PONTIAN: Some 250 volunteers got down and dirtied their hands at the shores of Tanjung Piai near here in a effort to clean up a 15cm-thick oil slick along the stretch.
Villagers, fishermen, school children and civil servants came together to clean up the slick from the coastline.
Pontian district officer Muji Salimon said villagers living here were the first to discover the oil spill, stretching about 300m from the Tanjung Piai Johor Taman Negara to Tanjung Piai Resort on Sept 9.
He added that the district council said the clean-up works would take at least one week to complete.
“We began cleaning operations after receiving the complaints and we foresee that the spots affected by the oil spill will expand to another 100 to 200m along the coastal area.
“While waiting for a report from the Department of Environment (DOE) to determine the cause of the spill, what we can do is to clean up the shores as much as we can to prevent the spill from spreading even further.”
The oil slick may be caused by ship-to-ship transfers or illegal oil dumping off Tanjung Piai.
One of the fishermen Rais Mat Dali, 49, said the oil spill affected about 150 shallow water fishermen who maintain their livelihood by harvesting for seafood in the area.
“We have no choice but to help out with the cleaning activities as the oil spill affected our rice bowl.
“The same thing happened last year but it was a much smaller scale compared with this,” he said.
Another fisherman Jamadin Atan said he suffered about RM1,500 in losses as the sludge damaged his fishing nets as well as two sampans.
“The stench of muck from the oil spill that sticks on the fishing nets repels the fishes and prawns.
“I hope the authorities can send in more personnel to expedite the clean-up activities,” he said.