East Nusa Tenggara fishermen save 20 dolphins

Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara (ANTARA News) - A group of fishermen on Sabu island in East Nusa Tenggara province saved 20 dolphins which were washed ashore on Wuihebo beach on Monday, official has said.



"Seeing the dolphins stranded on the beach, the fishermen managed to drive them into the deep water," Sabu Raijua district head Luther Dira Tome said here on Wednesday.



He noted that besides the dolphins, around 40 blue whales were also washed ashore on a beach in Sabu earlier and some of them have died.



Meanwhile, West Timor Care Foundation director and the Timor Sea pollution observer Fredi Tanoni strongly assumed that the habitat of the dolphins and the blue whales has been polluted by the Montara oil well explosion in Timor Sea on August 21, 2009.



"I assume that Sawu waters marine conservation and national park has been contaminated with poisonous materials from the exploded Montara oil well," Fredi said.

