RALPH BANWARIE
Fishermen and Friends of the Sea secretary Gary Aboud may have been lured to the Manzanilla beach yesterday in an apparent fish kill hoax.
In a message to the media on Saturday evening, Aboud said they were reliably informed by their members that dead fish had washed ashore and were rotting at Manzanilla. The message also warned the public to avoid Manzanilla and not expose themselves to the possible health risk until it is known what had caused the fish kill.
“We are attempting to contact the EMA through their emergency hotline, and trust they will investigate the matter with urgency and if necessary determine any responsible parties and see that they are brought to justice,” the media statement said.
But when Aboud turned up yesterday, there was no sign of any fish kill.
The T&T Guardian met Aboud and a female companion looking for the dead fish themselves and expressing surprise that there was no sign of any. Asked who gave him the message that prompted the media release and subsequent visit yesterday, Aboud said a reliable friend of the FFOS from Manzanilla and said he was confident that it was no hoax.
However, fishermen, lifeguards, villagers and watchmen said they had seen no sign of any fish kill along the beach.
Lifeguard and part time fisherman Alvin Persad looked at T&T Guardian in shock when asked if he knew of any fish kill sighting recently. Noting the recent fish kill controversy affecting fisherfolk in the Gulf Paria, he urged those spreading to rumour get their facts correct.
“I have patrolled the beach and not one dead fish was seen on the shore. Look, the tide is low and one can see that there are no dead fishes. If there were dead fishes, corbeaux will be seen. Are you seeing any corbeaux?” He pointed out that the report may have been the reason why the nearby resort was sparsely populated yesterday.
At the nearby Manzanilla fishing depot, the fishermen said they too had not seen any fish kill.
“Our waters are free from any toxic chemicals and I only hope that no one is trying anything on us to prevent our sale of fish, which has increased over the weeks,” one fisherman said
Manager of the Cocal Estate resort, who only gave his name as Yankee, said after hearing the news he walked the entire beach from the resort to Mitan Bridge and saw no dead fish. He said he also did not hear anyone complain of this either.
At Ortoire, fishermen told T&T Guardian that their fish sales had gone up since reports of fish kill in the Gulf of Paria. They said they were hoping someone was not trying to cause panic.
“The fact is that there are no dead fish, no health risk and all are welcome to the beaches of Manzanilla,” one said, adding they also caught lots of crabs in their traps on Saturday night.
“We live by fishing and we will ensure that our daily livelihood is not hampered by illegal activities. We want to fish and sell our fish, so we can have bread on our table for our family.”