Fishing communities along the western coast of Trinidad, from Orange Valley, Brickfield, Carli Bay, and others are again reeling from the fallout of the most recent oil spill in the Gulf of Paria and apart from losing costly drift nets, wholesale buyers are driving down their prices in one of their busiest harvest seasons.
Suresh Lall, better known as Dori Man, named after his pirogue, wants the Institute of Marine Affairs, the Environmental Management Authority (EMA) or any other relevant body to tell the public that fish caught in the Gulf is safe to eat.
Lall along with scores of other fishermen make their living from the sea and whenever pollutants spill into the Gulf buyers are sceptical.
He said right now there was a bounty of king fish, carite, cro cro, salmon which should be fetching wholesale prices of between $25 to $30 a pound but buyers at the Orange Valley Wholesale Market were offering between $12 to $15 a pound.
Lall said apart from pirates, who have killed nine fishermen in the Gulf within recent times, the majority of fisherfolk have to spend the night at sea and return after the curfew expires at 5 am, a promise to help get them flare guns has not materialised, and the high cost of living are among the problems they face.
On Thursday, he opted to catch crabs in the mangrove because fish was scarce.
Last week, Paria Fuel Trading Company said it discovered the spill about 7.30 pm on Saturday along a 12-inch crude pipeline.
[caption id="attachment_907330" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Fishermen and Friends of the Sea secretary Gary Aboud, left, and a a media team on the Gulf of Paria. -[/caption]
After videos were shared on social media by environmental activist group, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS), the company issued a statement which said: “The spill is contained, and a residual clean-up is ongoing.”
According to the company absorbent booms had been strategically placed to capture the oil, and that vacuum trucks were removing oil collected on land while oil streaks at sea were being “mechanically broken up.”
Fisherman Deonarine Ramroop, also known as Pell, was captaining the vessel with activists from FFOS when he said he narrowly managed to move out of the way as two tugs employed by the company were trying to dissipate the carpet of oil by driving through at high speed.
On Wednesday, Sunday Newsday and other media personnel went out at sea with Lisa Premchand and Gary Aboud of FFOS, and Imtiaz Khan, president of the Carli Bay Fishing Association, to see first-hand the trail of damage left in the ocean, marine life and vessels.
Khan said in 2018 when the oil cap blew off Orange Valley fisherfolk were advised to stay off the water for an entire month. He said the Gulf was home to a significant number of nurseries for the fish stock and if hydrocarbons are not disposed of following the correct protocols the future of the fish industry will be in jeopardy.
He said once the Gulf was contaminated by oil fish tend to relocate and fishermen must travel to
