Sheet Anchor fisherfolk to get $80M landing facility

… “we never see an improvement like this” – fisherman

Fisherfolk at Sheet Anchor, East Canje, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), are poised to benefit from an $80 million landing facility that will provide improved mooring, security and other amenities once ongoing revetment works at the site are completed. Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha announced the project on Saturday after meeting with fisherfolk under the Canje Bridge, where he told engineers and Fisheries Department officials to begin preparing the Bill of Quantities for the development. “Upon completion of this project… we’ll be spending approximately $80 million here to do a shed, fence the area, do a proper landing site so that the fisherfolk can get a proper place to moor their boats when they come out here and get proper security, put in a washroom and things like that,” Mustapha said. The facility is intended to address longstanding concerns raised by fisherfolk who operate from the area, while creating a more organised system for vessels using the landing site.

Structured mooring
During Saturday’s meeting, concerns were also raised about boats from the Canje Creek being moored indiscriminately, with loose vessels sometimes creating problems for water traffic. Mustapha said a structured mooring system will be introduced, with the Canje Creek and Sheet Anchor fishing communities expected to work together in managing the area. He said the fisherfolk’s cooperative, working alongside the Fisheries Department, will oversee the facility after it is completed.
“The fisherfolk, the co-op, will be responsible for the maintenance and the supervision of this project that we’ll be doing here together with the Fisheries Department,” he said. He noted that Government has invested heavily in fishing infrastructure across the country and urged users to protect the new facility so it does not fall into disrepair. A veteran fisherman with more than four decades in the industry welcomed the announcement, saying it marks the biggest improvement he has seen at the location.
“I am a fisherman for about 43 years, and we never see an improvement like this, and I think this is a good way going forward,” he said. He added that the facility would provide a safer place to secure boats, sell catches and conduct business, while expressing hope that everyone who uses the site will help maintain it. The Sheet Anchor project is one aspect of investments in fishing infrastructure across Guyana. Mustapha pointed to upgrades at several landing sites and wharves, including a recently awarded $106 million contract for rehabilitation works at the Albion wharf in Region Six. He said the fishing industry employs more than 15,000 people and continues to receive increased budgetary support, describing improved landing facilities as part of the Government’s effort to better support those who risk their lives at sea to supply affordable protein for Guyanese families.
Meanwhile, Mustapha announced that the second set of cheques under the Government’s fisherfolk cash-grant programme has been completed and will soon be distributed by the Fisheries Department to eligible beneficiaries across the country, including those in Region Six who missed the first tranche.