Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:25 AM
Jul 12, 2014 News
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, called on all fishermen in Guyana to be registered and to have their boats registered if the industry is to remain sustainable and viable.
He was addressing a gathering of fisher folk at world Fisher folk Day 2014 at Port Mourant, Berbice. The celebrations were held under the theme ‘Perfecting our fisheries resources and ensuring our livelihoods’.
During the address to the country’s fishermen and those involved in the trade, Minister Ramsammy commented on several issues. He spoke about several statistics, including Guyana’s fish consumption and the Caribbean’s annual fish- import and export bill.
Ramsammy said that government is working hard to protect the small-scale fisher folk so that their livelihood is not threatened by the larger scale fisherfolk. “We produce about 90 million tonnes of fish per year, worth approximately US$94.”
“But when we look at the Caribbean, of that 90 million tonnes …the Caribbean produces now only about between 130,000-150,000 tonnes and the question is why?” One important reason for this, he said, is over-fishing and over-exploitation of our fishing resources in the region.
“That is something that we in the Caribbean must work closer together to protect. That is why Guyana is so concerned about how to protect the fishing resources.”
Fishing in Guyana and Caricom
Forty per cent of this amount comes just from Guyana alone, Ramsammy said. Suriname is the next- largest producer with about 18 per cent, “so when you look at Guyana with over 40 per cent and Suriname in the second place, you see how important Guyana is to the fishing industry of the Caribbean.”
Looking at Caricom’s production of marine resources, he noted that Guyana stands out as being the “most stable producer and by far the largest producer (of fish).”
The Minister said that even though the country produces so much fish, the local employment base is very small, compared to other Caribbean nations that produce fish. Jamaica, he noted, which contributes only 12 per cent of fish to the Caribbean, has a fishing industry that employs about twice the number of people than Guyana does.
The larger importers of fish in the region, he added, are countries like Barbados, which imports about 5.8 million kilograms of fish; Jamaica, 9.8 million kilograms.
The official then discussed the benefits of eating a diet high in fish as opposed to a diet rich in meat, which can be detrimental to our bodies. “Guyana stands out as a country where fish is important to our diet—Guyana’s consumption is about 54 kilograms of fish protein per every person on an annual basis. Globally, the average is only about 14.5 kilograms per person…which means Guyana is about 3.5 times more than the global average.
This is a good thing, because the World Health Organization (WHO) is trying to get all countries to consume fish at a higher rate.”
Guyana, he noted, should be ready to be a part of the increasing demand for fish. No part in the food industry, he added, is seeing a rise in demand for commodity like the fish industry. Today, fishing has changed its character from the past, when in the past it was seen as a family- oriented small- scale activity. Today, fishing is about creating wealth.
Licensing & Traceability
Fishing, with an employment of just 20,000 or so, he said, “is a family thing.” In terms of fishing boats, Guyana has about 2,500 boats. Not all are licensed.”
He then urged all fisher-folks to get their boats registered, noting that the places in North America and elsewhere to which Guyana exports fish, demand higher standards.
“Part of that is something called ‘traceability.” Without that, our fish will not be able to leave Guyana, which means all the fish we produce, will either have to be consumed by us, or the industry dies!”
Touching on the issue of new regulations that would allow Guyana some eligibility to export fish into Europe and North America, Dr. Ramsammy noted, “If we pass it, most of you will not be able to continue [in the fishing industry]… anyone without a license cannot sell their catch.”
He reminded those present that their investment in the fishing industry contributes 6.6 per cent to the economy, thus, it should make them feel some sense of pride in what they do.
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