Reef fish all-clear

Reef fish around Barbados have finally got their clean bill of health.

Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Anthony Wood said yesterday that fishery officials now had a clear understanding of the fish-kill and a better perspective of the health of the fish stocks around the island.

“The conditions that facilitated the fish-kill are gone. There is no indication of any remaining infection and normal consumption of fish can be safely resumed,” he said.

Wood added that a paper on compensation for affected parties would be going before Cabinet. However, he could not say whom it would include: whether fishermen, general vendors, or people who sell at the Oistins Fish Fry, for example.

The Barbados Union of Fisher Folk Organisations has proposed a half-million-dollar settlement.

Four specialist laboratories have now confirmed the finding of the local Veterinary Laboratory that the bacterium which killed the fish was Streptococcus iniae.

Satellite pictures show that the normal flow of water during September from the Orinoco River bypasses the island chain to the west. But between September 14–21 this year, the flow hit the islands of the southern Caribbean head-on.

That fresh water, which lowered significantly salinity levels, brought with it 30 to 40 times greater a concentration of algae. These algae sucked up so much of the oxygen at night at reef level, that the larger reef fish were robbed of the life-saver. At the same time the temperature of the water was two to three degrees Celsius higher than normal.

All combined, the conditions were stressful for the reef fish which even as adults live and die on the same reef. By nature they will not swim away to more favourable conditions.

Wood said continual analysis of fish from the affected areas showed no further sign of the bacterium. Streptococcus iniae does not survive for long in salt water.

During the four-week scare, 75 000 pounds of reef fish washed ashore, with an unknown quantity never reaching land. But all this comprised less than one per cent of total fish catches in Barbados, Deputy Chief Fisheries Officer Stephen Willoughby said.

Monitoring systems are in place to ensure the health of the fishery, Wood says. And should there be another kill, an early warning system will allow for speedier response and investigation.

Minister of Health Senator Phillip Goddard said he was satisfied the resumption of fish sales would pose no problem to the health of Barbadians.