NAN-H-55
Hyacinth
By Chidinma Agu
Lagos, Nov. 16, 2016 (NAN) A fishery expert, Dr (Mrs) Parcy Mobatola, on Wednesday urged the Lagos Government to clear the Lagos lagoon of water hyacinth.
Mobatola, who is a Director with the Nigerian Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
She said that apart from making the water surface very untidy, it constituted a lot of menace to coastal communities.
“Water hyacinth affects the fishing economy and impacts transportation negatively.
“Water hyacinth, at times, damages the outboard engines of fishing boats and clogs the engine’s capacity to propel in water.
“The rate at which water hyacinth multiplies and spreads is alarming and needs to be checked,’’ she said.
The fishery expert said that the local means of using planks to fence off the water hyacinth to create a free channel was not enough to control its menace.
She said the government should have a water hyacinth harvester, to ensure that the water channels were always free of water hyacinth.
According to the fishery expert, the presence of water hyacinth on the lagoon and rivers led to a high rate of fish mortality.
“Water hyacinth needs oxygen like the fishes, and when they are many, they will be competing for oxygen.
“Water hyacinth is a fresh water plant and multiplies rapidly,’’ Mobatola added.
She said that clearing the waterways of water hyacinth would restore the aesthetic view of the lagoon and small water bodies surrounding Lagos.
The fishery expert said that people had been drowned and injured because they mistook a water body covered by water hyacinth as normal ground.
She urged the government to act fast as the water hyacinth menace needed urgent attention. (NAN)
ACA/COF/PIO
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(Edited by Oluyinka Fadare/Idonije Obakhedo)
Expert wants Lagos government to clear lagoon of water hyacinth
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