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alexk
Guest
South Oropouche fishermen and fish vendors protested over the loss of earnings on Thursday as they called on the authorities to come clean on whether fish and shrimp from the Gulf of Paria were contaminated by hydrocarbons.
This comes three weeks after an abandoned oil well ruptured in the Gulf of Paria leaking oil and gas into the sea off Orange Valley, Carapichaima.
Protesting at the Otaheite Fishing Bay in South Oropouche, the fishermen and vendors complained that the decline in sales is making it difficult for them to provide for themselves and their families.
Raffick Khan, vice president of the Dow Village South Oropouche Fishing Association, said oil and gas from the Orange Valley spill have infiltrated their fishing grounds.
“It circulating in the Gulf and coming to Otaheite here. We already had a stigma here from the last oil spill and we never got over that from since then to now. Now we have this oil spill here.”
Although fishermen are eating their catch, Khan said the public is scared to buy from them.
“When the fishermen go out to work and come back here nobody here to buy the fish and shrimp. The public not coming here to buy nothing at all.”
He complained that they are getting a run-around from the authorities.
“What Energy (Ministry) is saying is that allyuh have somebody to assist allyuh which is Fisheries and when we go to Fisheries, Fisheries saying that Energy responsible for that, so is like they spinning we right around and we don’t know where he heading. We calling on the media, on the Government, the Prime Minister, the Minister of Energy for them to intervene in this and let the fishermen know where they stand right now.”
He wants the relevant authorities to do the necessary tests to determine if the seafood is safe to consume.
Khan called for compensation for loss of earnings.
“School opening just now, children have to get books, wife have to get something, everybody have to get something. What we getting, oil and gas we getting.”
Khan said they are prepared to take their protest to Port-of-Spain if they don’t get any redress.
Otaheite Vendors Association president Clement Charles said consumers panic whenever there is an oil spill in the sea.
“We want the Minister of Health, Minister of Energy, together with Minister of Agriculture, to come clean and let the public know that the fish is safe to eat. So business can go on as usual.”
Charles also complained that last September the Otaheite Fish Market was repaired but it remained locked because of a management issue. Vendors complained that it was not fair as they have to sell on wooden stalls outside the market.