Residents of Abuqir, east of Alexandria, found a dead dolphin on Saturday washed up on the shores of the Abuqir beach.
Head of the National Institute For Oceanography and Fisheries, Ahmed Hegazy, said that once the department was informed it notified the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and the National Institute For Oceanography and Fisheries to take investigate the death and prevent residents from seizing the dolphin carcass or cutting it apart.
Hegazy told Al-Masry Al-Youm that the dead dolphin weighs about 20 kilograms and is placed under the guard of the Alexandria local authorities so far until specialists decide how the dolphin would be buried and whether it would be preserved.
Head of the National Institute For Oceanography and Fisheries in Alexandria, Ahmed Abdel Halim told Al-Masry Al-Youm that he directed the Emergency and Rapid Intervention Committee of the Institute to examine the dolphin, determine it’s cause of death and age and prepare a scientific report on the incident.
Eyewitnesses said the dolphin was hit by a boat’s ridge, and that residents tried to cut it and sell it on the Mamoura market, adding that they had succeeded in cutting off parts of its tail and fins.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
