The government of Suriname has not yet issued the 150 SK fishing licences to Guyanese fishermen, which were promised in 2021 following an agreement between the two countries, and Guyana’s Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha said he is disappointed.
In 2021, an agreement between Suriname and Guyana was reached for 150 fisherfolk here to be granted licences by Paramaribo starting from January 2022. This is still to be realised after pushback from licence holders in Nickerie who currently rent licences to Guyanese and stand to lose revenue.
Stabroek News made contact with President of Suriname Chan Santokhi for an update and was told by his public relations arm to speak with Minister of Agriculture Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Parmanand Sewdien. However, efforts to contact him proved futile.