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Dead fish on shore a 'common occurrence'

DUBAI - Some dead fish washed ashore at the Al Jaddaf area in Dubai last week is reported to be a 'common occurrence' in the emirates around this time of the year.

Experts have denied contamination of seawater and chemical residues in the Creek as the cause for the dead fish, and, instead, attribute it to rising summer temperatures in the region.

Both the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries and Dubai Municipality officials have ruled out the possibility of environment pollution or contamination of the Creek water in Dubai by chemical pollutants.

"In fact, the soaring temperature results in dying of fish which sometimes move into shallow waters."

"Although fish move into deep waters during the summer, some varieties move into shallow water where the water temperatures are pretty high and unbearable for the marine species to survive," a ministry official explained.

He said that the marine species such as fish cannot survive in temperatures beyond 30 degreeCelsius, while the temperatures reported in the UAE these days are as high as 45 degreeto 49 degree Celsius.

An official from Dubai Municipality agreeing with the views of the ministry official said that the Dubai Municipality maintains regular checks on the pollution levels in the water, particularly in the Dubai Creek and the lagoon.

No chemical pollutant or residue was reported to be found in the Creek that could have led to the death of the fish in Al Jaddaf area, he added.

Reports of dead fish washed on the shores following completion of its natural life cycle - dying after laying eggs - has also been ruled out.

The officials explained that this is common in the Salmon fish variety only, which is not found in the UAE waters.

The Salmon fish, which migrates from the seawater to fresh water to lay eggs and then dies, is washed ashore in countries with very low temperatures.