Dead Fish In The Gulf Of Paria

A large number of fish was found floating in the Gulf of Paria, it was estimated to have been in the thousands. However speculation still surrounds what actually caused the fish kill. Information from the Environmental Management Authority and Institute of Marine Affairs claimed that the dead fish was simply a dumped catch by fishermen. The agencies back up their claim, indicating that red marks on the fish was made by fish net. The Secretary of Fisherman and Friends Gary Aboud had a different opinion on the matter. He believed that the deaths were caused by a dispersant Corexit used in the past to clean up a 2013 oil spill (Sharlene  Rampersad 2016).  The Secretary further supported his claim stating that “This area where all of the dead fish are is the exact same area the Corexit was used”. Dispersant is used in oil spills to remove them from the water surface to the subsurface. This is done so that surface oil does not reach the coastline where some ecosystems exist. These ecosystems benefit in a tradeoff with ecosystem in the deeper marine areas where sunken oil with dispersants settles. Despite Mr Aboud’s given reason for the fish kill, in an earlier article it was mentioned that Corexit was as toxic as dish soap (David Kirby 2013). Such a statement can discredit the cause put forward by the Secretary. Looking at the time period in which the dispersant was used and how it relates to the present fish kill was also questionable. The long term effect of dispersant on water dwelling organism is not certain, as was stated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Therefore it is indefinite on what was the actual cause of the fish kill.

I believe this occurrence, apart from the dispute of the cause, shed light on how an oil spill, can result in the introduction of other allegedly harmful substances into the environment, that may negatively impact fish populations.

Photo by: RISHI RAGOONATH

References

 Sharlene, Rampersad. 23 July 2016, " Aboud: Fresh fish Kill in Gulf." The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper,    Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-07-23/aboud-fresh-fish-kill-gulf. Accessed 29th      September 2016.

Kirby, D. (2013, April). A Deadly Paradox: Scientist Discover the Agent the Agent Used in Gulf Spill Cleanup is Destroying Marine Life. takepart.

Retrieved from http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/04/24/corexit-bp-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill-effects-marine-life