By Allieu Sahid Tunkara
Piles of abandoned plastic waste on the high seas of Tombo Fishing Community in the Western Area Rural district constitute one of the biggest threats to the marine environment.
In Sierra Leone, almost all oceans, seas, rivers and their wharves and seashores in fishing communities are littered with plastic waste.
At the Tombo wharf, plastic waste is not only seen on the high seas, but also are visible on the wharf making for an unhealthy environment and sickly sight caused by decomposition.
Little children visit the wharf and collect plastic waste and abandoned rubber cans which they sell to recyclers.
But, the act by children cannot guarantee a Tombo wharf safe from plastic waste as they are not there all the time. Also, they cannot venture into the high seas to collect the plastic waste there.
The fishermen remain glued to their fishing nets and boats in readiness for their expeditions.
They are overzealously concerned about the money they make out of the fishing trips, but remain clueless about the deepest secret.
The secret is about the dangers inherent in plastic waste pollution which, in the near future, would make them abandon the seas when fish to be fished are no longer there.
Evidence of fishermen being perpetrators of the plastic waste pollution of the seas is abundant.
The spiral of fishermen pollution of the seas continues with little or no consideration that they will end up as victims of joblessness in the near future.
On fishing trips, fishermen take along with them bundles of sachet water to the oceans which they dump on the high seas after drinking.
Fish of various kinds swallow the plastic waste leading to untold deaths.
John Obi, Harbour Master of Tombo Wharf, is among the fishermen busy preparing their nets for the long journey on the high seas.
He seems highly hopeful of the fortune on the seas, but looks a bit negligent of plastic waste pollution.
However, Obi is not comfortable with the plastic pollution on the high seas and the wharves.
“Plastic waste is not good as they destroy the environment. Also, fish do not go anywhere they see a plastic sachet,”
The Harbour Master also spoke about the plastic waste’s capacity to impede the fish population. He said the fish found it difficult to reproduce as they cannot lay their eggs in an environment of plastics.
“The plastic waste has negative impact on the good fish as it is during April the fish lay their eggs. If they come to lay their eggs at the wharf and see plastic wastes, they go back,” Obi explained.
The fish, according to the Tombo Harbour Master, need a clean environment to lay their eggs so that there can be a growing fish population.
He also told Nightwatch that he could not do anything about it but highly reliant on the children who collect the plastic waste most times.
“We have no other means of removing plastic waste from the seas except that we rely on children who come to collect them there,” he said.
Since Children’s effort makes less difference to the plastic waste pollution, the Tombo Wharf Harbour Master contemplates writing a project of plastic waste management, but the know-how is not there.
“I and my colleagues want to write a project to keep plastic waste from the sea and the wharf, but we need someone to help us do that” he said.
Abdul Koroma, a fisherman of over 40yrs, is the Secretary-General of the Sierra Leone Artisanal Fishermen Union (SLAFU) headquartered in Tombo town in the Western Rural district of Sierra Leone.
Koroma is highly concerned about the “high rate” of plastic waste pollution to the marine environment.
He told Nightwatch that sometime in early 2000; he worked tirelessly to bring to Sierra Leone a Plastic Waste Eradication Project.
“I brought the Plastic Waste Eradication project from Senegal so that the country oceans and seas could be free from plastic waste, but the project died a natural death,” he explained.
However, According to SLAFU Secretary-General, a Plastic Waste Project has been launched in March 2019 in Senegal tailored towards getting oceans, seas and rivers safe from plastic Waste in 15 countries in Africa.
He says Sierra Leone is not a beneficiary country under the project, but hopes the country would be included through advocacy.
For the actualisation of the project, an inter-governmental conference was going to be held at the Senegalese capital Dakar. But, the Corona Virus threat has caused the meeting to be postponed to October, this year should the virus subside.
According to SLAFU Secretary-General, plastic waste is poisonous to all types of fish in the sea with pelagic (floating) fish being the most vulnerable.
“When pelagic fish enters the sachet plastic, it does not come out again. It struggles in that sachet plastic and dies,” Koroma explained.
The secretary-General also confirmed that the movement of the fish from one point to another is hindered.
“The movement of the fish to their breeding places is made difficult by the plastic waste deposited in the sea,” he explained.
Apart from its deadly impact on the fish, plastic waste pollution also poses one of the biggest disasters to the country’s bio-diversity.
The plastic waste, according to Koroma, kills sea birds, sea turtles and other marine organisms if swallowed.
The SLAFU Secretary-General is also equally concerned about the perennial loss of revenue on the government side through the deaths of fish.
“The deaths of fish in the oceans and seas do not only affect the marine environment, but the national revenue. Government loses huge revenue when a large number of fish continue to die,” he said.
Similarly, Society for Climate Change Communication (SFCCC), a local civil society organisation is helping in the cleaning of beaches, wharves and seashores of plastic waste.
In partnership with Sierra Leone School Green Club, SFCCC has demonstrated effort to beat down plastic waste in Sierra Leone.
Over a year ago, SFCCC embarked on plastic waste collection without any financial support from government.
Alfred Fornah is the Founder and Coordinator of SFCCC.
Fornah seems less convenient with plastic waste pollution in the seas and wharves. He is poised to get rid such places of plastic waste, but finds it difficult.
“We are finding it difficult to clean the seas and the wharves and the beaches as there is no support from any organisation,” he said.
Fornah made reference to the 2018 clean-up exercise they carried out during ‘Earth Day’ at Aberdeen, Lumley, Hamilton, Funkia wharves and beaches among others out of their personal contribution.
“If Support is provided by government, we will do more,” he assured. Thus, plastic waste pollution is terrible and the government ought to know that man can forgive but the environment does not forgive.
Plastic Waste Threatens Sierra Leone’s Marine Environment
