Ministry acquires $99m vessel to monitor fishing

The Fisheries Department of the Ministry of Agriculture in keeping with its mandate to ensure sustainable fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Guyana has acquired a $99m vessel.

A release last week from the ministry said that the vessel will significantly boost the department’s capacity to carry out monitoring and surveillance activities on Guyana’s fishing fleet.

The release said that the vessel was commissioned on the 30th of June 2020 by de facto Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder and was named after the Cavalli (Caranx hippos), a species of fish distributed across both the tropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

The release noted that Guyana has signed on to the Port States Measures Agreement that seeks to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and as such this vessel will be a valuable asset.

The release said that at sea that inspections and regular patrolling will ensure that fisher folk are sticking to the principles of sustainable fishing and ensuring that all regulatory devices on fishing gear are being utilized correctly.

It is also expected that research activities which are important in assisting to properly monitor and regulate fishing activities will be boosted.