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Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha (Photo: News Room/April 6, 2022)
This is a longstanding arrangement where Guyanese fisherfolk have been fishing under an exploitative, unsanctioned arrangement wherein they rent the licences from the Surinamese.
Based on Surinamese law, however, fishing licences are only granted to citizens of that country. Illegal fishing will incur sanctions.
Though these sanctions meted out to the captains are in keeping with Surinamese regulations, Mustapha said he has engaged Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Hugh Todd on potentially asking the Surinamese authorities to return the Guyanese vessels and materials.
That would allow them to ply their trade once again, though not in Suriname waters, without the appropriate licensing.
Meanwhile, Mustapha also explained that the nine crew members, who were already deported to Guyana, were not penalised. The reason for this, he explained, is because only the captains had fake licences.
