The Ministry of Agriculture has enlisted the help of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) to determine the reason behind the significant decline in fish being caught.
This was revealed by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha during a meeting with stakeholders within the fisheries sector on Wednesday. There, the fishermen raised concerns about the evident decline in catches and how it has affected their ability to provide for their families.
In direct response to their concerns, the Agriculture Minister acknowledged the decline and expressed full support for having an analysis done to determine the root cause.
“Let me make it clear, this government will not let the fisheries industry die,” Minister Mustapha underscored.
“We agree that there have been low catches but we have to shy away from making assumptions without proper first conducting a proper analysis. Guyana is not the only country that is being affected by low catches…this is a global phenomenon and the factors will vary from country to country. The reason behind low catches in one country may not be the reasons behind low catches in another,” he explained.
The Agriculture Minister noted that several factors can be the direct cause of the low catches and said that the government is prepared to work “so that we can have a solution to this issue.”
Additionally, the minister disclosed that a collective effort is needed between the government and stakeholders in the fisheries sector to address the issue as well.
The FAO, which focuses on issues relating to food around the world, has assisted governments with conducting similar analyses in other countries.
