As Guyana’s government continues pressing for much-needed fishing licences, President Dr. Irfaan Ali says that he will also examine the number of licences the Surinamese claim they have granted.
Suriname had agreed to issue some 150 SK fishing licences to Guyanese fisherfolk by January 2022. These SK licences are granted to vessels with a Suriname Coast (Surinaamse Kust) to fish in the offshore zone along the breadth of the coast of Suriname.
Based on media reports in the neighbouring country, however, the Surinamese government has faced some pushback from private sector players, and concerns from opposition members.
But on Wednesday night, President Ali told reporters at the sidelines of an event that he again engaged Surinamese President Chandrikapersad Santokhi and the country’s Foreign Minister Albert Ramdin on the matter just hours before.
“President Santokhi assured me that the remaining issues will be addressed,” the Guyanese Head of State said.
These issues, raised consistently by Guyanese fisherfolk, include the high cost of licences through an illegal arrangement and the outright non-issuance of licences.
It was previously reported that Guyanese fishermen operating along the Corentyne have to pay some US$3,000 (about GY $630,000) to fish under an illegal arrangement with a licensed fishing company in Suriname.
And even when the fish is caught, it has to go to Suriname first and the rejected catch is then sent to Guyana.
A development in this matter, however, is that the Surinamese authorities claim that several licences were granted to Guyanese fisherfolk. This is a claim that the two governments are now seeking to verify.
“They said to me that they are going to send me some statistics to show me how many licences were issued to Guyanese.
“Minister Ramdin claimed that a high percentage of licences issued by the Surinamese authorities to Guyanese, so I’m waiting for that,” the President highlighted.
He was unsure whether these licences were granted before he and President Santokhi agreed that Suriname would issue the 150 licences.
And even in face of mounting concerns, President Ali emphasised, “…we have had excellent collaboration with the Surinamese in relation to our fisherfolk and we expect this to continue, and we’re not wavering on our position that we must have a resolution on this process.”
Meanwhile, the Guyanese Head of State reminded reporters that Guyana has been open to investors, including Surinamese investors. As such, he said that he expects Surinamese private sector players to lobby the Surinamese authorities so that Guyana fisherfolk “are not treated differently.”
Recently, Guyana’s Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said he has documents to prove what was agreed to, noting that when the right time comes, he will ensure those documents are made available to the press.
