Locals complained that the tar balls had been noticed since early Wednesday and they fear that the situation would only worsen in the days to come.
Local fishermen also criticized the authorities including the tourism department for failing to respond to complaints and added that Varca had not seen such problems in the past.
They further pointed out that two dead Olive Riley turtles had been found washed up on the shore over the last week. They fear that this is an ominous sign and have demanded that the government intervenes in the matter immediately. The toxic content of tar balls can prove lethal to marine fauna, especially bivalves and shrimps, which form a major source of food for bottom-feeding fish. As big fish eats small fish, the loss of key components in the food chain due to repetitive pollution may aggravate the decline in fish catch.
Tourism stakeholders complained that the tourism department had not carried out beach cleaning during the last few days. “This is a very bad sight for tourists. You can see tourists walking past these tar balls and looking for a place to sit. Many foreigners have expressed their disgust. It is fortunate that the tourism season has come to an end as this would have been a disaster otherwise” said Seby Fernandes, a taxi driver from Varca.
Environment department officials when contacted said they would respond to the complaint and inform their higher ups and reasoned that this menace could be attributed to the annual pre -monsoon churning of currents on the high seas that throw up oily tar balls.
A National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) study has blamed the dumping of oil by ships for the formation of tar balls and that this has been an occurrence since the 1970s. Some tar balls may be as large as 30cm in diameter, but most are coin-sized or a bit bigger. Driven by winds, waves and currents, they float and spread out on the shore.
Fisheries officials suspected that the tar balls were washed ashore during the pre and post monsoon period along the Konkan belt, including Goa, Karwar in Karnataka and south Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.
Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC) managing director, Nikhil Desai,
said that tar balls had been threatening the ecosystem and beauty of the beaches. Last year the tourism department had proposed the formation of an agency equipped to pick and transport tar balls, stack them and prepare and fill composite pits to ensure that no trace of the pollutant remained.
