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Over 1000 families in limbo as fishing industry collapses
…Upper Corentyne fishermen worry about Suriname’s fishing license requirement
By Zena Henry
Kaieteur News – After disappointing news that Guyana had been unable to secure 150 fishing licences from the Surinamese government, the Upper Corentyne fisherfolk are hoping for a speedy resolution to the matter which they say could negatively impact spending within their region.
Upper Corentyne Fisherman Co-op Society Chairman, Parmeshwar Jainarine made the fishermen’s case when government visited the region
The Upper Corentyne fisher folk are adamant that the fishing industry is extremely important to them. They say that failure to address the ongoing issues would see some 1000 families being affected, and the entire regional sector being jeopardised.
Chairman of the Guyana National Fisherfolk Organisation and the Upper Corentyne Fisherman Co-op Society, Parmeshwar Jainarine told the Kaieteur News yesterday that the Berbice fishermen are disappointed and worried about not receiving the licences, which were supposed to be available since January 1 of this year. He explained that the authorisations were supposed to help fishermen conduct their business in Suriname without the harassment, which they have been facing from fishermen and maritime patrols in that country. Now, he stated, there is even more concern regarding the sector’s survival.
The Chairman explained that being so close to Suriname, Guyanese fishermen often find themselves in Dutch waters working. He said that this is something that has been happening for decades and Guyanese at one point were even provided with licences from the Surinamese authorities to work there. Over time, he said, the licences were taken away from Guyanese and given to Surinamese. This leads to some Surinamese renting their licences to Guyanese for profit. Where Guyanese once rented the licences for US$1000 and US$1500, they are now being asked to pay US$3000 and US$4000. This Jainarine said, led to local fishermen asking government to intervene in the matter.
“It was too much pressure pon we,” Jainarine explained. He said that with all the other expenses fishermen face, they could not afford to pay the exorbitant prices the Dutch men were seeking. He noted however, that in seeking government’s intervention, the Surinamese seemed not to have favoured the move since they have upped the pressure. He explained that Guyanese fishermen are now being asked to leave their fishing boats in Suriname where it is licensed. Guyanese are being told to take smaller boats to head over to Guyana and return in the vessels when ready to access their boats for work.
Jainarine said this demand cannot work for many reasons, but most obviously, for security reasons. He said that here in Guyana, security is paid to overlook boats at the fishermen’s landing and even then they are tampered with and sometimes damaged. He opined therefore that it would be unwise to leave the boats unattended in the foreign port.
Outside of this, Jainarine said that the effects of this at home are that many people who “catch a lil hustle” would no longer be able to do so. He said that the Co-opt would be severely affected if fishermen were no longer docking and purchasing their supplies from them. “We are saying that if the boats are parked in Suriname, it can’t work because the co-opt will close. We won’t be able to pay our staff and provide the services we normally provide and then we don’t want to have to ask government to help us with that too,” Jainarine explained.
The Chairman said that based on favourable reports that promoted a good relationship between Guyana and Suriname’s heads of state, they thought it a good idea to “beg the government to intervene” because of the financial pressure the Surinamese licensed holders were placing on them. Now, that move seems not to have been a good idea, Jainarine concluded.
“Cause we can’t understand how two government sign a document that say yes we going to issue these licences and now you hearing one party reluctant and the other one saying they cannot influence decisions.” “Currently, we provide for over 1000 families,” Jainarine told the newspaper. He said persons from neighbouring communities also benefit from the sector that plays a major role in the region’s economics. Fishermen have great spending power and support many community businesses. To this end, Jainarine said that fishermen could only hope for a speedy and favourable resolution to the matter.
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