Windalco slapped with fish habitat protection order
Published:Friday | November 17, 2023 | 12:06 AMChristopher Serju/Senior Gleaner Writer
Bauxite and alumina company Windalco has been issued a fish habitat protection order by the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) with respect to Rio Cobre watershed in St Catherine.
The order took effect on October 1 and will remain in effect until the authority is satisfied that there are no further threats to the fish habitat by the Windalco’s operations.
This order directs the company to take all necessary steps to prevent any future release of deleterious substances into the watershed; notify the authority within 24 hours if there is any release; remedy any pollution situation without undue delay; and restore the fish habitat to a satisfactory condition in the event of an incident and submit reports as required by the NFA.
The order effectively places conditions on Windalco to ensure the safety of the ecological system of the river and its environs for fish and other living organisms contained therein, NFA Chief Executive Officer Dr Gavin Bellamy told The Gleaner.
“Basically, it is an order to protect or have remedial action done quickly if something damaging happens to the river,” he explained.
This follows the restocking exercise of the Rio Cobre watershed by UC Rusal, owners of Windalco, following the issuance of a special permit on May 19, with tilapia seed stock (fry and fingerlings) at multiple locations.
The initial restocking of 8,000 tilapia seed stock – 4,000 at Flat Bridge and another 4,000 at Rio Pedro – was carried out on June 30, with the black perch, red tilapia and rocky mountain varieties introduced.
Following that activity, an environmental assessment and additional surveillance identified additional sites within the watershed where additional seed stock could be introduced. An additional permit was granted, which covered the period October 1 to November 30, to facilitate the successful completion of the restocking activity.
On October 2, 2023, 2,000 fingerlings were released at the Vanity Fair Bridge and 1,000 were released at the location in Cove in the Linstead area.
On October 31, an additional 10,000 fry were released as follows.
The total amount of seed stock released over the duration of both permits was 20,000.
Windalco, in satisfying the conditions of the permit, is now required to submit a final environmental assessment report.