T&T Unified Fisherfolk (TUFF) vice-president, Kishore Boodram, says he is satisfied with the results of an investigation into last month’s fish kill, saying it has been more than 20 years that vessels have been dumping their excess catch in the Gulf of Paria.
In an interview yesterday, Boodram said he hoped the joint statement by the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) and the Institute of Marine Affairs (IMA) brings some relief to fishermen and vendors who have been affected by poor sales.
Since carcasses began washing ashore along Mosquito Creek, South Oropouche, on July 19, there was scepticism among customers on whether fish from the Gulf was contaminated but with the EMA and IMA concluding that the fish were dumped, Boodram wants the public to know the fish are safe to eat. He said: “The problem we have here in the Gulf is that when there is a fish kill, there is a big side effect throughout the country.
“You now have to look at Moruga, Erin, Port-of-Spain and those who do deepwater fishing as well.
“If there is a thin strip in La Brea where there is a problem, I don’t think they should say there is a problem with the entire Gulf,” Boodram said.
During a tour of the Gulf last week, environmentalist Edward Moodie questioned whether an oily substance floating near Petrotrin’s Well ABM 37 was the cause of the kill. The company said that well was being decommissioned.
In an interview on CNC3’s Morning Brew programme last week, president of Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, Gary Aboud, claimed the Corexit dispersant used in the clean-up of Petrotrin’s 2013 oil spill in the gulf was still affecting marine life.
In a release on Tuesday, the EMA said tests of water, sediment and fish samples taken in the Gulf, between La Brea to Otaheite, revealed no compounds matching Corexit were found. Further pathology tests on fish samples showed all body systems examined appeared normal with no gross lesions on the carcasses.
The release also said results from the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory for internal parasites were negative and the tests results further validated the preliminary investigation findings as one of by-catch, spoilt or unwanted catch by fishing vessels being dumped in the Gulf. Boodram said it was normal for vessels, like trawlers, to dump small species of fish or if there was an excess catch of a particular species.
Trawling is a method of fishing in which a net is dragged along the bottom of the sea or mid-water at a specific depth.
Given that hysteria created over the years when the discarded fish washed ashore, Boodram advised against crews dumping their unwanted catch in the Gulf.
He added: “This caused a problem for the fisherfolk in recent days with regards to selling their fish. Right in Claxton Bay, people dump fish too. San Fernando is the headquarters of the fishing sector and if you go to King’s Wharf, you will always see fish being thrown away.”
He said even though he was satisfied with the test results on the fish, he would not deny there was pollution in the Gulf.
Among the ways Boodram said the wastage could be stopped was for the setting up of fish processing plants so the excess catch could be made into fish products for local and foreign sales.
He added that the Government could set up fish farms where the small catch could be used to feed bigger fish or even go towards making feed for hogs or animals at the zoo.