Latest update April 17th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 15, 2017 News
Countries least responsible for polluting oceans and seas, and those with the least resources are being called upon to sacrifice the most in undertaking measures to reverse these transgressions.
This was the concern expressed by the Minister of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman, during the recent Ocean Conference that was held in New York.
Trotman told the attendees including the Prime Minster of Fiji, Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama; Spokesperson of the Green Party of Sweden, Isabella Lovin; Co-Presidents of the Conference, and other Heads of State, that small states have to contribute more to reverse the effects that stem from indiscriminate practices.
These indiscriminate practices, he said, include the use of pesticides that run off into the sea, and the dumping and disposal of solid waste, including the millions of tons of plastic that is disposed of each year in the ocean.
The Minister noted that this “injustice” must be addressed holistically by supporting small-Island developing States and coastal States to enable them to put in place the policies that are necessary to preserve the health of the oceans and to ensure the sustainability of livelihoods.
The conference was convened in support of the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14, which is to conserve and effectively use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
The Minister told the conference that Guyana is also in the process of developing a suite of inter-related services to better manage its coastal ecosystem, including data gathering, social mobilization and capacity development under its recently launched Green State Development Strategy.
Trotman noted also, “with alarm” the unsustainable levels of overfishing and destructive fishing practices, much of it illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, as well as the effects of pollution on marine life, fish stocks and on the use of the oceans for recreational purposes.
IUU fishing was a major talking point during the convening of the 11th Ministerial Meeting of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) that was held in Georgetown a little over three weeks ago.
Executive Director of the CRFM, Milton Haughton, had stated that IUU fishing continues to be a source of serious concern for the region.
This was echoed by the Chief Fisheries Officer, Denzil Roberts, yesterday.
The official told Kaieteur News that in order to ensure the sustainability of these resources, regulations have been introduced to limit fishing by trawlers to only a certain number of days each year and to require the installation of by-catch reduction devices and turtle exclusion devices on all trawlers.
Monitoring and surveillance of artisanal vessels is also being increased to ensure compliance and to reduce the incidence of illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing activity.
Roberts said that the Coast Guard is assisting in ensuring that IUU fishing is eradicated.
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