04 June 2004 14:12
Russians blame US oil major for mass losses of fish in Sakhalin
Mass destruction of stickleback and smelt fish has been registered in Chayvo Bay of Sakhalin, ITAR-TASS news agency
said on 4 June.
Some 15,000 fish died as it was moving to spawn in a stream which had been obstructed with a road built by
ExxonMobil. The company is developing an oil field in the bay.
The damage is estimated at R331,000 (11,400 dollars), Environmental Watch of Sakhalin, a regional public
organization, has said.
An investigation into the incident revealed that a pipe installed to let the stream under the road, had been placed
too high causing a waterfall, which was an insurmountable obstacle for the fish.
Following demands by the local fish protection office, ExxonMobil rebuilt the road going across the stream. Yevgeniy
Kustov, Sakhalin's prosecutor in charge of environmental issues, has taken the investigation is under his personal
control, the agency said.
[ITAR-TASS news agency] |
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