On April 7, 2017, the inland fishing fisherfolks of Suriname came together at the Commewijne Fisheries Center to discuss the problems they are facing in their work. The meeting was organized by fishers. There are approximately 50 inland fishers in Vissercollectief from Paramaribo and Commewijne who are small boat owners and work in the rivers and the estuary.
The meeting objective was to discuss illegal fishing done by non-licensed fishers. They discussed the disparities as the illegal fishers don’t pay tax, boat registration and they even destroy the stands, a pile driven by each licensed fisher in the river to place the fish net. The fishers made recommendations to submit to fisheries division, including a regulation to place a name and number plates on vessels. This underscores the importance of organisation to our region’s fishers because it allows for effective unified communication to the fishing authorities.
According to Mr. Mark Lall, following the meeting of the inland fishers, the cooperative Vissercollectief has since met with the director of Fisheries Department to discuss the problems and the recommendations of the fishers.
The CNFO hopes to continue following the developments of this story.
