Tour operators: Don’t blame us, it’s the sewage plant

Tour operators in Tobago feel strongly against people who have been blaming them for the gradual destruction of the coral reef. “Everyone blaming the operators,” said one operator who has been in the business for about 30 years now, “but they are not seeing what we are doing to save the reef.” He said it is not the operators but the waste water coming from the treatment plant on the island. “It is pollution and government has to do something about that plant,” he added. Another operator said instead of blaming or targetting them, government officials and the THA should work together to try and come up with some solution. The tour operators, concerned about the destruction of the reef have come up with a project to try and save the reef. One of them explained that the coral reef needs clean water in order to flourish and operators are trying to see how best they can prevent the polluted water from reaching the reef. As for reports that the tourists were walking away with pieces of the corals, a senior tour operator said: “That is not true. When we carry them out, we tell them to make sure the don’t take anything with them.”