- major investments made to support growth, minimize piracy
Fisherfolk in East Berbice – Corentyne will soon benefit from a programme aimed at supplementing their income as the Government of Guyana through the Ministry of Agriculture launched a brackish water shrimp programme in the region on Saturday.
The programme, similar to what is already in place on the Corentyne Coast, will see groups of fisherfolk from Sheet Anker / Fort Ordinance and areas along the Corentyne Coast benefiting from assistance from the Ministry of Agriculture to establish ponds to rear the high-demand shrimp.
Agriculture Minister, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha while officially launching the programme in Fort Ordinance and Albion, said that the initiative aims to provide additional avenues for sustainable income for fisherfolk.
“Times are advancing, and fisherfolk cannot depend on one activity to support their livelihood. As Minister, I am prepared to work with you to go into other sustainable activities. We are not telling you to leave fishing, we are developing programmes to help you to expand and diversify your activities. So, when you are experiencing low catches, you can engage in alternative activities to supplement your income. We can put you in groups based on your geographical location and work along with you to develop ponds for brackish water shrimp. This region has been used as a pilot project for us, where we were able to increase brackish water shrimp production from 10,000 kg to about 100,000 kg monthly. This increase is because of the infrastructure we’ve put in place and the new methods we are adopting. We will work along with the groups to locate the land and get the programme going. I’ll make the machine and other materials available so that this project can commence within a month,” Minister Mustapha explained.
Minister Mustapha also said that when the government got into office, it began making budgetary allocations to develop the infrastructure to support the fisheries sector. He explained that to improve security standards for fisherfolk while at sea, the ministry also procured several Vessel Monitoring Devices (VMDs) as part of its monitoring strategy for artisanal fisheries in Guyana.
“We recognize the role every stakeholder in the agriculture sector plays. The fisherfolk have been making a valuable contribution to this country. When we got into government in 2020, we recognized that the fishing industry needed an impetus to push it. That’s why we increased budgetary allocations and gave every fisherman a grant. We then rolled out a programme to rehabilitate all of the major landing sites across the country. That is an ongoing programme. We installed lights and washroom facilities and built ramps and sheds for fisherfolk to ply their trade and mend their seine. Also, just before the last elections, we were seeing an increase in piracy. We also started to look at IUU fishing and began working closely with the Coast Guard and the Guyana Police Force to minimize these things. Last year, we procured 100 Vessel Monitoring Devices which are known to play a pivotal role in ensuring sustainable fishing practices. By equipping your vessels with these devices, we’re able to monitor fishing activities in real-time, with the hope of minimizing piracy as well as illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing,” he explained.
He also said that the government recognizes the important role the fisherfolk play and has been putting systems in place to reduce input costs.
“We have approximately 18,000 persons employed directly and making a living from the fishing industry. Then, there are the people who benefit indirectly from the industry. We recognize that it’s important for us to continue developing this sector. It provides the cheapest form of protein for citizens. That’s why, in 2022, when there was an issue with catches, we engaged the FAO to conduct a study. That study revealed that climate change and the increase in freshwater affected the catch. We also recognize that the input for the industry, things like twine and so on, we worked to remove the taxes from those items,” he explained.
Close to 200 persons are expected to benefit from the fisherfolk brackish water shrimp programme.
