Fishermen worried about mystery oil slick

San Fernando fishermen have expressed concern after a rainbow-coloured, oil-like sheen was spotted on the surface of the waters off King’s Wharf on Monday. Salim Gool, president of the San Fernando Fishing Co-operative Society, said fishermen noticed the sheen yesterday when they went out for their morning catch. “There was a slight thing on the water. It was like if you throw ‘pitch oil’ on the water. It was light,” he said.

However, Gool hastened to add, “It is a matter of concern. It is a fuel leak but we cannot predict where it is coming from.” Gool said the sheen did not appear to be oil but gas on the water’s surface, which could be attributed to a number of sources.
He said it could be a result of a leaking fisherman’s boat as well as a deposit pushed into the sea from a nearby river.

Given the appearance of the sheen, Gool said, fishermen are not going to cast nets in that area even though it is “not as bad.” The sheen was visible to passengers travelling on Paria Bullet Water Taxi yesterday at 8 am. It was seen near an off-shore platform a short distance from the Water Taxi terminal. Pools of the murky-looking substance were seen along the water-taxi route.

Gool said the sheen was clearly caused by a “fuel leak” but, “we cannot predict where it is coming from so we are not sure who is to blame for that. It could come from anywhere.” The association’s president also registered his concern after San Fernando mayor Navi Muradali indicated that work on the San Fernando Waterfront project is set to begin in the coming weeks.

He said his association has been excluded from discussions on the waterfront project and that no one from King’s Wharf had been included on the waterfront project. Gool said: “I do not know who is on his committee. Who are the people on the committee?”