“The fish gone! The fish getaway. All over we deh searching. We went to Berbice. We went till to North West side fishing, trying to find a good area but we nah find the fish…” a frustrated Tony Persaud said on his return from his latest fishing expedition in the vicinity of North West District.
The move was to scope out profitable fishing grounds as he and other fishers have been forced out from the area they once operated – 15-17 miles out from the Liliendaal foreshore – by vessels supporting oil and gas activities here.
For the past five months, fishermen, who are accustomed to fishing in the area of the Liliendaal seawall, said they were instructed to move by crew members of vessels supporting ExxonMobil’s offshore operations as they were now working in the area.
According to Persaud, on his last trip in December last year, a vessel bearing the name “Atlanta Spirit” pulled up next to his fishing vessel and requested that he move away from the area.
“It was not the first they ask me to move. I go back after they tell me move but the last time they come up next to my fishing boat and tell me pick up my seine and move or they will call the coast guards. They even take pictures with me and my boat. They are not Guyanese men on the vessel,” he related as he spoke of what occurred on his last trip to the area.
His story was echoed by other fishermen, who stated that they were instructed to move at least three to four times.
Since the request to move, the group of fishers have been complaining bitterly of low catches.
“Five, six time we get move out and they take pictures of our boat. From what we understand they say a survey going on in that area and we can’t deh within ten square miles of that area…. Where they want to us go fishing? Where? We drive from Berbice to North West and still can’t get no fish,” Sohan (only name given), one of the fishermen who work along with boat owners lamented.
Stabroek News understands that the particular area is deemed lucrative for fishers, who harvest butterfish, bangamary, and trout.
“The area is by the mouth of the [Demerara River] meeting with the Atlantic Ocean. So the sweet and salt water meets together and that is where the fish feeds making it a good place for us to fishing,” Persaud explained.
“You see when we fish there we drop seine like two times a day when the tide is right and we get a good catch but now we don’t have that. We setting seine but barely picking up couple baskets at the end of the day,” another fisherman pointed out.
The boat owner related that after his expedition to the North West District he only returned with five baskets of fish and was not able to fully cover his expenses.
Additionally, the fishermen opined that the suggestion of operating out of marine fish cages will not work for catching the species of fish they focus on.
“That is a waste of money to come with because catching ‘banga’ [bangamary] don’t work like that. Those things are for red snappers but we don’t catch that. It won’t work. Catching banga and butter fish you have to work with the tide; the fish runs with the tide,” Roodi Persaud, a seasoned fisherman and boat owner explained.
With reports across the country of low catches, President Irfaan Ali had announced that his government was looking at innovations to curb the issue.
“We are not sitting back. We have a responsibility to find solutions and that is what we are doing. We are working every single day on finding innovative solutions,” he announced at a recent forum on agriculture innovations.
The president stated that the marine cages “can bring in a net value of close to $8 million annually. And you could pay back for the investments within six months.”
But the fishers do not think this will be profitable.
Moreover, Latchman Persaud related that government, particularly the Department of Fisheries, needs to speak with them as they remain unclear as to what is occurring at sea.
“We have families to feed and mortgages to pay, we cannot keep going to sea and not making money to feed we self. It is a large investment now to go to sea and not coming back with enough to cover your expenses… It really hard for us fishermen out here,” he stressed.
When contacted yesterday, ExxonMobil’s Guyana Head of Media and Communications Janelle Persaud promised a response to new queries from this newspaper but unto press time Friday no statement was provided.
In response to a previous report, she had said “We have not received such claims but I can assure you that ExxonMobil Guyana has not prohibited any fisher folk from carrying out their operations.”
She had gone on to explain that with the planned laying of the fibre optic cable in the coming weeks, they have worked with the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fisheries Department and compensated fishermen who are likely to be affected.
“We do intend to begin the laying of fibre optic cables from our offshore facilities to onshore cable landing stations in Georgetown and Ogle in the coming weeks. The Fisheries Department identified several licensed fisher folk with pens that required removal from the approved installation route. These individuals have been compensated, the value of which was determined by several factors including information from the fisher folk themselves, Fisheries Department, market value and administrative costs,” she had explained.
Before they were forced to move, the fishermen said, they said that in one haul they would normally collect seven baskets of fish. From one of those trips they would make over $150,000 after selling to wholesalers.
“It is a real struggle these days. I work as a taxi driver but I get a boat to brace me. But now the money from the taxi work going into the fishing business. Every time you go you have to keep investing and you are not getting back your money. My debt is probably close to $300,000 because we just keep losing from every trip,” Rajendra Boodhoo said.
“The fishes carry prices now but we are not getting the catch. The area we normally would have a good haul they don’t want to us fishing there anymore. Bangamary selling for $340 a pound now. Last year it was $120 but we are not getting enough fish to get a good market,” he lamented.
According to him an average investment for a trip out at sea is approximately $50,000.
Stabroek News’ efforts to solicit a comment from the Ministry of Agriculture were futile. Calls to both the Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha and Chief Fisheries Officer Denzel Roberts went unanswered.
In recent months fishermen up and down the coast have complained about low catches and questions have been asked about what studies the Ministry of Agriculture and ExxonMobil have been doing to determine the cause.
