Wild Tobago

How many shipwrecks lie beneath the calm waters of our Gulf of Paria, from the Venezuelan side and Trinidad’s industrial west coast? Dr Anjani Ganase speculates on the effects of disintegrating vessels. She asks for some system to register and regulate ships in our waters, especially those that are likely to be abandoned here.                       Derelict vessel in the Gulf of Paria. Photo by Anjani Ganase     When you take the passenger vessel to Tobago, you will be familiar with the views of Trinidad’s coastline from the north-western Peninsula and along the north coast. You will also see, especially in the calm Gulf, a number of old vessels anchored or partially submerged, as   the ferry cruises by. As a marine biologist, I imagine the sea below the listing ship, I imagine a seabed littered with boat parts, garbage and seeping chemical waste from the hull. Consider that this is only a small section ...

To the east of Trinidad and Tobago is the Atlantic, on the west the Caribbean Sea. However, the most powerful influence of water on these islands might be the fresh waters coming off the South American mainland. This week, Anjani Ganase, marine biologist, looks at the mighty Orinoco river whose delta comprises islands many times the size of Trinidad. This feature was first published in the Tobago Newsday on Thursday, December 1, 2016 Follow Anjani Ganase on twitter: @AnjGanase “When Columbus sailed into the Gulf of Paria he had to make sense of two anomalies. His navigational readings were picking up the earth’s equatorial bulge, and the Orinoco being in spate meant that the water was fresh. Captivated by the apparently friendly natives, the exuberant vegetation, the benign climate and the extraordinary landscape, he called the area Tierra de Gracia (Graceland).” -John Stollmeyer, Place of Beginnings, the World Views of the Amerindians of Cairi and of Medie...