RECENT articles in local media have focussed on the impact of Guyana’s growing oil and gas sector on the country’s important lucrative fishing industry. But a closer look at how the oil and fishing industries interact around the world demonstrates that the sectors can be developed responsibly at the same time—and thankfully that appears to be happening in Guyana so far.
It is first important to understand that the areas being developed by the oil and gas industry do not significantly overlap with Guyana’s traditional fishing areas. Shrimp account for nearly 50 percent of the fishing haul and generally live in shallow waters close to shore, according to a Marine Stewardship Council Fisheries Assessment. Guyana’s other fisheries for crab, snapper, shark and other species generally follow a similar pattern with trawlers and small craft operating at depths of less than 100 metres.

In comparison, ExxonMobil’s Liza 1 project is located at a depth of around 1,500 metres and a distance of more than 190 kilometres offshore. Nearly all of Guyana’s current fishing—both large scale shrimping and smaller scale fishing with wooden boats – takes place less than 25 kilometres offshore, not in the areas where oil industry development is occurring. These extremely deep waters generally hold minimal value for small-scale shore-based fishermen, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

Unfortunately, Guyana’s fish stocks have been declining over the last twenty years, long before oil production started in December 2019. Analysts generally believe that this supply loss is largely due to global issues with overfishing and unsustainable fishing practices. In 2014, well before oil production began, the former Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, stated that overfishing was a great challenge in the country. Minister Ramsammy urged that “water resources be better managed so that growth and development can be furthered,” hoping to reverse the new downward trend of fishing production.
Global overfishing issues are compounded by problems with illegal and aggressive fishing by industrial fleets operating within other countries’ sovereign waters. This has likely contributed to annual declines in Guyana’s fisheries dating back to the 1990s, with little change since Guyana’s oil discoveries.

It’s still worth noting that certain aspects of oil production like seismic surveys can pose some risks to some non-commercial marine life, primarily whales and dolphins. But seismic survey companies take these risks seriously and employ measures such as wildlife spotters to ensure their study areas are free of sensitive species before surveying.

These measures are in place so that responsible development of oil and fisheries can coexist and to safeguard their environment. Proper international standards, like limiting discharge and using non-toxic variants of fluids, are already helping Guyana to ensure that important local industries are not impacted by the growing oil and gas sector. Guyana has also been working with a number of international wildlife organisations, including the UN’s International Maritime Organisation, for decades to ensure the safety of marine life through high standards. These are the same standards that are used globally.

For example, the impact of oil production by-products, such as produced water, is limited to the immediate area around the FPSO, and are only released back into the ocean if they meet international standards for environmental safety. Exxon, the operator of the Stabroek Block, has outlined, publicly, during the environmental impact assess process, that it uses non-toxic variants of many common industrial supplies like hydraulic fluid that have been designed to biodegrade quickly to make sure any impacts are minimal. Efforts like these have allowed many areas to remain both prolific fishing areas and major oil production zones.
The physical separation of fisheries and oil development areas, as well as high environmental standards offshore, make it possible to grow the new hydrocarbons sector and protect economic livelihoods in Guyana that depend on healthy fisheries.