The mystery behind who really holds two controversial trawling licences deepened yesterday when the trawler owners association said that it had never heard of the person named by the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday.
Unfamiliar with the name Rampersaud Sookhdeo, the Guyana Association of Trawler Operators and Seafood Processors (GATOSP) says it is making enquiries to determine who exactly is the holder of the licences issued secretly by the PPP/C government.
President of the Association, Ruben Charles, when contacted yesterday told Stabroek News, “The association wants to know who this person is. We have never heard of him and no one in the fishing industry seems to know who it is.”
Charles related that the association was not furnished with any other information apart from what was released publicly on Monday by the Ministry of Agriculture.
At the upcoming meeting of the newly installed fisheries committee, chaired by the Ministry’s Director General, Madanlall Ramraj, to address concerns of the seabob trawlers, Charles said he hopes additional information will be released.
“We are trying to find out who is the individual but checks by our members have not provided any information as yet,” he explained.
After two months of being secretive about the deal, the Ministry of Agriculture on Monday finally released the name of the owner of two trawling licences. The Ministry named Sookhdeo of La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara – a re-migrant who it said ran fishing operations in Trinidad and Tobago, as the holder of the licences.
It is unclear why a recent re-migrant from Trinidad would be given licences in breach of an agreement with GATOSP and thereby jeopardising its international certification on sustainable fishing.
Stabroek News yesterday again made attempts to contact Sookhdeo but efforts have been futile as calls went unanswered.
When this newspaper made checks in the West Coast community on Monday afternoon, villagers were unsure of the person referred to. Stabroek News during its visit was directed to an address where a person with that name resides but verification efforts were unsuccessful as the man was not at home and his wife who spoke to the reporter via phone said her husband was out of the country and she was in no position to comment.
The release from the ministry on Monday said that records indicate that Sookhdeo has been in the fishing industry for over fifteen years and was operating under the name Haseed Enterprise in Trinidad and Tobago. He employs a number of Guyanese in his operations but was forced to relocate from Trinidad to Guyana because of COVID-19 restrictions and regulations, the release added.
An internet search yielded no information about Sookhdeo or Haseed Enterprise in Trinidad.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha had weeks ago told this newspaper that the licences were granted to “locals who are reputable fishermen.”
Just last week Mustapha failed to provide the name of the holder to the National Assembly even though he was specifically asked about this in a question lodged with Parliament.
APNU+AFC Member of Parliament Khemraj Ramjattan had tabled four questions in the House seeking clarification on the issuance of the licences amid discontent in the fishing sector.
Mustapha during an interview with this newspaper had stated that approval of the new licences does not breach the quota of vessels that can operate nor does it threaten the international certification of the trade.
Guyana holds the position as the number one exporter of seabob shrimp. In 2019 almost 21,000 metric tonnes were exported, versus 2018 when 22,000 metric tonnes were shipped out.
Based on the export figures, GATOSP had said that the new licences have the potential of decimating the industry and gives cause for their Maritime Stewardship Council (MSC) certification to be revoked as it goes against their agreement for sustainable operations.
According to the extant agreement with GATOSP, no more than 87 vessels should be operating in the industry. The minister however had pointed out that some licences are currently dormant.
Mustapha had justified the approval by explaining that several licences are inactive and the current number of trawlers operating does not exceed 80, while contending that it does not go against the agreement in place with GATOSP and international partners.
