Efforts underway to improve law enforcement capacity to tackle piracy include a private trawler owner making a boat available to the police and coastguard for an immediate response to situations at sea and improved communication facilities at the Georgetown Boat House
The Agriculture Ministry is also working with the Fishermen’s Co-op societies of the Corentyne and the East Coast Demerara to provide a boat to the police for patrol and responses, a Government Information Agency (GINA) release said.
The release said that Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud assured the fishermen of the efforts underway to improve enforcement capabilities to tackle piracy while on a visit to the Meadow Bank fisheries wharf on Saturday.
Over the past months, there have been increases in incidents of hijacking at sea which have affected the livelihood of several fishermen and Persaud, noting that enforcement is primarily the role of the police and the coastguard, said that the Agriculture Ministry is acting as a “pressure body” to ensure that the issue of piracy is addressed. Responding to issues raised about the alleged connection among pirates, law enforcement officers and some persons from the fishing industry, Persaud assured them that whenever there is evidence that those allegations are true they will be dealt with at the level of the Commissioner of Police with confidentiality and he also urged that fishermen form associations similar to community policing groups, which will work under the various co-op societies to ensure active enforcement.
The release also stated that currently the Ministry is working with fishermen’s co-op societies to identify the persons who were affected by piracy and to determine what type of assistance could be rendered to them.
Persaud also informed the fishermen that measures are being put in place to address some of the other challenges facing the fishing industry.
