The common whale was ejected this evening (Thursday) to the beach in the south of the Nitzanim Reserve. The Nature and Parks Authority announced that at this stage, the cause of death was unknown, but as of this morning, fresh lumps of tar that had drifted off the beach had been discovered on Nitzanim Beach. Meanwhile, it is estimated that there is still tar in the sea and it continues to land on the beaches. The inspector of the Nature and Parks Authority, David Halfon, arrived at the beach and recognized that it was a common whale (cub) 10 meters in size.
Dr. Aviad Sheinin of the Morris Kahn Marine Research Station and the Delphis Association announced that “in the afternoon, a common whale has arrived at the Nitzanim beaches. It is the second largest animal to ever live on Earth. Adults can reach 24 meters. It is not clear why he died, he is less than a year old. Tomorrow morning we will arrive at the scene to check the cause of death. “
Shaul Goldstein, Director General of the Nature and Parks Authority, added: “The tar pollution incident turns out to be a very large and very serious event with very large environmental damage that will take us a long time to deal with. We call on the Ministry of Environmental Protection to investigate the incident and find the culprits and punish them with the material in the law. “
A whale ejected ashore (Photo: David Halfon, Nature and Parks Authority)- 2021 Elections: All the polls, articles and interpretations of leading reporters on the Maariv website
The source of the pollution is still unknown, and it seems that it is the emission of oils or oil from a vessel that passed off the coast of Israel. In this type of incident, when the source of the pollution remains unknown, the owners of the emergency plans – especially the coastal local authorities – are the ones who clean the beaches. However, unlike a situation where there is a known source that can be sued for cleaning expenses, in the current situation there is no source for a claim and indemnification for the cleaning expenses.
The Minister of Environmental Protection, Gila Gamliel, referred to the tar events, saying that “the tar blocks landed on all the shores of the country from an unknown source. We are in contact with officials in the Mediterranean basin to exhaust the tests to find a possible source for this type of “Urgent cleaning. This morning we saw pictures of sea turtles damaged by the tar, we need to act quickly to clean the beaches and prevent more animals from being harmed.”