at night despite concerns raised about the dangers of their activities.
"We urge the government to ban trawlers from fishing in the Indian ocean as they should do so in the deep sea only, not in the shallow waters," he said.
Mohamed said they were ready to work with NGOs involved in conservation and other donors ready to conserve the marine life to prevent massive destruction.
Earlier in the week, a ship, MV Roberto belonging to an Italian, was found fishing illegally in the shallow waters. Very small types of fish, including the endangered guitarfish, were found inside.
The ship was seized and its commander arrested. He had yet to be charged as his file was taken to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for further directions.
