Holder of controversial trawler licences says he deserves equal opportunity

A photo of Rampersaud Sookhdeo issued by the Ministry of Agriculture

Declaring that he was “not a ghost,” the holder of two controversial trawler licences yesterday said he has been in the fisheries business for 20 years and deserves an equal opportunity as a Guyanese to operate in the sector.

Rampersaud Sookhdeo issued a statement through the Ministry of Agriculture which has come under intense pressure over what has been seen as an opaque process that only came to light when exposed by the Guyana Association of Trawler Operators and Seafood Processors (GATOSP) in November last year.

GATOSP has said it has no idea who Sookhdeo is and it is unclear whether his statement yesterday will placate the association which has argued vociferously that the assigning of the licences breached a longstanding agreement between it and the Ministry of Agriculture and that Guyana’s international sustainable fishing certification has now been put at risk.