THE EDITOR: Did anyone see the articles in the Express and Newsday showing dolphin being sold for meat (and for Lent too)?

The fishermen are catching less and less fish and it seems that they are selling dolphin now - possibly as a by-catch (i.e. it accidentally was caught in the net while fishing) or opportunistically (i.e. they caught nothing much and seeing the dolphins around they caught them so that they could have something to sell when they got home).

Dolphin hunting is not the norm in Trinidad and Tobago but with the scarcity of fish and this new publicity indicating that dolphin may be a good substitute for fish for Lent, may lead to an increase in hunting. I ask for your help to prevent this.

Please help to spread the following information:
1) Dolphins are mammals NOT fish. This means that they are red meat which is inappropriate for Lent.

2) Dolphins have one baby every few years and they spend a lot of time and energy in bringing up their babies. This means that catching and killing these animals will cause greater and faster damage to dolphin populations than catching fish will to the fish population. A shorter period of hunting or even a lower catch rate will have terrible consequences for dolphin populations.

3) Catching, killing, eating, possession of whale and dolphin parts is illegal in Trinidad and Tobago.

I also want to say that though it is easy to be angry with the fishermen we need to understand that they are only trying to make a living and in most cases do not know the damage they can cause by their actions.

Their actions are as a result of other factors. We need to look at the possible roots of the problem. In this case this is the scarcity of fish and the fact that the public is not aware that this is illegal which leads to hunting and the willingness of people to buy dolphin meat.

To address this we need to increase public awareness and promotion and support of the proper management of our fish resources.

Rakesh Deonarine, Regional Environmental Manager Oil Mop Environmental Services Ltd.

DEAR EDITOR: I felt so warmed, encouraged and inspired too, by the beautiful article in last Sunday’s paper on Solidarity in the Carenage parish.

At a time when Satan is very busy sowing seeds of discord wherever he is allowed to, and sadly even in the Church, it is very consoling to read that at least one parish knows and appreciates what this “Solidarity” that His Grace is so anxious to have as the binding experience of all the parishes, is truly about.

And moreover, is willing to share the experience so beautifully with the rest of us. There must be a lesson here for other parishes who have never been without a priest, but who seem somehow to be suddenly on a slipping slope in this regard?

Congratulations Carenage, and keep on being an inspiration to the rest of us where this wonderful ideal is concerned!
Jean Bernard, Santa Margarita

DEAR EDITOR: The parish of Arouca recently increased the annual fees of holders of cemetery plots from $100 to $150. This is a 50% increase and is not justified, as most of the year the cemetery is not cleaned of bush.

On All Souls day last, everyone who visited his or her plots for “lighting up” were grumbling about the general state of the cemetery. You actually had to have cutlass in hand to tidy up your plot. What about the plots that are paved, do holders of those plots pay the same as holders of unpaved plots?

It is noted that Holy Cross Cemetery (Princes Town) has reduced rates for owners of more than one plot – their advertisement reads like this: 1 spot – $75.00; 2 spots – $100, 3 spots and over $125.00.

Could whoever is in charge let us have some standard rates? Where is the social justice we are preaching?
Jacqueline Bute, Macoya Gardens

THE EDITOR: Now that Hollywood filmmaker Steven Spielberg has severed ties with the Beijing Olympics for political reasons, will Catholic visitors and athletes follow suit for religious reasons? Or will they retreat en masse to underground places of worship in between firings of the starters' pistols?
Gregory Cockburn, Sangre Grande

DEAR EDITOR: I was part of a group studying the Gospel of John at the Bible Institute in 1992. Our lecturer was Dom Ildefons Schroots of revered memory.

He told us “Do you know why John introduces the character called the beloved disciple? It is to show that there is evil in the world! How do we combat this evil? Anytime this disciple appears in the gospel, Jesus and Peter are around so, stay close to Jesus and Peter!”

I interpreted this advice to mean that we must always listen to the Pope and obey the teachings of the Catholic Church.
Brian Noriega, D’Abadie