Fishing company owner fears chemicals used in Exxon’s operations affecting catches

Apr 07, 2025 News

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—urges EPA to conduct independent studies on water quality

By: Davina Bagot

Kaieteur News- Pritipaul Singh Investments Inc (PSI) has become a household name throughout Guyana for its vast investment in the fishing industry and hundreds of employment opportunities created by the company; but with the advent of oil and gas activities offshore, General Manager, Pritipaul Singh has become increasingly worried for what the future holds.

In an interview with this newspaper last week, the businessman highlighted the significant decline in exports recorded by his company between the period 2019 and 2023- from 20 containers monthly to merely two.

With Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) conducted by ExxonMobil repeatedly highlighting impacts to water quality from planned discharges, including chemicals, Singh is calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to conduct an independent investigation of how these discharges are affecting the ecosystem of marine life.

He explained, “My biggest concern is that we have seen since 2015 to 2020 a decline in our catch and this is because of the seismic exploration which could drive the seafood species away.”

Singh has invested in 107 fishing boats to date, with a processing facility that cost him about US$50M. With outstanding commitments to the bank, the businessman said he has decided to highlight his concerns in the media, with the intent of attracting the assistance of government and related agencies to help keep his organization afloat.

PSI exports over 90% of its catches; the company is therefore a key player in this country’s economy when it comes to propping up Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures for the industry. As the company continues to see declines in profits, it is calling for urgent intervention.

“I could also say that the fingerlings of the seabob, we would see huge volumes of fingerlings and we expect that the fingerlings would grow bigger but it don’t. That’s the general trend in our early years. Let’s say 2010 to 2015, those were the general trend, the small shrimp would get big but there is no more small shrimp when you see a lot of fingerlings, there is no germination, it dies,” the General Manager shared.

He believes the changes observed could be as a result of the chemicals being used in the petroleum sector. “It could be the chemicals they are using. I don’t know and there is nobody in the laboratory that would test or support. They have a Fisheries’ Department but nobody does anything to help and to say that the water samples are okay, this is okay or anything. We are left with it,” Singh told this publication.

The businessman was keen to note that this concern is not unique to PSI as various fishermen could confirm this fear and the changes observed in the quality of catches.

Consequently, he said, “We have our artisanal boats and there is no fish. We need to have people from the EPA who would go out because they are the only competent one who can give us reports but there is nothing from them. We need to know the salinity of the water around different depths, the acidity of the water at certain depths. All these are contributing factors to fish health. Now the shrimp that we have would feed on algae. If the chemicals they are using is dumped into the water, and there are certain acidity or alkalinity is not met then there would be destruction of the ecosystem.”

Independent study

Guyanese have often questioned the logic of government for accepting the assurances of ExxonMobil, as highlighted in EIAs, that impacts to the fishing sector would be negligible.

Back in 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a fish study which caused environmentalists to question its findings.

The body, in response to one activist had admitted to using available data, rather than conducting its own assessment of the situation. Not only that but it also revealed that the “rapid assessment” concluded that the noticeable decline in fish catch was not as a result of the offshore oil operations.

FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Latin America and the Caribbean, Mr. Julio Berdegue, in his response seen by Kaieteur News told Simone Mangal-Joly that “The technical analysis in question was requested by Guyana to contribute to its understanding of these complex catch issues and support decision-making. It is a rapid assessment of reported issues related to fisheries catch between 2020 and 2021 and is based on available data.”

To qualify the conclusion, Berdegue added that “as a specialized agency of the United Nations, FAO adheres to strong scientific principles, and employs the highest professional standards in analyzing and disseminating available data. We are globally respected for practising impartiality, transparency and accountability in our work, and we promote neutral fora for national dialogue and evidence-based decision-making.”

Meanwhile, in another letter to the FAO, Mangal-Joly stated, “You have clarified here that your charge from the Government of Guyana was to conduct an assessment related to fish catch between 2020-2021. This narrow focus and time period, and the fact that you refer to it as a “rapid assessment”, suggests to me that the study could not have been seeking to assess the impact of oil and gas activities on fish stocks and the fisheries sector in Guyana. This clarifies matters.”

Read more here: https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2022/05/25/fao-says-rapid-study-available-data-determined-low-fish-catch-not-as-a-result-of-oil-production/

(Fishing company owner fears chemicals used in Exxon’s operations affecting catches)

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