Saxakali Magazine 2:2 Grouper Grounds, Trinidad and Tobago

Saxakali Magazine V2N2
Environmental Issues:

Inter-Species Violence: Grouper Grounds, Tobago

Omi Bade Eskay, a Trinidadian environmentalist and jazz musician, was interviewed by moses seenarine for Saxakali Magazine on May 7th, 1996. Omi Bade is a former faculty member of City College, and is now working as a science supervisor in the New York City public school system.

ms: Tell us a little about your involvement in environmental issues in Trinidad and Tobago.

Omi Bade: When I was in Trinidad, I was doing research under a government ministry. I was collecting extensive oceanographic data on the bio-diversity of the coastal waters and had established connections with people doing similar research in other parts of the world. I was invited to present a paper in Australia. However, at that time, fifteen years ago, Trinidad and Tobago was not ready for environmental issues. I was denied permission to attend the conference by the Trinidadian government. After that, I got completely discouraged about the whole situation. I decided to move away from the whole thing and did not want to get involved again.

ms: Were there people in the ministry who understood your research?

Omi Bade: I gave them an abstract of my paper. You know, I find it strange that such a small country, with finite space and limited resources, do not give much importance to their environment. For these two small islands, the coastal waters maintain the balance of land eco-systems - so protecting the coastal eco-systems is important. There is a lot to be said about the state of the island’s forests as well.

ms: What happened after you left the government job in Trinidad?

Omi Bade: After leaving the job in 1983, I decided to stop doing environmental studies altogether. You see, in 1984 I came to New York to do music. I was 24 years at that time and I had no one here, no relatives or friends. So I went into environmental work to support myself. Now, even though I left Trinidad and Tob ago, I still maintained a close, spiritual connection to the environment there. I have been exploring these feelings through my music.

ms: What kinds of environmental work were you involved with in the US?

Omi Bade: I taught environmental science in New York. I was working for an environmental education consulting firm. Then, I was funded to conduct oceanographic research in Florida, and after that I went to Connecticut where I was designing environmental awareness programs for inner-city children in New Haven. Then I came back to New York and began working in the public schools.

ms: So, your environmental work continued?

Omi Bade: Well, yes... but, you see, before that, I must tell you something else. When I was living in Trinidad and Tobago, I used to go to this diving spot called Grouper Grounds. It is a coral reef and breading ground for a large fish known as groupers. In 1981, the first time I went diving at Grouper Grounds, I remember having a really moving experience. When we got into the water, I remember that there were so many groupers there, including 18 to 24 adult groupers. They were all quite friendly to us - especially this one grouper, who came up and touched me, and actually led me through the reef. This experience taught me a lot about the consciousness of other species on this earth.

ms: Its quite an insight to have.

Omi Bade: Yes. Well you see, I returned to Trinidad in 1992 for the first time after leaving that country, and of course, I wanted to visit Grouper Grounds - the place that was such a big influence upon my consciousness and music. So I went to a nearby dive shop and asked about diving at Grouper Grounds. However, immediately I noticed that something was wrong. The people in the shop grew quiet and no one spoke. I continued to inquire about diving Grouper Grounds and then they began to ask me, "why do you want to dive Grouper Grounds? Nobody dives Grouper Grounds anymore."

ms: They were suspicious of you perhaps?

Omi Bade: Not really. You see, I asked them, "why is it that no one goes to Grouper Grounds anymore?" After some time they said, "its destroyed, and there's nothing there anymore."

ms: What! How did this happen?

Omi Bade: You see, after I left Trinidad in 1984, Grouper Grounds became a popular reef. Before, there was only one dive shop there. Then, another dive shop came and the two started to compete for the tourist dollars. The people in the shop said that after sometime, one owner got upset and deliberately destroyed the reef. He went down and shot all the groupers, one by one. Then they scraped off all the soft and hard corals in the reef. This impacted severely on the reef eco-system and no one went there anymore.

ms: The one owner destroyed the reef so that the other owner would not be able to benefit at "his" expense?!

Omi Bade: Yes. When I went down to Grouper Grounds, it was like diving into a morgue. There were other small fishes there and I did see a few small groupers about 8-10 inches in length. Their presence meant that at least a few adults survived the carnage and that the reef is trying to regenerate itself. However, the groupers, who were all adolescents, swam away from us and went to hide. For me, this meant that they were genetically coded or socially conditioned by the adults to recognize "man" or the human form is a predator.

ms: Yes, plant and animal species are aware that most humans are violent towards them. The groupers learned this as well...

Omi Bade: I felt so terrible and wanted to do something. So I did a special offering at the site, to remove the negativity that had transpired there.

ms: I am so glad to hear that. I sure your compassion was felt there. How do you feel about the future of Group er Grounds?

Omi Bade: Tobago opened up to European investments and there are lots of hotels and restaurants being constructed. No one have any idea how this fast-paced development will influence the fragile coastal eco-system in the future, including Grouper Grounds.

ms: How does your music relate to environmental concerns?

Omi Bade: I think my music expresses the love I have for Trinidad's and Tobago's environment. It places myself and the listener in a cycle of regeneration.

ms: How can we hear some of it?

Omi Bade: This summer I will be releasing an instrumental jazz CD under my own record label, Cascadu Music. I chose that name because I was involved in Cascadu (a fish also called hassa) research in the early days of my environmental work. I will also be playing around the NYC area and there are some plans to perform in Trinidad.

ms: Thank you Omi Bade, for sharing such a touching and tragic story with our readers. We must all work together to apply pressure on governments, businesses, communities and individuals to protect and conserve the regions' and world's environments.

Follow Up:

Write a letter to the President of Trinidad and Tabago saying that you areopposed to the further destruction of the coastal and land eco-systems. Demand an inquiry into the Grouper Grounds incident and for the guilty parties to be held accountable. Indicate that you will follow up and monitor his actions and ask for a response.

President
Office of President
Port-of-Spain
Trinidad and Tobago

The Origins of Mad Cow Disease

Offal \'o-fel, "af-el\n (ME, fr., of off + fall)
1. the waste or by-product of a process:as
a: trimmings of a hide
b: the by-products of milling especially for stock feeds
c: the viscera and trimmings of a butchered animal removed in dressing
2: RUBBISH (Webster's Dictionary)

Forced cannibalism leads to BSE disease in cows and CJD disease in humans. Pesticides, growth hormones and their by-products, antibiotics and other chemicals are ingested by consumers of dairy and meat products sold in your local market with documented carcinogenic and adverse health effects.

Be Vegetarian, for Life
Animals are People too