Public Health
Our Sustainable Development Mystery.
The enigma of sustainable development in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is one of life’s greatest mysteries. In the 119 years of T&T’s hydrocarbon industry, the idea of economic diversifi…
Review of Register of Pesticides Long Overdue.
Our Government has a duty to ensure that the food we put into our bodies is clean, healthy, and most importantly will not kill us! On 18th August 2021, the Biden Administration banned the use of the c…
Has Our PM Abandoned As?
Day 8: Paria Fuel Oil Spill Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) have received video reports that oil has surfaced in La Brea, Fullerton, and Cedros. This would mean that since 7th August 20…
Paria Fuel Are Covering Up Oil Spills.
SkyTruth, an international Non-Governmental Organization, which uses satellite imagery to monitor environmental threats, have indicated on their Facebook Page that there was a notable presence of…
Is The Deep Blue Sea A Large Dustbin For The Energy Sector?
Below is a statement made by FFOS on new studies investigating hydrocarbon contamination in the Gulf of Paria THE DEEP BLUE SEA IS A LARGE DUSTBIN FOR THE ENERGY SECTOR …
Our Gulf Must Be Protected
Today Fishermen and Friends of the Sea – FFOS once again ventured into the Gulf of Paria after receiving reports from fishers that last night the oil spilt destroyed 4 fishers nets. Strea…
Privatization Without Transparency
The Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan has announced the privatization of the Port of Port of Spain. Most citizens recognize that politicians have committed heinous crimes in the past and a…
World Oceans Day 2021
Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) today recognizes World Oceans Day 2021. It is safe to say that after almost 30 years of recognizing this day Trinidad and Tobago has shown no significant change…
World Environment Day 2021
Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) recognize World Environment Day 2021. In spite of nearly 50 years of this United Nations celebration, and in spite of decades of activism, what have we really a…
Dancing on the OPR’s Grave
Five months after a dagger was wrenched into the heart of our fleeting aspirations for transparency and accountability in Governments buying and selling, our Leaders have returned to dance on the Offi…
There is no Planet B
In celebrating the 51st Earth Day, FFOS reflect on environmental management in TT. Earth is our home but for decades our voiceless and vulnerable have been at the mercy of destructive (often…
Our Ongoing Waste Crisis
Dear Editor/Newsroom, On 12th April 2021, before a Joint Select Committee, Mr. Ronald Milford, Solid Waste Management Company Limited (SWMCOL) Chairman stated that 95% (700,000 tons) of our c…
FFOS Appeal to President Weekes
Today Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) have written to Her Excellency, President Paula Mae Weekes (ORTT), appealing to her to not proclaim the Public Procurement and Disposal of Property (Amend…
A Response to Minister Sinanan
Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) thank the Minister of Works and Transport for his response to our social media video “Our country is being sold secretly”, dated 12th March 2021 …
Is 17.5B TTD a Planned Leakage?
Despite persistent warnings by our Auditor General and several independent international agencies, the extractive industry hemorrhage of the public purse continues with Cabinet’s blessings. In tw…
Another Legal Battle for Transparency
On October 16th, 2020, after three months of unanswered appeals, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) visited the Nabarima, a Venezuelan Fuel Storage and Offloading Vessel, which was listing danger…
Preventing Leatherback Slaughter
Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) have today written to the Honourable Terrence Deyalsingh appealing to him to reconsider his decision to refuse Community Based Organizations (CBO’s) permissio…
World Wildlife Day Message.
Today as we celebrate the importance of World Wildlife Day, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) laments the ongoing destruction of the Aripo Savannas. This legally designated Environmentally…
Politicians to blame for WASA
The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) 10Billion debt nightmare is one of many drains on our economy. Every state enterprise suffers from inflated procurement costs, kickbacks, nepotism, low producti…
NGO Files Complaint Against Fort George Housing Developer
https://www.caribois.org/2020/06/ngo-files-complaint-against-fort-george-housing-developer/
The yardstick of enforcement must be re-examined.
The ruthless drowning of dozens of birds in Cedros (see press report https://trinidadexpress.com/newsextra/exotic-birds-sacrificed-as-smugglers-throw-them-overboard/article_2192801c-a5a5-11ea-b8b…
Point Fortin Oil Spill
FFOS are deeply concerned that another oil spill is occurring tonight Sunday 7th June 2020 at the Heritage Refinery Tank Farm in Point Fortin. The Police have cordoned off the area. FFOS fully disa…
A call for robust management of the Sargussum threat.
This is an open letter to the Hon. Minister Clarence Rambharat. We write to urge our Government’s action on a critical regional threat. While this sudden, new phenomenon of Sargassum weed washing…
Another Chaguaramas Oil Spill
This video was recorded at 7 am this morning (6th May 2020). The oil appears to have been released during the night. As you can see in the video, it stretches for miles westward. It appears that …
Earth Day 2020 — FFOS warns of increased risk of oil spills…
Date: April 22nd , 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, AS we face this global pandemic we must be reminded that environmental protection is more important than money or black gold (oil). The sl…
Fishermen and Friends of the Sea- FFOS (Applicant) v Environmental Management Authority- EMA (Respondent)
JUDGEMENT CV2020-1251 Download ACCESS TO EIA-CASE SUMMARYDownload PRESS STATEMENTS
Fishermen and Friends of the Sea- FFOS (Appellant) v Environmental Management Authority – EMA (Respondent) And The Ministry of Works and Transport – MOWT (First Interested Party) and Kall Company Limited – KALLCO (Second Interested Party)
CASE SUMMARY JUDGEMENTS1. High Court2. Court of Appeal3. Privy Council PRESS STATEMENTS
Bhadose Sooknanan (First Applicant) and Fishermen and Friends of the Sea- FFOS (Second Applicant) v Environmental Management Authority- EMA (Respondent) and The Ministry of Energy and Energy Affairs (Interested Party)
CASE SUMMARY JUDGEMENT1. HIGH COURT PRESS STATEMENTS
Fishermen and Friends of the Sea- FFOS (Applicant) v The Minister of Planning, Housing and the Environment
CASE SUMMARY JUDGEMENT 1. PRIVY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENTS
Fishermen and Friends of the Sea- FFOS (Applicant) v Environmental Management Authority- EMA (Respondent) and Atlantic LNG Company of Trinidad and Tobago (ALNG) (Respondent/Interested Party)
CASE SUMMARY JUDGEMENT1. HIGH COURT PRESS STATEMENTS
“Fishermen and Friends of the Sea- FFOS (Appellant) v Environmental Management Authority- EMA and BP Trinidad and Tobago LLC (Respondents)”
CASE SUMMARY JUDGEMENTS1. HIGH COURT2a. COURT OF APPEAL (Justice Nelson) 2b. COURT OF APPEAL (Justice Lucky) …
Let’s support our local farmers and fishers!
Date: March 23rd, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, We commend the Authorities for implementing restrictions for public safety in high traffic areas such as fresh food markets, but why are supermarket busine…
Scarlet Ibis
See below link for comprehensive information on Scarlet Ibis compiled by the University of the West Indies. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Eud…
Olive Ridley Turtle
See below link for comprehensive information on Olive Ridley Turtle compiled by the University of the West Indies. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/og…
Hawksbill Turtle
See below link for comprehensive information on Hawksbill Turtle compiled by the University of the West Indies. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt…
Green Turtle
See below link for comprehensive information on Green Turtle compiled by the University of the West Indies. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Ch…
Loggerhead Turtle
See below link for comprehensive information on Loggerhead Turtle compiled by the University of the West Indies. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Carett…
Leatherback Turtle
See below link for comprehensive information on Leatherback Turtle compiled by the University of the West Indies. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/og…
Ocelot
See below link for comprehensive information on Ocelot compiled by the University of the West Indies. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Leopardu…
Golden Tree Frog
See below link for comprehensive information on Golden Tree Frog compiled by the University of the West Indies. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogat…
White-Tailed Sabrewing Hummingbird
See below link for comprehensive guide published by the University of the West Indies: https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Campylopterus_ensipennis%20-%20Wh…
West Indian Manatee
See below link for comprehensive guide on West Indian Manatee published by the University of the West Indies: https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/T…
Pipile pipile (Trinidad Piping-guan or Pawi)
See below link for comprehensive information on Pawi compiled by the University of the West Indies. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Pipile_pipile%…
Matura National Park
Situated in NE Trinidad, the Matura National Park was designated an Environmentally Sensitive Area in 2004 under the EMA’s Environmentally Sensitive Area Rules. It is home to several Environmentally S…
Nariva Swamp Managed Resource Protected Area
An approximately 11,000 hectare swamp, the Nariva Swamp is a predominantly freshwater area situated at Trinidad’s eastern coast. It was designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area in 2006 and is o…
Aripo Savannas Strict Nature Reserve
In 2007, the Aripo Savanna was designated as an Environmentally Sensitive Area. Situated in East-Central Trinidad, this 1800 area is the largest natural savanna ecosystem within Trinidad and Tobago. I…
COVID-19 Is Here – Action Plan Missing.
Date: March 13th, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Urgent action is needed! Now that the Virus is here FFOS congratulates PM Rowley in taking immediate action to close schools and universities, but is i…
Safeguarding Our Country’s Future
Date: January 24th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, For over 20 years, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) have consistently reported on the impact of seismic surveys on our fishers citing Uni…
FFOS Calls for Coordinated Emergency Response/ Consultation on the Suspension of All Mortgage and Interest Costs and Property Rentals in Event of COVID-19 Disaster.
Date: March 11th, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, At the onset of the coronavirus, FFOS had publicly called for a national consultation for the development of a coordinated national preparedness and em…
Come Together in Defence of Each Other
Date: March 11th, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, At the onset of the coronavirus, FFOS had publicly called for a national consultation to discuss the need for a coordinated national preparedness a…
Giant Step Backward
Date: February 18 th, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Minister Rambharat’s stoppage of the stage in the sea at Maracas Beach is commendable but does it go far enough to address public safety and the …
Are we Prepared for the Coronavirus?
Date: January 21st, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, As the world braces for what appears to be a major health crisis, shouldn’t we be considering the postponement of Carnival 2020? What if one Carniv…
PM Rowley Must Explain This Failure?
Date: January 20th, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, After almost sixty years of Independence have, we learnt anything from the chronicled world-famous corruption of the Eric Williams’s administration…
Call for Commission of Inquiry?
Date: January 14th, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, We commend the Express investigative report dated January 12th, 2020 and titled “Raking it in from Govt rent” which amplifies a scandalous fact- …
Are we strengthening our democracy??
Date: January 8 th, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) have today written to the Right Honorable Prime Minister who is now also the Minister of Planning and Develop…
FFOS 2020 Wish List
Press Statement FFOS 2020 Wish List Date: January 2nd, 2020 Dear Editor/Newsroom, As we enter another new year, the FFOS 2020 Wish List is for our Government to: 1. Heed the warnings of th…
National Pride or National Disgrace?
Date: December 18th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, To read that the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (UDeCOTT) has now spent 89 million TT dollars to renovate an already b…
Migrants Living in Squalor
Date: December 7 th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, What FFOS had feared has come to pass. Many times, FFOS called on Minister Stuart Young to close our borders and regulate the number of refugees ente…
Auditor General Ignored
Date: December 6 th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, On Thursday 28th November 2019 the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service (TTPS) issued a statement that officers of the “Illegal Quarrying Unit” ar…
North Coast Crying in Vain
Date: November 21st, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Shrimp Trawling has been likened (by the World Resources Institute in Washington DC) to dynamite fishing in terms of sustainability. For this reason…
Was Social and Environmental Accountability Omitted?
Date: November 20th , 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, We respect the positions of each entity but wish to share a community-based opinion. Corporate budgets can drown out community voices and this is a…
Minister, where are the so Called “Radars”?
Date: November 15th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, All fishers and seafarers are being warned that there is NO LAW or order on our sea! Last night armed pirates attacked us AGAIN!!! The first call wa…
Energy Sector- Honest or Dishonest?
Date: October 26th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, FFOS have served on the Trinidad and Tobago Extractive Industries Transparency initiative steering committee for almost a decade. This week the Amcha…
Hold your tongue, Minister Young!
Date: October 26 th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, FFOS never intended to offend or confront the Honourable Minister of National Security but in our respectful view, it appears from his recent statem…
All Talk No Action!
Date: October 24 th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Eight (8) weeks later (22nd October 2019), the Minister of National Security, Hon. Stuart Young has finally acknowledged receipt of our stakehol…
PM Must Speak the Truth on DESALCOTT
Date: October 22 nd, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, It has been revealed that the Government is currently negotiating another loan, this time to pay for the yearly 500MTTD purchase of potable water fr…
Can our Prime Minister Break his Silence?
Date: October 19th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Plastic waste should not be the taxpayers burden whose money continues to be wasted while economic opportunities are lost. Underprivileged communitie…
Was FFOS wrong at all?
Date: October 19th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, It appears that aluminium projects being pursued by the Rowley Government are in jeopardy. These projects are at various stages of nego…
Venezuelan Pirates Chased Several Fishermen Today Today we were lucky, but will we be lucky tomorrow? Mr. Prime Minister, where are you?
Date: October 14th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, We are pleased to announce that the Honourable Minister of National Security Stuart Young has responded to our messages but has warned us that we are…
While POS Floods, Invaders Bay Bulldozed
Date: October 11th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Did the EMA approve a CEC for bulldozing which is now occurring? Why has the Minister of Planning not charged the culprits? This bulldozed area is mo…
Freedom of Information Denied
Date: October 9 th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Fishermen and Friends of the Sea (FFOS) once again continues its pilgrimage for social justice. Earlier this year FFOS filed for judicial review agai…
Three more fishermen are missing (and possibly dead)
Date: October 8th , 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Three of our Icacos fishermen went to sea early this morning and are now kidnapped. An hour ago, a ransom of 10,000USD was called in. Their vessel ha…
Murder and Piracy in Lawless Seas
Date: September 27th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Consultation is a pillar of Democratic Nations. On 13th August 2019, in his address at the ceremony for the ‘Inter-Agency Memorandum of Understand…
Are we crying in vain? (see Downloadable PDF for correspondence sent)
Date: September 27th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Enclosed please find a copy of correspondence today resent to our Prime Minister Rowley and our Minister of National Security, Stuart Young. This i…
Waiting for Regular Gas
Date: September 27th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, FFOS congratulates the Oilfield Workers Trade Union (OWTU) and their subsidiary Patriotic Energies and Technologies Services Limited in acquiring t…
Is Our Government Fiddling While Our Fishers Are Being Attacked Relentlessly?
Date: September 13th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, Yesterday we had another close call with death! Another one of our fishers, Christopher Granger from La Lune, Moruga was attacked and shot in the c…
Please join us in solidarity
Date: September 6th, 2019 Dear Editor/Newsroom, In times of danger we must stand together, patriotically defending our liberty, our flag and our nation. Families of murdered victims and caring cit…
Supplemental EIA for Invaders Bay
c/o #34 Frederick Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad, West Indies Tel (868) 674-7911. Fax: (868) 355-7671. Cell: (868) 355-7671 Email: ffosg[email protected] Press Statement Supplemental …
Other Major Infrastructural Projects
FFOS Annual Wish List
Other Mangrove Degradation
Seismic Surveys
Other Oil Spills
Government Expenditure
Conservation of Wildlife Act
Rubbish Container Bill
Draft Waste Rules
Fisheries Act
Freedom of Information Act
Non-profit Organization Act
Air Pollution
Water Pollution Rules
Certificate of Environmental Clearance Rules
Environmental Management Act
National Environmental Policy
Malathion Fogging
Environmentally Sensitive Species
Environmentally Sensitive Species Rules: https://www.ema.co.tt/images/Files/pdf/environmentally_sensitive_species_rules2001.pdf
Environmentally Sensitive Areas
Environmentally Sensitive Areas Rules: https://www.ema.co.tt/images/Files/pdf/environmentally_sensitive_areas_rules2001.pdf