© Ian AllenA man shows one of the sea creatures that died along the shoreline of the Hellshire Fishing Beach in St Catherine last Tuesday from what is said to be a pollutant in the water.
When The Gleaner team arrived at the location, anxious fisherfolk pointed to sections of the beach where the juvenile fish were dead or dying, and crabs and lobsters crawling out of the sea to die on the shore. Concerned about the threat to their livelihood but confused as to what was causing the fish kill, some of the fishers sought help in getting answers.
"Something in the water killing off everything, and the water stink! We need NEPA to come here and investigate," declared one fisherman. However, that did not happen as the island was already experiencing heavy rains associated with Tropical Storm Grace and the agency did not think it prudent to send out its staff.
Instead, it contacted a sister agency which was closer to the beach and whose staff is equally competent in the marine sciences. However, this option did not pan out as by then, weather conditions had deteriorated and the island was under a hurricane watch.
