Dear Editor,

I write to you in disbelief over the headline `Sport fishing to be reeled in’ SN July 1, 2010. As a fishing aficionado, I believe in sustainable development of fishing and proper fishing ethics. I have taken part in recreational fishing activities from an early age. Great memories remain between me and my family over many years of recreational fishing. Through our family hobby, recreational fishing has taught me many things; patience, respect for the environment; great family and moral values; appreciation of people from different communities and other walks of life; optimism and determination among so many other great qualities. This thrilling hobby has kept me out trouble and far from the temptations of the many “rum shops”, drug corners and other counterproductive activities in society.

Sport fishing is a recreational hobby enjoyed by many persons in Guyana and throughout the world. To elaborate, sport fishing requires time, an investment in proper fishing gear, dedication to the sport and skill. This is a hobby that we as sport fishermen and sport fisherwomen dedicate ourselves to, be it rain, sun, storm, flood, drought or any other type of weather. We dedicate our time to fishing for the love of the great outdoors that this wonderful country has to offer and for the great times spent between family and friends. If we do catch a fish, it is a bonus to an already memorable experience.  We look forward not to the catching of a fish, but to the entire experience of spending quality time with friends, family, and good clean wholesome fun. I support my fellow sport fishing enthusiasts who have raised their issues in the daily papers and encourage them to continue to support sport fishing. We cannot sit idly by and have one of the most exciting and popular hobbies in the world taken from us.

Let us look at sport fishing as a part of the tourism industry. In the USA sport fishing or recreational fishing is a multi-billion dollar industry. Fact: There are approximately 12 million saltwater recreational anglers that generate US$30 Billion dollars in economic impact and support 350,000 jobs in the USA alone. In Florida alone, the peacock bass (Lukanani) generates over US$8 Million dollars in revenue for the state. (Source: Wikipedia Encyclopedia Online).

This illustrates that recreational fishing as an industry is more valuable to our country than it is a threat. Sport fishing is not a threat to our country in any way. In fact, sport fishing should be nurtured and encouragement should be given for us to develop it into a part of the tourism industry as a source of revenue that would add to the Gross Domestic Product. Too often we are afraid of what we do not understand. Instead of making a decision to restrict sport fishing in areas, we should look into ways of enhancing the services available and to encourage sustainable development of a new and very lucrative investment for the tourism industry and the country.

If we were to compare sport fishing/recreational fishing to commercial fishing, we would clearly see which is detrimental to the environment. If an average of six anglers go fishing on a weekend and catch two fish each; that is a total of twelve for an entire day. If one commercial fishing vessel goes fishing for a few hours, with an average of 300 pounds of commercial fishing nets; they can catch several schools of fish. The amounts caught are often in the hundreds of pounds of fish caught in a few hours using commercial fishing nets. Do the math: six sport fishermen fishing for one day might catch 12 fishes. One commercial fishing vessel, in a few hours might catch over 300 pounds of fish and decimate several schools. Not to mention our endangered turtle population and arapaima among other aquatic life. Imagine what happens when the hundreds of commercial fishing vessels go out every day. Imagine how many pounds of fish are caught and sold only for profit. Imagine the millions of tonnes of fish that are caught commercially, depleting our resources only for money.

This angler is not against commercial fishing, as it is a means of income for many families, businesses and the country as a whole. No one wants to see their source of income taken from them under any circumstances. However, to say that “Sport fishing in some areas may soon be a thing of the past as the authorities look to prevent overfishing in the inland waterways” is an irrational and uninformed decision. My hobby of sport fishing/recreational fishing should not be restricted because I want to catch a few fish up the mighty Essequibo River; on the grounds that my three or four fish caught is irrelevant in relation to the hundreds of pounds of fish that are caught by commercial fishing only for profit.

I cannot imagine my life without sport fishing/recreational fishing; it is a part of who I am and I will not sit idly by and let a few people make a misguided and uninformed decision. It is an erroneous decision to sanction the sport fisherman/recreational angler under the pretence that we “overfish and take the livelihood” from communities. There is no way that a few anglers sitting in a boat with fishing rods can catch more fish than a commercial fishing vessel.

In closing, I do hope that the authorities do not make a rash decision to restrict sport fishing without cause or consideration of the many families, devoted friends, enthralled enthusiasts and new upcoming anglers. To my fellow fishing buddies, let’s all make our voices heard in the name of a lifelong passion. I urge my comrades to show their support in the daily papers as I have shown mine.

Yours faithfully,
Daniel Sugrim