With considerations that have to do with both food security and the profitability of the industry in mind, Guyana’s potentially lucrative seabob industry will benefit from a collaborative initiative (under the so-called FISH4ACP programme,) in support of the realization of an enhanced regime of safe and healthy work practices along the seabob value chain.
An April 26 Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) disclosure says that the initiative to enhance the safety and health regime in the sector is being undertaken in collaboration with the state-run Fisheries Department and agencies that have a vested interest in the welfare of the Seabob sector, including the Guyana Association of Trawler Owners and Seafood Processors (GATOSP) and the Guyana National Fisherfolk Organization (GNFO). The initiative, the FAO release says enjoys “the full support of the development of an Occupational Health and Safety strategy for the seabob sector.” The Guyana National Fisherfolk Organization (GNFO) is also reported to have endorsed the initiative, the FAO quoting the body as saying that it is “in full support of the development of an Occupational Health and Safety strategy for the seabob sector.”
The GNFO comment also asserts that an OSH strategy for the local seabob sector “will help the industry to meet national and international standards and also benefit the fishers who ply their trade in tough conditions by providing them with better awareness on health and safety at work and at the landing sites” A Stabroek News report on the local seabob industry earlier this month asserts that Guyana has an annual harvest of 17,000 tonnes valued at an estimated US46 million, making it “the world’s largest producer Atlantic seabob shrimp.” The United States and the European Union (EU) are the largest markets for the seabob. An industry source who agreed to speak with the Stabroek Business on the condition of anonymity said that the issues facing the seabob industry go beyond considerations of health and safety, extending into “other areas that need to be fixed.” Notwithstanding the fact that Guyana is reportedly the world’s largest seabob producer, the number of local companies involved in the sector is relatively small.
