The Ministry of Agriculture’s, Fisheries Department within the framework of the European-Union (EU)-funded African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) states FISH 11 project has produced a new Fisheries Management Plan for Guyana that aims to cover the next five years (2013-2018). The Government Informa-tion Agency said that a workshop was yesterday held at the Grand Coastal Hotel, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara on the plan.
Minister of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy delivered the feature address at the workshop.
According to Ramsammy, approximately 15000 people are employed in this sector, and indirectly many more thousands are also dependent on it.
According to GINA he said, “half of every village in Region Six would have some link to the fishing industry.” He said that the same applies to much coastal communities.
Ramsammy said that this would not be the first time that Guyana would have a Fisheries Management Plan, but his expectation is that “this would be the first that will be diligently implemented.” GINA said that he stated that management plans for the sector “have always been implemented more by putting it on a shelf, and those that are expected to benefit from its implementation are usually the last to know that they exist”. He said therefore that one of the first things that must be addressed is public awareness to inform the public that there is the plan and what it contains. “It will be unforgiveable if indeed the persons who are responsible for implementing it are unaware what the plan is, because if you are unaware of what it is, you cannot really implement it,” he said, according to GINA.
The new Fisheries Management Plan for Guyana (2013-2018) encompasses four individual management strategies, an artisanal fisheries management plan, a shrimp management plan, a red snapper management plan and a trawler fishery management plan, GINA said. It also focuses on shark. GINA said that work on the Fisheries Management plan began in February with consultations and meeting with stakeholders in Georgetown, Berbice and Essequibo.
