— stocks now include hassar and crabs
GUYANA’s aquaculture industry continues to grow, thanks to Government’s thrust to develop the aquaculture sector to boost its agriculture diversification drive. There was a recorded production of 400,000kg of aquaculture fish by the end of November 2011; and according to Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, this production included more than 217,000kg of tilapia, 110,000 kg of tambaqui, and 28,000 kg of black shrimp. Moreover, the aquaculture stock now includes mullet, querriman, bashaw, hassar and crabs.
Minister Ramsammy made this disclosure yesterday in giving an overview of the performance of the aquaculture industry.
“Guyana’s total marine fish production was about 22,000 tons in 2011 (to the end of November), and consists mainly of prawns, seabobs, finfish and red snapper,” he said.
Former Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud had, some time ago, noted that aquaculture in Guyana was built after some discussion with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for it to be included in the agriculture diversification strategy.
Since that time, it has become a central and important element in the country’s agro-diversification; and is no longer treated as an afterthought, but has been placed in the mainstream of Guyana’s agriculture diversification projects.
Guyana’s aquaculture has been advancing in recent years because Government agencies, universities, commercial farms and international aid groups have been collaborating to further advance its developmental progress.
The earliest known attempts at aquaculture in Guyana can be traced back 100 years to East Indian inhabitants of the Corentyne Coast experimenting with the brackish salt water species of fish.
In 1997, Guyana’s National Development Strategy stated that aquaculture development should become a priority, because of its potential to positively impact social and economic development by creating jobs and generating income.
In the same year, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) specialists visited Guyana, and worked with the Fisheries Department to outline proposals for aquaculture development.