Fisherfolk organisation awaiting outcome of Agri. Minister’s probe into low catch

Apr 10, 2022 News

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By Zena Henry

Kaieteur News – The Guyana National Fisher Folk Organisation (GNFO) believes that the local fishing and oil and gas industries can co-exist.

The organisation believes that the country can safely develop its oil and gas sector, while at the same time, ensuring the protection of the environment and locals who may become affected by the activities of oil companies’ operating offshore Guyana. To do this, however, the fishing industry group insists that only necessary studies, data and the enforcement of environmental laws will allow for the co-habitation of the two sectors.
Chairman of the GNFO, Pamashwar Jainarine said that the organisation continues to await important fish studies promised by the Ministry of Agriculture to determine the decline in fish numbers. Several fishing co-opts are represented under the GNFO. They include fisherfolk leaders from the Upper Corentyne Fishermen’s Co-op Society, Albion Landing Site, 3-Door DeEdward Fishermen Co-op Society, Rosignol Fishermen’s Co-op, Meadow Bank, and Essequibo co-opts, which also make up the groups executive body.
The GNFO chairman, who is also chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen’s Co-op Society, told Kaieteur News that currently, fishermen in Guyana are concerned about various changes in the industry. One main issue is the low fish catch that some of the co-ops are reporting. He explained that currently, numbers are so low that operators from Georgetown are now venturing to the Berbice region to not only fish, but to buy the stock for wholesale and retail.
“So that is one good thing for us down here, because vendors from Georgetown now coming to we landing site to buy fish,” said Jainarine as he explained that because of the increased purchases, the cost of fish in his region has also increased, and operators there are enjoying those high prices. He explained that the fish sold there include mainly trout and red snapper, which costs $400 per pound from a $220 per pound and $700 per pound from $400 per pound respectively.
Jainarine explained that some operates are complaining that they are no longer seeing fish numbers as before. “And that is why we need the fish study,” he told the newspaper, “because oil and fish can co-exist, but they just need to put the measures in place and regulate what is happening.”
The GNFO Chairman said that representatives of the Stabroek Block oil operators, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies had visited in the past to hold discussions with fisherfolk and it has been made clear to those organisations that the fishing industry is not only worried about the low fish numbers. “We raised concerns about flaring, dumping of waste water and other issues,” the Chairman pointed out. He said that fishermen are also doing their own research so they are becoming more aware of the effects of the oil and gas development impact on the environment and their livelihoods.
“So when we have discussions, we tell them our concerns, we raise these issues and it’s almost as if the EPA is shielding them from criticisms because we ask about these things (regulations and oversight) and we get brush off. They say yes we fixing it, that them putting things in place but nothing really.”
Jainarine said that while the Upper Corentyne fishermen may not be feeling the squeeze like other co-ops, they understand the seriousness of the situation. He said that he has been paying attention to the need for research, which would require upfront baseline data that would show a pattern of change in the physical environment and the effects of that change overtime.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha had told fish stakeholders last November that the government would not allow the fishing industry to die. He had told them that the government was engaging the EPA and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to conduct a study relating to the fish environment. In fact, he told Kaieteur News last Thursday that there was no update on the study so far but that it was ongoing. He said that the information would be made public on conclusion.
On Kaieteur Radio’s Guyana Oil and You which was also held last Thursday, Head of the EPA, Kemraj Parsram, said that the EPA is aware of the concerns relating to the fishing industry and that the EPA and the FAO were currently working to bring to stakeholders the status of the industry. Senior Environmental Officer and Head of EPA’s Oil and Gas Department, Joel Gravesande also noted, during the same radio show, that there are already studies relating to the fish environment, which Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Limited (EEPGL), the Stabroek Block operator, had conducted over the years. The EPA representative said that the studies are not new and that what is required from the oil companies now is just updated versions of what already existed.

 

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