Fish restock of Rio Cobre driven by scientific assessment, says fisheries authority

The National Fisheries Authority says the restocking of fish in the Rio Cobre in St Catherine is being properly executed, with the process being driven by science. 

The exercise, which started on Friday, is part of efforts to replenish the stock of fish at the river following last July's fish kill.

READ:Windalco begins restocking Rio Cobre with fish, JET appalled at process

In a statement, the authority said only bauxite company UC Rusal (WINDALCO) has been issued a permit to restock the river with no more than 30,000 Tilapia seedstock (fry and fingerling) at multiple locations within the watershed and that only the company and the competent authorities have been involved in the restocking.

It said a condition of the permit is that an environmental freshwater expert be engaged to undertake environmental assessments prior to, during, and after the restocking activity.

The state entity said this environmental expert was engaged by WINDALCO and carried out extensive research prior to the commencement of the restocking activity.

On June 30, in excess of 8,000 tilapia seedstock were introduced to the Rio Cobre; over 4,000 seedstock were introduced in the vicinity of Flat Bridge and over 4,000 seedstock were introduced at the Rio Pedro tributary in the vicinity of the Bog Walk bridge.

In both instances, the variety of tilapia introduced was 'black perch', 'red tilapia' and 'rocky mountain'.

The fisheries authority said the selection of these initial sites was guided by the recommendation of the freshwater expert based on the ecological assessment carried out.

The authority noted that fish at the fingerling stage will reach maturity within 4-6 months while the younger fry will reach maturity in 8-10 months.

This means that by December, the fishing community will be able to harvest fish from the restocked population, it said.

The state entity said the release of seedstock at other locations will be guided by and based on an ecological assessment of the aquatic environment.

This assessment, it said, includes analysis of the water quality, as well as the composition, abundance, and diversity of the fauna (invertebrates and fish) and flora.

This will provide a fulsome view of the health of the river and the capacity of potential sites to receive introduced fish.

The authority said the restocking process was guided by extensive consultation with the community, its technical staff, the National Environment and Planning Agency, and WINDALCO.

The request for restocking of the river which was initiated by the community was deemed important enough for consideration; however, the authority said it sought to ensure that this was guided by science.

The authority said it will continue to monitor the restocking activity at each site which will be guided by the expert as well as the results from the ecological assessment.

This, it said, is to ensure that the livelihoods of the fishing communities will be positively impacted.

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