PARAMARIBO – Dissatisfied members of the Fishermen’s Collective on Wednesday made it clear that the administration of President Chandrikapersad Santokhi has 48 hours to present solutions to deal with the problems of the fishing sector. The association delivered petitions to the Office of the President and The National Assembly.

The fishermen are demanding transparency in the fishing permit policy, inputs to support the fishing sector, permit allocation, safety at sea and services and facilities for the fishing sector. They also want the government to tackle illegal fishing. The fishermen expressed their disappointment over the fact that they do not receive any support from the government. They claimed that young entrepreneurs are not being encouraged to invest in the fishing sector. “Other countries give full support to their fishermen in the form of cheap fishing nets, machines and state subsidies so that they could compete with others,” said Akash Sital.

The fishermen also claimed that they keep the Central Market going. “We give seniors who wait on the wharf fish free of charge because they are finding it hard to make ends meet.” The fishermen want a portion of the money that goes to the government to be invested in the fishing sector. They explained that it is too expensive to deliver Surinamese fish on the international market because of the high expenses. “Outboard motors, batteries and fishing nets are more expensive in Suriname than in neighboring Guyana, said Sital. The fishermen want import duty to be scrapped and for the government to pay state subsidy to the factory that produces the ice that they need…[+]