The US catfish ban

From all indications, the current issue regarding the United States’ ban on Guyana’s catfish is nowhere close to being resolved. The ban, which was instituted by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) against Guyana last year, came as no surprise since the mediocre approach to such issues has now become a norm in this country (Guyana).
Veterinary Public Health Unit Director, Dr Ozaye Dodson had said the imposition from the US export market was just a temporary technical barrier to trade. He had posited that the country fell short of the US standards in three areas: first, 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.
When questioned recently about the present status of the ban, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder was reported in this newspaper as saying that efforts are being made to remedy the situation. However, he has not provided any detail as to how far Guyana is at the moment as it relates to being in compliance with US regulations; nor did he provide any definite timeline as to when he hopes the ban would be lifted. According to Holder, these negotiations are largely being done by the Public Health Ministry. As such, he admitted he is not entirely up to date with where the matter is.
Certainly, this ban has had, and is having, a huge negative impact on the industry and the people who depend on it for a living. The economic reality is the fisheries sector in Guyana employs over 16,000 fishermen and fish farmers, and a further 6000 in processing and marketing. Thousands more depend directly or indirectly from fishing-related occupations, such as boat building, accessories supply, and maintenance services etc. It must also be mentioned that the fishing industry in Guyana represents approximately US$70 to $80 million annually; and it is believed that the ban on catfish is currently costing the country approximately US$1.2 million.
The effects of the ban have been felt by all who are involved in the sector. Some are of the opinion that the coalition Administration is not doing enough to address the concerns of the fishing industry regarding the ban; given that officials were notified of the USA’s pending changes to export regulations since November 2015.
The Guyana Government, despite having received notice of these changes, failed to communicate effectively with the stakeholders of the fisheries sector, many of whom have invested heavily in this area. From all indications, the Government had received an extension until February 3, 2018, to bring Guyana into compliance with the new export regulations but was unsuccessful in doing so.
So far, very little information is being fed to the various stakeholders regarding the ban and there is a great deal of uncertainty as to the future of the sector. We believe that it would be beneficial if the Agriculture Ministry convened an urgent meeting with all the relevant stakeholders so as to update them on the present status of the dialogue with the US authorities and seek their input as to what role they could play in ensuring that Guyana meets the requirements of the US.
Additionally, once the political situation is settled, efforts must be made to ensure the relevant legislation is enacted as it relates to the export of the various species of fish to other countries, particularly the US. The assistance of the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) could be sought with the aim of ensuring that Guyana is well placed so that we do not find ourselves in this situation again.
It could be recalled that Opposition Member of Parliament Gail Teixeira had used the opportunity during the consideration of the 2019 Budget estimates to question Minister Holder as to whether the Government had any plan to draft legislation to assist Guyana in becoming compliant; here again there was no definite answer to when this would be done.
Our hope is that in 2019, more serious efforts will be made at all levels, and with the involvement of all stakeholders, in ensuring that Guyana becomes compliant with the necessary regulations to allow the continuation of export of catfish products. The lackluster and careless approach to important matters such as the matter at hand, must be a thing of the past if Guyana were to move forward.