One has to be very careful when addressing the issue of the recent “fish kill” in the Gulf of Paria. There are so many variables at work, maybe co-incidentally to produce the “perfect storm.”
We should not be making sweeping conclusions without scientific evidence because peoples’ livelihoods are involved. Some questions need to be asked: is the appearance of dead fish specific to one or more localised areas, or are dead fish appearing throughout the Gulf?
If the dead fish are appearing throughout the Gulf, then it’s general water contamination; if it’s the former reason then specific sources of contamination may be expected.
Mr Gary Aboud has always maintained his view that the chemical Corexit and other unnamed chemicals would have residual effects on the environment for a long time.
Contrary to this the EMA and IMA have released statements saying that no evidence of these substances were found in samples of dead fish taken.
What is disturbing though, is the claim that scavenging animals have died after eating the fish carcasses. If this is true, then it means that some kind of poison is involved.
One should take note that the types of fish that have shown up in the “kill” is not of the highly desirable types, and more of the types likely to be dumped as unwanted. But we must not jump to conclusions.
We must try to solve this mystery by the process of elimination—carefully weeding out unlikely possibilities one by one, until we are left with the answer.
The authorities can go further by testing certain organisms in the environment that are indicators such as shellfish in the mangrove areas affected by the oil spill some time ago.
These creatures such as oysters, clams and mussels tend to filter out heavy metals and other toxins from the environment and keep them in their tissues. Testing of these organisms should be helpful in assessing the overall situation.
The present situation is no simple matter as peoples’ livelihoods are involved. There must be calls for some tolerance by all stakeholders. Above all, irresponsible statements should be avoided.
Joel Quintal,
Cross Crossing, San Fernando