The Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture is working with the seabob industry to ensure its sustainability, which will see harvest control and a code of conduct across the entire fleet next year, culminating in international certification in 2014.
A release from the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday said that in 2009 a pre-assessment was conducted by Food Certification International for the Suriname and Guyana Seabob fisheries, which identified strengths and areas for improvement in both fisheries and it was decided that the local industry would seek Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) Certification.
The information from the pre-assessment in 2009, together with the lessons learnt and experience gained in the MSC certification in Suriname, will enable the Guyana Seabob fishery to address its MSC certification requirements in an effective and timely manner, and it is expected that the fishery will be entered into formal MSC assessment by the second half of 2013.
Building on the pioneering experience of the Suriname seabob fishery, a second Fishery Improvement Partnership (FIP) was established in Guyana in 2011, the release said.
In March 2012 the Marine Stewardship Council met with industry and government, raising awareness of the MSC certification process in the context of the Guyana seabob fishery, and conducting an in-depth MSC training programme for all stakeholders here. Following this, the industry set up an MSC client group to formally link the FIP to the MSC certification process.
The Ministry said the following were accomplished:
– Creation of Seabob Working Group (SWG).
– Identification of a Stakeholder Group.
– Stock assessment undertaken in 2009, and updated in June 2012 through the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM).
– Minimizing the by-catch from seabob vessels by the installation of by-catch reduction devices (BRDs), in addition to turtle excluder devices (TEDs), for the entire seabob fleet. There was also training in their use for all skippers and crew.
– Training was undertaken on a code of conduct across the entire seabob fleet, including Endangered Threatened and Protected (ETP) species handling.
– Implementation of a closed fishing period for six weeks between August-October of every year to enhance seabob regeneration.
Further steps planned in 2013 include updating the seabob stock assessment in February and designing appropriate harvest control.
Among other steps for the first half of next year are:
– Implementation of the harvest control rule and the harvest strategy
– Installation of a vessel monitoring system (VMS) on the fleet, monitoring through government
– Agreement and enforcement of a fishing restriction zone
– Implementation of a fishery specific management plan
– Creation of a medium to long-term research and development plan
– BRD and VMS becoming legally binding and part of the licence conditions.
– Formal implementation of the code of conduct for the entire fleet
– Second half of 2013: Following the above mentioned milestones, the local fishery will enter formal MSC assessment in the second half of 2013.
– End of 2014: MSC certification of the Guyana Atlantic Seabob Fishery.
The key client group is the Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors.
