Kuwait suffers from damage to marine environment due to weak oversight and lax penalties since the law enforcement authority is allegedly not doing enough to control what is happening to the seas.
This is in addition to insufficient attention paid to the coastal areas which unfortunately have become a dumping ground for waste and unfortunately the sewage water continues to find its way to the sea and waste gets accumulated unchecked on the islands, reports a local Arabic daily.
The Kuwaiti islands from the southern coasts to the Al-Khairan region to Al-Bida’a beach, environmental violations abound, because beach goers during the summer season leave behind all kinds of waste and leftovers on the beaches, especially plastic containers, empty bags and food in an uncivilized manner and the color of water on a number of the beaches in Doha, Sulaibikhat and the Free Zone has changed and to add insult to injury the emission of sewage odors, means sewage water continues to seep into the rainwater sewers unchecked due to the lack of supervision.
Environmental activists summarized that the country’s marine lung is suffocating due to the accumulated pollutants, warning that the Kuwaiti islands will be damaged in the absence of regulatory agencies.
The head of the ‘Kayak for Kuwait’ team, Bashar Al-Hunaidi, spoke of a noticeable improvement in the state of the area of marine environment in some places, which continues to regress in other locations, noting that the almost daily tours undertaken by the team show many forms of environmental encroachments on the Kuwait Bay and various coastal areas.
Al-Hunaidi said it is becoming increasingly noticeable that the volume of pollution from plastic materials and waste of boats and jet skis has increased, as some young people take sea trips without observing environmental controls, which increases the volume of pollutants that burden Kuwait Bay.
He indicated that the sewage continues in a number of sites, most notably the coastal areas of the free zone and the Bida’a area, where bad odor is prominent along with the waste left behind by visitors to the coastal areas which then is carried into the sea by wind.
He added, the team recently passed near the coast of Doha and noticed an increase in the percentage of pollutants associated with sewage water, but with the continuation of the cold natural heat in Kuwait Bay, there were no environmental problems or fish deaths, as the temperature in the water is still low. Thus, the life of marine organisms continues.
Al-Hunaidi warned of the absence of oversight at a number of sites where maritime patrols must be present, whether from the Ministry of Interior or other monitoring bodies to control violators, monitor forms of infringement and work to stop them.
He pointed out that awareness did not achieve the desired benefit for many who polluted beaches and coastal areas and encroachment on islands, and therefore environmental law must be applied, which includes severe penalties.
In addition, the diving team confirmed in a report that the fishermen continue to encroach on the marine environment by laying large-sized nets on a widespread basis. The team added that, in cooperation with the National Bank of Kuwait, it was able yesterday to lift fishing nets stuck in the coral reefs north of Qaroh Island, at a depth of 12 meters, and other nets in the reefs of Umm Deira, which is located to the northeast of Qaroh Island, at a depth of 8 meters.
Forms of encroachments and pollution on the Kuwait sea include:
• Sewage from rainwater sewers
• Abandoned fishing nets
• Plastic, left behind by beachgoers
• Waste, and its source is cruise boats
• Oils, sourced from restaurants and auto repair shops
• Oils, sourced from boats and ships
• The phenomenon of red tide
• High rates of phytoplankton
Number of marine environmental violations during 2021 included:
730 illegal fishing offenses in Kuwait Bay
23 encroachments on the beaches of the country
192 violations committed by ships dumping their waste
4 violations of groundwater drainage
35 attacks on marine organisms in intertidal areas
30 violations of the marine environment from chalets
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