[CPEO-MEF] Orote Point fish toxic

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Guam
PACIFIC DAILY NEWS
Orote Point fish toxic
Navy tests show contamination spreading
By Katie Worth, kworth@guampdn.com
December 14, 2003

Fred Cruz's ancestors lived in Sumay village on the Orote Peninsula and
survived off the yield of the sea, passing their fishing traditions down
from one generation to the next.

Cruz himself learned to fish from older cousins, who would take him to
the waters off Orote Point and teach him the wily ways of fish, what to
catch at high tide and what to catch at low tide.

But, with recent tests confirming that fish in that area are
contaminated with potentially dangerous chemicals, Cruz is not sure when
he will be able to fish in his ancestors' fishing grounds again. Tests
confirmed that the contamination continues to spread, affecting a larger
fish population off Orote waters, and people are advised not eat seafood
from the area.

"No, it's not as safe as before," said Cruz, who described himself as a
recreational fisherman. "If I do go fishing it's going to be well
thought out ... because it's kind of scary."

Earlier this week, Navy environmentalists and U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency employees met with Cruz and other members of the
fishing community to update them on the status of the Orote Point
contamination.

Since 2001, tests conducted by the Navy consistently have found the fish
around the tip of the Orote Peninsula to be laden with pesticides, PCBs
and dioxins, all pollutants suspected to cause health problems in
humans. Orote has been home to a Navy base since World War II, when the
military moved residents in what was then known as Sumay village.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.guampdn.com/news/stories/20031214/localnews/32224.html

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