Fishermen are feeling a bit more secure in East and West Berbice following the deployment of a Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard vessel to patrol fishing areas in Guyana's territorial waters.
The patrols commenced on March 13 last following a daring attack on eight fishing boats one week earlier by a band of armed pirates. Last Thursday, Colonel Edward Collins, GDF Officer-in-Charge of Operations and Training, met with regional officials and fishermen at the Regional Boardroom in New Amsterdam to assess the impact of the deployment.
According to the Colonel he had sought the meeting to obtain the views of the Regional Democratic Council and fishermen on the impact of the patrols, saying "we are patrolling areas where fishermen operate and where they were vulnerable to attacks by pirates."
Chairman of the No. 66 Fisherman's Co-operative Society Ltd, Premchan Ramgobin noted that "I am happy with the deployment since it will assist fishermen to work freely. A lot of the fishermen were afraid to go out to sea following the attacks by the pirates." Ramgobin said he was pleased with the support fishermen had received from the regional administration and the GDF and is encouraging fishermen to go out and fish since the Coast Guard will be "watching over their operations. The patrols are very important to fishermen who now feel a bit more secure with the presence of the GDF," he remarked.
During the early morning hours of March 6, five heavily armed pirates attacked and robbed eight fishing boats of their engines and several pieces of equipment. All of the boats were fishing in the vicinity of the mouth of the Berbice River and were in sight of each other when the pirates struck. Five days earlier pirates had stolen two engines and destroyed three others during a daylight attack on five boats in the vicinity of Borlam, East Coast Berbice. Over the years pirates have carried out countless attacks on fishing vessels making off with engines and equipment valued at millions of dollars.
Following the most recent attack, affected fishermen called on the government to issue firearm licences to them and for the GDF to conduct regular patrols, particularly in the vicinity of the mouth of the Berbice River.
Regional Chairman, Kumkarran Ramdass speaking at the meeting noted that the administration had felt that the daring attacks would have impacted negatively on production in the region and the economic activity of fishermen. "As a result we made representation to Central Government for the deployment of a special unit of the Coast Guard to patrol East and West Berbice, including the Corentyne Coast." The meeting he explained was held to assess the success of the patrols, to hear the views of fishermen on the deployment and to ascertain whether any additional activities would be required of the Coast Guard.
The administration, he said, has been asked to identify a plot of land in the vicinity of the Canje Bridge for the erection of a building for the Coast Guard which is exploring the possibility of establishing a permanent presence in Berbice. "We will be willing to look at what possibility exists for a piece of land there for an Operational Centre."
"The presence of the GDF and the Coast Guard," Ramdass posited, "will bring some additional comfort to fishermen, the business community and other sectors involved in economic activity and will have a positive impact on overall economic activity in the region."
Some of the victims have expressed the view that the pirates could be operating out of the Corentyne River or neighbouring Suriname. "Some of the engines," they suggest "are re-sold to fishermen in other areas either en bloc or in parts." Some of the fishermen are also convinced that among the pirates are their colleagues from East and West Berbice since they are very familiar with the owners and their operations.