Govt charts firm course to halt Arapaima poaching

http://www.stabroeknews.com/index.pl/article?id=56518746
Stabroek News
By Johan Earle

Tuesday, April 24th 2007

Government will be taking firm steps to ensure that illegal harvesting of the arapaima is curbed and will be working with the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) to tackle this problem which has been cropping up in recent months. So said Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud as he delivered the feature address at the launch of the Management Plan at Annai in the North Rupununi on Friday. The launching took place at the Bina Hill Institute, Annai, and was part of Minister Persaud's official visit to the North Rupununi with officials of the Ministry, the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) and the GFC. Chinese Ambassador Zhang Jungao, along with his wife, made the visit with the Minister to learn more about the people of Guyana's interior so as to be guided when considering cooperation programmes with the Government. He said that the Ministry and other agencies have been receiving reports about the species being illegally harvested. And during a visit in March this newspaper learnt from communities in the North Rupununi that persons are still poaching the arapaima and selling the meat. Many of the persons said that there is no one for them to complain to when these incidents occur. They said that they complained to the North Rupununi District Development Board (NRDDB) but nothing has been done to correct the issue. "We are very concerned about the reports of poaching of arapaima and wildlife and we gave the strong assurance that the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Forestry Commission will be watching," Persaud assured. "Already an incident has occurred and is being handled by the Police in the region along with officers from my department. We must send a strong signal to persons who would not comply with the law that we would not condone any wrongdoings that will affect the plan," the Minister said. He noted the initial steps being made to start the restocking of arapaima in the South Rupununi and this effort, he said, must be commended. He said now that the plan is in place, the Committee in the North Rupununi will decide on the quotas and how the sustainable harvesting will go forward. Director General of the Iwokrama International Centre Dr David Singh said at the launching that the Arapaima Management Plan places the management of the arapaima squarely in the hands of the persons of the North Rupununi communities who will work with the Department of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture to implement a system of access, benefit sharing and monitoring. He said that the collaborative management envisioned in the plan does not restrict access to or reduce the powers of the regulatory body. "Rather, it ensures access to more people over time and allows for the application of the regulatory framework by and through the people who are directly connected to the resources, and who would therefore make choices that have more long term advantages," he said. Dr Singh added that real-time decisions on access and benefit sharing can be made on the ground without having to refer back to a centralised system. "As such regulation becomes far simpler as it involves people who are directly connected with the resources themselves," he pointed out. The Iwokrama Director General also said that the approval of the plan marks a significant step not only in the management of local fisheries, but also in cementing the principles of collaborative management of natural resources. He said that Guyana's laws have historically commoditised the natural resources, developed around a centralised system of management and regulation and in the case of fisheries, geared for the management of only a part of the resources they are meant to regulate. He also said that the launch of the Arapaima Management Plan comes at a critical time, saying that along with the Iwokrama forest, the North Rupununi is becoming known for its natural beauty. Dr Singh said that the plan has been developed from the start using a participatory approach that capitalises on the values that all stakeholders bring to the table. "Local communities bring ownership, social and cultural values, field skills and knowledge; organisations such as the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Institute - from which we learnt the techniques of management of the arapaima - and Iwokrama, provide scientific know how and advice; Government brings the regulatory framework that ensures all stakeholders function within a single frame of reference," he said. Minister Persaud said that recent increases in fishing pressure appear to have led to reduced catch sizes for some stocks, of which the arapaima has suffered severely over the last 30 years. He said that greater efforts are required to catch the same quantity of fish. According to the Minister, it has been observed that juvenile arapaimas have been harvested and this led to the destruction of stocks over the years. He said that the next step is to have an Inland Fisheries Management Plan developed so that in addition to arapaimas being sustainably utilised, ornamental fish will also be managed. Persaud said that it is his hope that at the end of the initial three years of the plan's implementation a better understanding of fisheries can be had and this will be followed by the updating of the plan for an additional three to five years.