Several dead stingrays found on Brazil beach, environmentalists dig into its root cause

This week, dozens of dead stingrays washed up on a beach in Rio de Janeiro, raising questions and alarm in the community.

The first sightings were reported by local fishermen early on Tuesday. A resident of the fishing community claimed that just after dawn, she noticedthe incident, which brought vultures to the area.

“This made us all sad. We’ve never seen the death of stingrays like this here,”fisherman Renato dos Reis Oliveira told Reuters.

The absence of other dead species on the beach, according to Mar Urbano Institute biologist Ricardo Gomes, suggests the incidence was probably not brought on by contaminants or a deficiency in oxygen in the sea.

ALSO WATCH |Dozens of dead stingrays found on Brazil beach

“This makes the hypothesis of trawling more evident in the cases of these stingrays,” he told Reuters.

Trawling is a form of fishing when one or more boats pull a net through the water.

“This is not (the stingray’s natural) place, so this is strange even for the people who are here and who live off fishing,” environmentalist Isabeli Delois told Reuters.

“Something very bad happened,” she added.

A month ago, severalvideos did the rounds on social media showinghundreds of dead fish washed onto a beach in Barefoot Beach Preserve in Florida.

The video was shot on Tuesday by Tom

(With inputs from agencies)

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