A meeting between the Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors (GATOSP) and the Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha is scheduled for next week, president of the association Ruben Charles told Stabroek News.
Charles, when contacted yesterday, said he received a call from Mustapha informing him that they will meet in the new week.
He noted that there has been no confirmed date but after writing to the Minister seeking an audience for the second time last Friday, Charles said he received the call. The minister, he said, informed him that he is gathering all relevant information before meeting with them.
According to the GATOSP head, they are looking forward to the meeting but he noted that he and his members will be meeting next Tuesday to further discuss the issuance of the licences.
President Irfaan Ali during a press conference hosted with the European Union yesterday, said that he has asked the Agriculture Ministry to furnish him with a comprehensive report on the fisheries sector.
He made the comments after being asked about the controversial issuance of the licences. Although he did not directly answer the question put to him, the Head of State went on to explain the issuance of the licences is not the only troubling issue in sector and it was in light of this that he requested the report.
Director General at the Ministry of Agriculture, Madanlall Ramraj, had said they are reviewing the entire process that led to the issuance of the licences as well as the objections made.
Trawler operators have upped the pressure on the government to explain the issuing of two new trawling licences which they say could decimate their businesses.
They say the two licences clandestinely issued by the Ministry of Agriculture constitute a threat to the sustainability of the local seabob shrimp industry which has already seen a dramatic decline in harvesting numbers.
In the letter dated 19 November, GATOSP President, Charles, wrote to Mustapha for clarification, warning that new licences could jeopardise the sustainable certification secured from the international Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
The letter stated that in light of all the management initiatives in place and the low catches of seabob, new licences would be harmful to the sustainable management of fish resources.
It also warned that the MSC could consider this as a breach of the principles associated with the certification granted to GATOSP and revoke it.
GATOSP added that the addition of any vessel to the current licensing agreements is in contravention of the pact that it and the Fisheries Department of the ministry had agreed to.
The GATOSP letter said that members had been alerted of the two new licences after reports began circulating in the fishing community. It added that some level of confirmation surfaced afterwards when the supposed holder of the new licences approached the owner of one of the seabob processing plants for an agreement whereby the plant would process the shrimp caught by his vessel.
Charles has since written to seabob processors reminding them of their commitment to the MSC and advised that processing of the seabob will go against their commitment.
According to the letter, the Association and the Fisheries Department had “worked out” an agreement to decrease the seabob trawling fleet of one hundred trawlers by 20 per cent over the period 2011 to 2013 following the collapse of the prawn fisheries in Guyana.
It added that the Ministry had also taken a decision that no licence would be issued which resulted in a few entities in the seafood industry such as Noble House Seafoods, Pritipaul Singh Investments, and Gopie Investment, giving up their licences.
