Globally, the fisheries industry, inclusive of aquaculture, had a total value of US$217.5 billion in 2010. This, of course, accounted only for those in the sector operating above board – the licensed fishers who declare their catch correctly, pay their taxes and function within the parameters of legality.
According to a report launched earlier this month at the 3rd Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) International Forum on Tax and Crime, in Istanbul, Turkey, “The fisheries sector remains vulnerable to organised criminal activity that not only inhibits the ability of countries to enforce fisheries policy, but directly impacts the economic and social well-being of people in both developed and developing countries.”
It recognises that developing countries are the major participants of the global fisheries sector and that they provide over 50 per cent of the seafood traded around the world. According to the report too, the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that over 500 million people in developing countries depend, directly or indirectly, on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods.
The report titled, ‘Evading the Net: Tax Crime in the Fisheries Sector’ was prepared by the OECD Task Force on Tax Crimes and Other Crimes. It looks at the issue of tax crime in the fisheries sector, and the impact this has on the ability of countries to raise government revenue to fund public expenditure and development. But it also addresses other serious infractions such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing; corruption; smuggling, including narcotic drugs and arms as well as contraband; money laundering; human smuggling and human trafficking and piracy.
Piracy is a huge issue for Guyana’s fisheries sector with our artisanal fishers being the biggest targets. The countless attacks on local mom and pop fishing boats, some of which have resulted in deaths have drawn the ire of these fisherfolk who continually advocate for firearms to protect themselves.
Revelations in an article published in the November 19, 2013 edition of this newspaper that the artisanal fleet was the hardest to monitor compound the suspicion that perhaps some of these small fishers are more ‘sharkish’ than they appear to be.
A case in point is the fact that even the local Fisheries Department in the Ministry of Agriculture is unsure of exactly how many of these boats are in operation. Upwards of 1,200 is the official estimate. However, not all of them are registered and licensed. Unfortunately, it is way too easy for anyone with a bit of capital ‒ or even without, since outboard engines can be bought on hire purchase ‒ to acquire a wooden boat, putter out into the sea or river and start fishing. Because it is profitable, a family fleet can quickly grow from this with no contribution being made to the government coffers by way of income tax, VAT or any other such payment as long as it remains under the radar.
If they so choose, and some of them probably do, these small operations can run contraband and ferry drugs among other things. Sea and river patrols are so few and far between that they don’t pose a worry to those bent on illegality. In addition, Head of the Fisheries Department at the Agriculture Ministry and Chief Fisheries Officer Denzil Roberts voiced the concern that perhaps the constant pirate attacks on artisanal fishers were being perpetrated by some within their very ranks. “Someone can’t just come up and find you in the dead of night to rob you; they would have to know the sea also,” he was quoted as saying in the article.
Noting the high value attached to fish glue and the fact that pirates always went for it, Roberts made the point that there had to be middlemen, who were perhaps fish processors, who were buying the product. Ultimately, there has to be some sort of black market exporting of the product. He advocated for more monitoring of that section of the industry.
Unfortunately, the Fisheries Department is just that – a department. It cannot police the mom and pop boats. It must rely on law enforcement and military patrols to sniff out any fishy business that might be occurring. We are all aware of how ineffectual these patrols are. While fishing co-ops would help to provide some amount of accountability, membership of these organisations is voluntary.
The OECD report does make salient recommendations geared to arresting tax crime in the fisheries industry, including intelligence gathering, audits and the use of vessel monitoring systems for surveillance and control. But the key to arresting tax evasion and crime in the local industry would involve first bringing all fishers to book and then careful and continued monitoring. With any luck, this might even be a way to clamp down on piracy.
