‘Illegal’ Guyanese fishermen arrested by Surinamese authorities

Dec 11, 2016 News

Forty-five fishermen from nine fishing boats along the Corentyne area were recently detained by the Suriname patrol for entering the Corentyne river. The men were allegedly detained for not having their passports stamped.

Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen Co-op, Pameshwar Jainarine

According to reports reaching Kaieteur News, Suriname soldiers are currently carrying out the operation from Paramaribo. The men were allegedly arrested and in custody for failing to have a valid passport with a stamp of entry in the Dutch country. They were fined US $100 but failure to pay the fine will have them deported in 2017.
Reports are that some fishermen were held up when two of the vessel owners ventured to investigate in the Corentyne river; those men were also taken into custody for being in the waters illegally.
Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen Co-operative, Pameshwar Jainarine, stated, “We have been fishing there for nearly 50 years and we don’t normally go with our passports when we fish. We just go and do our job”. He stated that the Surinamese authorities earlier in 2016 carried out a similar campaign, “this is not good for our fishermen, this is gonna have a negative impact on fishing on the Corentyne”.
Earlier in the year saw several Guyanese being arrested by the Surinamese authorities border patrol for attempting to cross the “back track”. They were not checked to determine whether they were licenced to fish but rather to inquire if their passports had a stamp of entry to Suriname. Jainarine stressed that they are being harassed and victimized. He is calling on the relevant authorities to look into the situation with a sense of urgency. According to him, this is a major hurdle in the fishing industry of Guyana. “The only way the fishermen will be legal in the waters is if they go to the Canawaima crossing at Moleson Creek and leave

45 fishermen were recently arrested for being “illegal” in Suriname waters.

through the port and then use the back track to get back to Guyana after having the passports stamped in Suriname.” This, he noted, is close to impossible.
Guyanese looking to enter the country legally who are granted six months by the immigration in Suriname but the Surinamese authorities are claiming that the fishermen are on the waters illegally.
According to Jainarine, under the licences the fishermen were granted to operate in the Suriname waters, they are required to take their catch first to a port on the neighbouring state. The boats detained were reportedly on their way to the town of Nickeriei in Suriname to purchase ice. The fishermen go to Suriname, purchase ice and then return before fishing.
Many do not have birth certificates and hence cannot acquire passports.
“Most of the fishermen are poor people; their parents did not register them at birth. When we make attempts to get them registered they don’t have birth certificates…”
The fishermen were allegedly detained between Sunday December 3, and Wednesday December 6, 2016.

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