March 19 ,2022
Kaieteur News – The Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors (GATOSP) is slated to meet to discuss the compensation avenue that has been highlighted by oil company, ExxonMobil, for fishermen who have been negatively impacted by the company’s oil operations offshore Guyana.
Low fish catch has started to concern local fishermen
This is according to President of the GATOSP, Ruben Charles. Charles in an invited comment told the newspaper that the Association is also making moves to discuss and develop possible guidelines that could assist fishermen in seeking the necessary compensation.
ExxonMobil in a press engagement had stated days ago, that it was committed to compensating fishermen and other persons if they can prove losses suffered as a result of the company’s operations offshore Guyana. The company had said too that affected parties would need to make a complaint to the company for it to be investigated before requisite compensation is made.
Charles told Kaieteur News however, that while the Association is set toward exploring the avenue opened up by Exxon, he sees the assertions as nothing more than an announcement, “to get people excited.” The Association head said that the oil company has called for fishermen to be able to prove losses, “but that is the problem, because you cannot compensate if you don’t know the value of what is lost.”
Charles told the newspaper, that the Association will nonetheless need to meet to discuss the matter and set out possible guidelines. He said too that the Association is open to reports from fishermen since none has been officially made regarding losses pertaining to Exxon’s work. “We are open to reports but we have not received anything officially,” Charles said.
On the other hand, the GATOSP President had said that fish operators were experiencing low catches and wanted to know whether Exxon’s operations was causing it. He said that the Association is without scientific guidance and said that one of the things the organization would do was mount some kind of investigation to ascertain whether drilling was affecting catch numbers. A request was made to the government to assist in this regard.
ExxonMobil Guyana has noted however that it has a Community Grievance Mechanism for stakeholders in place. This mechanism, the company said would provide feedback related to any issues or concerns, guidance, requests and/or complaints associated with their activities.
Exxon said that affected persons would need to submit their queries, following which the company will conduct investigations to verify the claims made. Affected persons would need to submit the complaints via telephone number at (592) 623-1176, in person to an ExxonMobil Guyana employee or representative or via email at guyanacommunity@exxonmobil.com or by sending a letter to its office addresses to Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited, c/o Grievance Coordinator, 86 Duke Street, Kingston in Georgetown.
The US oil major said that the objectives of the grievance mechanism is that it can receive and address complaints in a timely and confidential manner as a demonstration of its commitment to meaningful stakeholder engagement and respect for Guyanese opinions and concerns.
A number of local fishermen had contacted the media complaining about lower catches with many attributing the change in quantity to Exxon’s oil operations offshore. Some fishermen had also told the media that they were being asked to remove from certain fishing areas by persons suspected to be affiliated with the oil operation.
As it relates to the impact on the fishing industry, the Environmental Protection Agency recently ordered Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), Exxon’s subsidiary, to fix its Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for its Yellowtail Development Project in the Stabroek Block.
Environmentalist, Simone Mangal-Joly had pointed out during an online EPA consultation that the company’s EIA had lacked pertinent information regarding the impact of Exxon’s operations on the fisheries sector. It was pointed out that the environmental document failed to highlight the migratory patterns of fish, among others things
She said that the EIA also lacked information on the description, material or financials of the fisheries value chain, quantification of the economic value, direct economic financial value, both in terms of its contribution to the economy and to the subsistence economy. She said, “There is no quantification of the socio-economic value of that industry in terms of livelihood, family dependency or the importance of fish consumption to the people of Guyana.”
