Govt’s recklessness shows disregard for welfare of fishermen – Fmr Minister

U.S. export fish ban

A recent ban on Guyana’s export of Siluriformes fish and shrimp into the United States (U.S) has been described as ‘sheer recklessness’ on the part of Government, who had adequate time to ensure that the country became compliant with new regulations.
Former Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy is of the firm belief that at no point did the current Minister ever caution fishermen of the impending disaster, and

that fishermen would not be able to export their catch or put mechanisms in place to reverse such an imposition.
“Such incompetence displays a reckless disregard for the welfare of the fishermen and their families, and for Guyana’s trade earnings. The question then is: Who is right? Is the loss of the fish export to America because of protectionist policies of the US, or is it the incompetence of the Government?” the former minister questioned.
While the U.S. has insisted that the demands made were not intended for Guyanese fishermen, but for fishing industries in all countries exporting fish there, it is clear that other countries did take the necessary steps to prepare and export their fish to the U.S., and have therefore not been affected. Gaskin said, “The Guyana Government must act with alacrity to ensure that this glitch is temporary, and that, before long, we would meet the new standards that America wants. They are doable, and do not require provisions that are too onerous.” Dr. Ramsammy reminded about another mistake made by the Government — made with rice farmers after May 2015, when Guyana lost the Venezuela rice market. The rice industry has since struggled, and has not fully recovered. “If we cannot recover the American export market for our fish, it will prove disastrous for our fishermen and our economy. In a country where CoIs have become the go-to response for Government, a CoI is necessary. The Ministers of Health and Agriculture are guilty of dereliction of duty,” Dr Ramsammy added.
The former minister maintained that both Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and Public Health Minister Volda Lawrence are responsible for the loss of the fish export market to the U.S.
“They are unequivocally guilty of dereliction of duty. The APNU+AFC destroyed the sugar industry, leaving thousands unemployed and depriving Guyana of much-needed foreign currency. They have weakened the rice industry. Now they threaten the fishing industry, leaving thousands of fishermen fearful of their and their families’ future,” he lamented.
There are already reports of fishermen putting away their boats, since they are finding it difficult to make ends meet. And according to Dr. Ramsammy the thriving fishing industry is now feeling the full effects of the recklessness and incompetence of the APNU+AFC government.
Export of various fish species to the U.S. represents a major part of the fishing industry. Success of the fishing industry is unequivocally linked to export. With that market essentially shut down since February 2018, hard times have already descended on the industry.
While successful, the fishing industry is not unlike sugar and rice. Even when both of these industries were doing well, most of the people who depended on them depend on weekly wages, living from payday-to- payday. “Similarly, fishermen are generally people living from payday-to-payday. But, like sugar workers and rice farmers, the fishermen have been abandoned, (and have been left) floating in dangerous waters by a reckless, incompetent and uncaring Government,” he added.
The US Food Safety Inspection Services (FSIS) has asked Guyana to provide the relevant documentation to verify this country’s inspection system equivalence to the US standards, or its equivalent public health system. Dr Dodson claimed Guyana complied with the request.
However, the country fell short of the US standards in three areas: firstly, on the issue of the presence of inspectors; secondly, there was insufficient documentation detailing verification of each step in the sanitation and Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) process; and thirdly, there was insufficient documentation specifying how the industry manages adulterated catfish products.
New US standards for import of catfish species demand the presence of inspectors at plants for one hour during an eight-hour shift. Guyana was among several countries banned recently from the US catfish export sector.