A National Policy on Inland Fishing and Aquaculture has been completed, approved and finalised and implementation will officially begin in October.

This is according to Chief Fisheries Officer (CFO), Mr. Denzil Roberts who, during a recent telephone interview said that while implementation of the policy will officially begin next month, some elements are already being utilised by the local fishing industry.
At a meeting with aquaculture operators earlier this year, Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy had stated that the policy was about to be approved, and will complement the Fisheries Product Regulation, the Marine Fishing Regulation and the Aquaculture Regulation, which were all in their final stages at that time.
The minister had pointed out that unless the products are developed within this regulatory framework, there will be no export markets, noting that the new food regulations in the United States, Canada and Europe will see further non tariff barriers to trade.
“We can complain that they are unfair or we can do the only thing we can, which is to meet those standards because I can guarantee you that we can complain… but it will not change the regulations in North America and in Europe,” he stated.
The Agriculture Ministry and its relevant agencies have been making significant efforts in creating a high quality, high yielding aquaculture industry in Guyana, in order to be able to enter the Caribbean, North American and European markets.
Ramsammy related that while the task will not be easy, he is working with the Ministers of Agriculture throughout the region so that some of the non tariff barriers are removed.
The minister had also noted that a major barrier to the exporting of fish products is that Guyana does not meet the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Standards that are necessary for entry of food products into some countries.
However, much effort has been placed in this regard and the country is moving in a direction to achieve these standards.
On of the major issues which were raised at that meeting, and which has been plaguing the local aquaculture industry in Guyana is the availability and high prices of feed.
The CFO related that this is still a major challenge to aquaculture farmers in Guyana, noting that there is not much that can be done about this since it depends upon the world market prices.
Nevertheless, Dr. Ramsammy had assured that the Government of Guyana remains committed to supporting the development of aquaculture and has been working to develop guidelines, identify areas of research and provide training to meet the necessary standards in an effort to improve the industry.
He noted that for the industry to succeed, Guyana will have to develop an indigenous capacity for fish food production, adding that as long as the country continues to rely on importing fish food, it would never be able to produce fish at a cost that would be competitive on the international market.