-Over 5,000 patrons expected
THE COMMUNITY of Rockstone, some 18 miles from Linden, in Region Ten (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice), is renowned for hosting Guyana’s largest fish festival – the Rockstone Fish Festival – an attraction for both tourists and locals alike.
For some, the experience involves a week-long camp out, fishing, bird-watching, or simply exploring the Essequibo. And this year, the much-anticipated event promises to be even more exciting.
Last Friday, Tourism, Industry and Commerce Minister, Mr. Manniram Prashad officially launched the annual Rockstone Fish Festival, the sixth to date, billed for November 19 and 20.
The launch has heralded the onset of preparations which will transform the community of close to 250 persons into a hive of activity, ranging from the grand fishing competition to river expeditions.
At the ceremony, held in the boardroom of the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry on South Road, Georgetown, Minister Prashad gave assurance that his ministry was fully prepared to support the event, recognised as one of the biggest fish festivals in the Caribbean.
Celebrated during Tourism Awareness Month, the Rockstone Fish Festival forms part of the Tourism Ministry’s calendar of events, and is very integral to the development of tourism in Rockstone, he added.
“This fish festival is very important because of what it does for the community; this is part of community-based tourism. The aim is to get people in the community to produce goods and services, so that they can sell and promote what they have, not just for the fish festival, but for tourists throughout the year, because Rockstone is becoming very popular,” he said.
According to Minister Prashad, Guyana has what professional anglers worldwide consider as the world’s most popular freshwater game fish, namely, the Peacock Bass (Lukanani). 
“So, we are promoting sport fishing, and Rockstone gave us that opportunity because it was identified early, and now Rewa is also identified as a top potential hotspot for sport fishing,” he said.

More than 5,000 visitors are expected to throng Rockstone for this year’s festival, which will be jointly hosted by the Tourism, Industry and Commerce Ministry, the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), and the Rockstone Tourism Association (RTA).

First staged in September 2006, the aim has always been to promote the location as a major tourist attraction and generate income and opportunities for residents of the community.
The programme begins on Saturday, November 19 and continues with some happenings as early as 04:30hrs the following day, including the fish-catching competition in the waterway, which teems with fish, including one of the largest freshwater fishes in the world, the Arapaima.
The area also boasts a rich population of birds – at least 140 species – and is a natural habitat for the giant otter, big river turtles, ‘Howler’ monkeys, labbas, iguanas, bush hogs and black caimans. Moreover, it is home to Guyana’s National Flower, the Victoria Amazonia or the Victoria Regina.

As to the benefits of this, Prashad explained: “Right now, we rank alongside Peru as one of the top birding destinations in the world, and we are being identified right now as the next niche market of sport fishing in this part of the world.
“We at the Tourism Ministry and the Government of Guyana in particular, are supporting this event in all aspects, to promote the residents in Rockstone; to promote what they are doing for the community; and to make them self-sufficient, so that throughout the year they can develop sport fishing – they can go to another level.”
Meanwhile, RTA Vice-President, Ms. Marilyn David assured that the committee is working to ensure the much-anticipated event is successfully hosted. She disclosed that lots of activities will be featured at the event, including swimming, diving, and paddle boat competition; watermelon and farine eating competition; tug-o-war competition; cultural activities, and lots of other entertainment.
She said the Ministry of Transport and Hydraulics has completed improvement works on the access road to the community.