Corexit is not responsible for the fish kill in the Gulf of Paria.
So said chairman of the Environmental Management Authority (EMA), Nadra Nathai-Gyan, in an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday.
She said tests by the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) showed no compounds of corexit were found.
Referring to statements made by the EMA’s general manager of technical services, Hayden Romano, on CNC3’s the Morning Brew earlier in the day, Nathai-Gyan said:
“I can confirm that. I am looking at the report done by CARIRI which are based on nine samples we provided for them and on analysis of solid and liquid samples.”
She said the report was dated July 25 but said she was unable to share the document in its entirety as their contract with CARIRI did not permit that.
However, she said the findings of the report were quite clear.
“The material identification of the samples makes a clear statement that no compounds matching corexit were found,” she added.
She said of the nine samples, eight were taken from four different beaches from Otaheite to La Brea and one was the controlled sample of corexit as a comparison.
She said 24 fish were also taken for testing at the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory of the Ministry of Food Production, Land and Marine Affairs at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex.
Quoting the report, Nathai-Gyan said: “All body systems examined appeared grossly normal. They were looking at the anatomy and all the organs inside, including the liver and the lungs. There were no gross lesions. While there would have been some tissue damage, there were no lesions as were being described by activists.
“We will be running histopathology and toxicology tests on the fish as well to determine whether there was anything toxic in the water.”
And although Romano maintains that the dead fish being washed ashore as a result of overcatching, Nathai-Gyan said: “Out of an abundance of caution, we are still taking this very seriously.
“We intend to put to rest all of the speculations and pronouncements being made. We are not resting here. We have continued taking additional samples.”
She also promised to share results of all tests with the public, stating: “As chairman of EMA, I intend to share the results with the public.”
Meanwhile, Romano said the only explanation the authority had for the fish deaths was overcatching.