Members of the Upper Corentyne Environmental Committee (UCEC) are fearful that the expansion of the fishing industry, which involves building an ice factory and more fishing boats, will result in environmental degradation in the area.

Rishee Thakur, lecturer of the University of Guyana, Tain Campus and a resident of Number 67 Village said the ice factory is being built on private land close to the seashore. He said the committee is also concerned about more boats being built since “the tiny river which connects both Number 65 and 66 creeks” close to Number 66 Fish Complex “has far exceeded its carrying capacity.”

Thakur claimed that the owner of the factory and other residents had removed a quantity of mangrove trees from seashore and that he had attempted to stop them as “the trees prevent the water from entering the residential area