UC RUSAL faced criticism on Friday as it made its first step towards restocking the Rio Cobre in St Catherine by releasing more than 4,000 tilapia fish, giving stakeholders and some residents hope that their livelihood of fishing will soon be returned to them.

However, some people said the exercise appeared to be just a show for the cameras.

Last year there was a massive fish kill in the Rio Cobre following a spill from an effluent-holding pond belonging to UC Rusal Alumina Jamaica. The spill not only caused fish to die suddenly but was also blamed for being the source of some people’s illnesses.

Following investigations into the matter UC Rusal was issued orders by the Government, including one to ensure that they replenish the fish stock in the area.

While some residents welcomed the move to replenish the river, they still harboured grouses. Some of them complained that the money they received as compensation for loss of earnings was woefully inadequate. They also said there is no guarantee there won’t be another spill that may lead to another massive fish kill.

Kestonard Gordon, vice-chairman of the St Catherine Parish Development Committee and president of the Friends of Rio Cobre, acknowledged the restocking exercise as a good idea but felt the company went about it in the wrong way.

“This is an exercise that we have been calling for about 10 to 11 months now, since the last devastation. They came this morning to restock the river but there was no prearranged discussion and there was no consultation with the community to determine the points of entry for the restocking, the types of fish, the number of fish, and whether or not the river is in an acceptable position after the contamination. They had promised to do an ecological assessment of the river but we don’t know if that was done and we don’t know what the result of that was,” Gordon told the Jamaica Observer on Flat Bridge in the Bog Walk Gorge on Friday.

Gordon expressed concern that even with Friday’s restocking, there is no guarantee another spill won’t occur.

“Our interest is to stop the contamination completely because the exercise this morning is going to be in futility. I am not fully appreciative for what they are doing and how they are doing it. The community knows that contamination persists and so the community is therefore very uncomfortable,” Gordon said.

He called for signs to be erected to advise the public not to fish for commercial purposes or otherwise at this time, in order to allow the fish to mature.

“These are things we would have wanted to sit down and discuss with these guys before they came to their decision. They have chosen to show total contempt and disregard for the community in every aspect of the process.”

Wayne Williams, a resident, was concerned about how the fish will find food, seeing that they are in a totally new environment and are used to being fed.

“These fish are not used to this environment so I believe that they should provide a portion of the feeding that they have been giving the fish. When they get used to the new environment now, they will have to search and find food,” Williams said.

According to Richard Nelson, senior manager of the environmental subdivision of the National Environment and Planning Agency (NEPA), the release of the fish followed an assessment of the river to ascertain how conducive it was for repopulation. He didn’t say specifically what the results of the assessment were.

“What you are seeing here is one of the requirements of the NEPA enforcement notice which was served on UC Rusal last year when they had the spill, after going through a series of prerequisites such as a fisheries assessment of the river, identifying the fish, and submitting a proposal to both NEPA and the National Fisheries Authority for approval.”

However, Dr Theresa Rodriguez-Moodie, chief executive officer of the Jamaica Environment Trust (JET), took issue with the restocking. In a press release on Friday, Rodriguez-Moodie said it is not certain whether the ecological assessment was done to inform the restocking process. She said it was not clear whether other organisms were added to the river.

“No engagement has been held with the fishers about the activity. They have not been guided about how long after this exercise fishing can resume. This is simply unacceptable. It seems this activity was just to deal the fishers a fait accompli.”