PARAMARIBO, Suriname– The Suriname Seafood Association (SSA) says the industry is unaware that President Chandrikapersad Santokhi or the government has made any commitments to provide licenses for Guyanese fishermen to ply their trade here.
In a statement, the SSA said that organizations within the sector have constantly pointed out that the Surinamese Sea Fisheries Act makes it possible to register foreign vessels under the other conditions of the Surinamese fisheries legislation and regulations.
“This includes, in any case, the annually established conditions, a maximum number of licenses per fish species, the distribution key between fishing vessels, and the number of permitted foreign fishing vessels.”
The SSA said that despite special efforts, the industry is unaware that any commitments have actually been made by President Santokhi or the government regarding the issuance of licences.
“It is incorrect that a target date was linked to granting permits to Guyanese applicants,” the SSA said.
Earlier this week, the Guyana government said it had not received any response to its latest correspondence sent to Suriname regarding the delayed issuance of promised fishing licenses to local fishermen, as well as other concerns facing Guyanese nationals along the Corentyne River that creates the border between the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said he is still awaiting a response on the promised Suriname-issued fishing licenses for Guyanese fisherfolk.
I haven’t heard anything as yet…I hope we can agree because we are working on getting a deal signed for these licenses for our fisherfolk. We are still fighting the matter, and I hope we can get a resolution soon. We are continuing to oversee the issue, and we will continue to fight it,” Mustapha said.
Guyana says it had been promised 150 fishing licenses to allow local fishermen to ply their trade in Suriname waters and will counteract the current renting of the permits from Suriname.
“We are waiting on them [Surinamese] to issue the licenses. We have submitted all the information they asked for to give the people renting the licenses,” the Agriculture Minister said.
The SSA, in its statement, said that while the content of the diplomatic note is not public information, the organizations within the sector are “seriously disadvantaged.”
The SSA said that “nowhere does it appear that conversations at the bilateral level, with illegal Guyanese fishing as the subject, have been meticulously tracked.
“To the extent that this is the case, it is constitutionally the task of the government to inform the National Assembly of this, but, given the direct interest, also to heed the appeal of the sector.”
“For example, reference is made to an upcoming meeting between the presidents of Suriname and Guyana. The principle of adversarial procedure, as well as due care, entails that the president, in case of hesitation to the call for top consultations, should at least speak to the sector organizations, now that the consultations will not be conducted by the specialist ministers, but apparently by the heads of government of both countries.”
The SSA is also dismissing suggestions that the negotiations should take place within the context of the right to mutual fishing in each other’s waters.
“There is no equal interest. After all, the SSA added that the Guyanese fishing grounds are already exhausted and not a useful destination for Surinamese fishing vessels to explore in discussions in the sphere of diplomacy or international law,” the SSA added.
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