Saving the fishing industry

Jan 13, 2022 Letters

Dear Editor,

Kaieteur News –I have been following the concerns of the fishing industry most recently expressed in the mainstream and social media. As part of the industry myself, I am also feeling the squeeze. Rest assured, this issue is not one that fisher folks are experiencing now but we are only now hearing about it because it has crossed a significant economic threshold.
Majority of the smaller operators will not be able to produce evidence of the reduction in catches over the years since they do not keep records but larger operators who do keep records will be able to provide those records to show the reduction in their catches. Better yet the Trawlers association of Guyana will be able to provide some reliable data as well.
The data that I have seen from one large operator suggest a massive drop in catches per trip and a significant increase in the length of a trip over the last six years. This means that the fishermen are spending more time at sea and catching less. Further that translates to more fuel, more food for sailors, higher maintenance cost, less trips per month and less income. The impact is translated to their homes where, bank payments, GPL bill, telephone bill, household grocery, etc have a constant refilling cycle.
From what I have seen and what I am hearing I can conclude that their cries are genuine, there is a problem. The question is where do we go from here? Why are they not catching? Are the species dead? Have they migrated? Have their behaviour changed? Have they changed feeding/ spawning ground? Are we over fishing? These are questions that need to be answered and answered urgently.
If we as a nation nonchalantly cast aside the concerns of these people then we are ripping away bread from people’s mouth. Our most highly respected Vice President argued that there is no evidence that the oil and gas industry caused the reduction in catches. Reciprocally, there is no evidence to suggest that it did not as well. This alone demonstrates the genuine need of urgent scientific research to come up with answers. The time is now most opportune to hire a respected marine biology body to examine the situation and make recommendations for the authorities to implement. In my own humble way I would encourage the Government of Guyana to make a genuine effort save and industry. Don’t do to the fishing industry what APNU did to our sugar industry.

Sincerely,
Rohit Singh

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