The phenomenon that left thousands of dead fish washed up on the shores of Oman earlier this week is natural and fish resources in the country are not affected, reported Oman News Agency, according to a statement issued Friday by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
The statement attributed the death of fish to the drop in temperature and cold currents drifting from the Arab Sea into the Gulf of Oman and the Arab Gulf, which caused severe oxygen depletion in the water and the sudden death of fish, said the agency.
The statement said experts from the ministry and Sultan Qaboos University confirmed the phenomenon was natural and that it occurred in various parts of the world.
Field teams probing the incident, in co-ordination with other concerned government authorities collected samples at Azaiba, Barka and Shinas areas and concluded no pollutants exist, according to the agency.
Laboratory tests confirmed the findings and that no disease was involved.
99 percent of Oman's GDP comes from oil exports, but fish remains a major product in the sultanate - Albawaba.com
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