-30 to receive cage culture training in China

WITH major investments being made to increase Guyana’s seafood production and expand the market, Guyanese fisherfolk are being urged to open their minds to new technologies and sustainable practices.

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha during an event held recently to celebrate World Fisherfolk Day, told scores of Guyanese fishers that new practices such as cage culture will see the country’s fishing industry being transformed.

Mustapha revealed that the ongoing pilot trials at Lake Mainstay and Lake Capoey on the Essequibo Coast, which involved the use of 50 fishing cages that were donated by the Chinese Embassy, have thus far been successful.

“We have seen it start to work and it will be very successful,” he said.

Cage culture involves the use of marine cages set up in lakes, reservoirs or ponds to confine fish. It allows water to pass freely between the fish and surrounding water resources, thus maintaining good water quality and removing waste.

Soon 30 fisherfolk will undergo training facilitated by China to further promote the use of cage culture, Mustapha disclosed.

“Very shortly, we will have some fisherfolk go for training in China and when they come back here, we’ll form groups.

Those selected are expected to begin training by the end of July.

Further, he urged fishers to shed their old practices and adapt to new technologies to maintain healthy fishing spaces and promote a better quality of aquatic foods.

“We can’t continue to do the same thing or want new results with the same kind of activity and the same way we have been doing it from our fore-parents time. We have to change the way we do things now,” he said adding:
“Gone are the days when you just go out to the seashore and put your seine and expect to catch, four or five baskets of fish.”

He said that climate change has prompted the introduction of new practices and the population requires high-quality foods to promote healthy living and boost immune systems to help ward off sickness.

He highlighted that sustainable fishing is the foundation of maintaining the health of people and fishing spaces such as oceans and rivers.

These practices, he said, are pivotal in ensuring high quality aquatic foods reach every plate.

He added that Guyana has partnered with organisations like the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to provide technical guidance to support a sustainable fisheries sector.

“With the FAO, we have projects addressing the sustainability of resources through the FISH4ACP Project, the distribution of safety equipment, and the generation of a Fisheries Department Information System. The WWF in collaboration with the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) has provided the Government of Guyana with a National Plan of Action for Illegal, Unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.”

Meanwhile, the government has thus far expended $300 million to improve the social conditions at landing sites, construct washroom facilities, sheds, storerooms, ramps, install solar lights, and rehabilitate wharves.

Additionally, an office building was constructed at Number 79 Village for the Upper Corentyne Fishermen’s Co-op Society.

In Guyana, the fisheries sector accounts for three per cent of country’s agriculture Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and GY$11.9 billion worth of exports or about six per cent of the country’s total exports.