Nearly two weeks after some 27 Guyanese were caught by the Suriname Navy for fishing illegally in that country’s waters, law enforcement officials there said they captured another group on Saturday last.
Stabroek News was told yesterday that spokesman of the Suriname National Army, Captain, Romeo Wesenhagen disclosed that two trawlers were spotted some 17 miles before the Suriname coast. He said the boats were subsequently seized and handed over to the judicial authorities.
Reports indicate that the Nickerie police are investigating the latest case, Romeo said, adding that the frequency of illegal Guyanese fishermen being spotted in Suriname’s waters is disturbing.
“Therefore the Navy will continue and increase patrols in the territorial waters,” Romeo said.
Meanwhile the 27 illegal Guyanese fishermen caught earlier are still in police custody awaiting prosecution.
The Guyanese are reportedly connected to a large fishing company here. Law enforcement authorities in Suriname had arrested the Guyanese fishermen late last month.
Reports out of Suriname had quoted the country’s defence minister Ivan Fernald as saying that the arrests were made during a clampdown spearheaded by the Navy. The authorities had also seized three 60-foot vessels used by the fishermen and Fernald said he was satisfied with the arrests.
In early April fishermen in Suriname staged a demonstration to protest alleged harassment from Guyanese fishermen. The protestors had demanded stricter law enforcement by the authorities to drive out illegal fishers from their waters.
“Although we are licensed operators, we are now aliens in our own Surinamese fishing grounds”, said Prahlad Sewdien, President of the Suriname Seafood Association (SSA). He said that the area between the Coppename River and Nickerie has been taken over by scores of Guyanese fishermen who were harassing local fishermen.