Cabinet has approved the establishment of a high-level inter-disciplinary committee to addresss the negative impact of seismic surveys on the fishing industry, according to Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj.Noting the energy sector has acknowledged there is some level of effect on the presence of fish in the area in which seismic surveys have conducted, he said the committee was to be set up in response to the continued claims of the fishing community, in T&T, and energy companies.
He was speaking at Thursday's post-Cabinet press conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair."Cabinet considered the establishment of this committee to review the impact of seismic surveys on fish population through the review of regional and international experiences relating to best practices in seismic surveys and to make recommendations and suggest possible measures to mitigate against any negative effects such surveys may have had on the country's fishing communities."
Maharaj said T&T was rich in hydro-carbon but owing to the country's complex geological structure, it was located in isolated pockets of rocks."Seismic surveys are routinely conducted as part of the exploratory process in an effort to obtain information on the location and the quantum of raw hydrocarbon in the various strata of rocks," he said.In the marine environment, he added, these surveys involve the use of airgun technology, which generates sound waves from a vessel to strata below the sea bed.
Several studies have been done regionally and internationally and documentation produced on the effect of seismic surveys on different species of fish, Maharaj said.He said recently, the Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs spearheaded a national initiative to formalise all matters of payment of compensation to fishermen.He added: "There has been the development of a policy document titled The National Seismic Operations of T&T.
"A draft version developed in July 2010 was circulated to committee members and other major stakeholders for comment. The policy document was also submitted to the Ministry of Energy for its consideration."Maharaj said notwithstanding these measures, the fishing community continued to complain of the effect of seismic surveys in fishing grounds around the country and the inadequacy of energy companies to compensate for the impact of the surveys.
He said there were complaints that while there was some compensation for loss of income, the long-term damage on the ecosystem and sustainable livelihood were not addressed."It is clear these efforts have not been satisfactory to fishermen," he said.Maharaj said his ministry recognised the need to collect, collate and review data generated from studies on the effects of seismic surveys.
Last month, fishermen from across the country brought their protest to Port-of-Spain to complain about the effects of the surveys on their trade.The Ministry of Energy said that between 2010-2013 fishermen received over $77.3 million in payments as compensation for seismic activity from five oil companies.Maharaj said Cabinet also considered a policy for the use of fish attraction devices (FADS).Cabinet also discussed a number of other matters relating to food production and the agricultural sector, he said.
He noted that according to Central Bank there has been a three per cent reduction in food inflation.
Committee members:
Members of the inter-disciplinary committee represent:
�2Ministries of: Food Production, �2Environment and Water Resources, Energy and Energy Affairs, �2Transport, Planning and Sustainable Development the Attorney General
�2Environmental Management Agency
�2Tobago House of Assembly
�2 University of the West Indies
�2Institute of Marine Affairs
�2Petroleum Company of T&T
�2Two representatives of national fishing communities and organisations
�2The Energy Chamber of Commerce
The committee has to make recommendations on measures than can mitigate the negative effects of seismic surveys on the fishing industry.