Govt. fully responsible for catfish ban – Opposition Leader

Mar 16, 2018 News

…dismayed by silence on issue

Opposition Leader, Bharrat Jagdeo, yesterday blamed Government’s inaction for the ban on catfish exports to the United States.
In a statement, Jagdeo said he has noted with concern the silence from the APNU+AFC Coalition on the plight of hundreds of fishermen, following the ban on exports of all catfish species to the United States of America.
“I am of the firm view that the Coalition Government is fully responsible for the plight of local fishermen, given that they were notified of the USA’s pending changes to export regulations since November 2015,” Jagdeo stated.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has stopped the export of all Siluriformes fish and fish products (catfish species) from Guyana, effective March 1. According to industry sources, the decision affects over 90% of all fish exports to the U.S and over 70% of the overall fish export market. The U.S decision means that hassar, cuirass and gilbacker can no longer be exported to the U.S.

Hassar being prepared
for export

Jagdeo noted that he has seen the arguments from government quarters that this is somehow a ‘protectionist move’ by the United States, but these have since been exposed as shallow and disingenuous arguments.
“Had it not been for the statement from the USA’s Embassy in Guyana, stakeholders would have maintained a misguided view,” Jagdeo pointed out.
Amanda Cauldwell, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown told Kaieteur News that the U.S. notified the Government of Guyana of the pending changes in November 2015, more than 18 months before they were to go into effect.
According to Jagdeo, the coalition administration, despite having received notice of these changes, failed to communicate effectively with the stakeholders of the fisheries sector, many of whom have invested heavily in this area.
Jagdeo stated that the Coalition Government received an extension until February 3, 2018, to bring Guyana into compliance with the new export regulations and failed again.
“Failure, I believe, as we have seen with evidence of incompetence, continues to be the defining characteristic of the current Administration,” Jagdeo stated.
Jagdeo called on the Coalition Government to immediately take measures to support compliance with the new regulations and also take measures to support the local fisheries sector in the meantime.
“The fisheries sector cannot be allowed to suffer irreparable losses, as we have seen in other productive sectors, since the APNU+AFC Coalition Government took office,” Jagdeo noted.