On Thursday, the Save Andoni Forest Elephant and Ecosystem Initiative (SAFE-i) reiterated the need for governments at all levels to provide measures for wildlife protection.

Gogo Ujile, SAFE-i director, made the appeal while addressing journalists in Port Harcourt.

The director noted that his organisation was collaborating with local fishermen, hunters, and other stakeholders to preserve wildlife and the beautiful tourism potential in the Andoni area of the state.

Mr Ujile said, “We are here to mark another milestone in our commitment to building a sustainable marine ecosystem in Andoni. On April 18, 2024, surveillance at Andoni waterways revealed a by-catch of a dolphin at a seashore located in Ikuru Town, Andoni area of the state.

“With prompt logistics from the local government chairman, Mr Erastus Awortu, we recovered the mammal. Unfortunately, at the time of arrival at the seashore, the dolphin had died due to a lack of facilities to resuscitate it. However, we were able to recover the entire carcass as specimen and I am glad to have the representative of government to witness a public dolphin morphometric analysis.”

The director of Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Fiibite Bibi, commended SAFE-i for conserving marine endangered species in Andoni and the state.

The director expressed the state government’s resolve to partner with organisations to dissuade fishermen from hunting endangered sea mammals.

Victor Otuka, the curator of the National Museum and Monuments in the state, noted the agency’s commitment to conserving the people’s tangible and intangible heritage.

“The National Museum, Port Harcourt, is already providing technical support to the Unyeada Fishing Festival ‘Ijok-irin’, a cultural festival of the Andoni (Obolo) people,” he said.

(NAN)