JEDDAH: As the city bid farewell to thousands of fish that died on its shores recently, government departments were trying to understand the reasons behind this increasing phenomenon that left the the corniche with a foul smell.

The Jeddah mayoralty, the General Authority for Meteorology and Environmental Protection and Fisheries (PME) and the Ministry of Agriculture have formed a committee to investigate the reason behind the mass death on the corniche after taking samples of the fish for analysis.

Hussein Al-Qahtani, spokesman for PME, said that an initial investigation from testing samples shows that the deaths may be due to a dip in oxygen level in the waters from the ongoing development work on the corniche.

Speaking to Arab News, he said that the narrowness of the waterway has decreased oxygen and at the same time increased the concentration of salt in the water. “This could be causing the fish to die, especially since the dead fish are the small-size salmon.”

Al-Qahtani asserted that the local market is not selling dead fish. He clarified that dead fish were found on Jeddah Corniche not in the sea.

As for dumping sewage in the sea, Al-Qahtani said that the PME is creating a committee to fine those involved and close such pumps. He noted that the main issue Jeddah is suffering from is the lack of a comprehensive network of sewage.

Ali Ishqi, professor of marine biology at King Abdul Aziz University, said that Jeddah has one of the highest rates of sea pollution in the world. Referring to the mass fish death, he said this is a global phenomenon which is the result of the excessive growth of telescopic weed, which emits toxins that kill all sea creatures including whales.

He sewage creates the ideal environment for the weed to grow.

The pollution at Jeddah Corniche is at its worst, he asserted.