Forty-five Guyanese fishermen were detained in Suriname between last Wednesday and Sunday by that country’s Marine Patrol for not having their passports stamped.

The fishermen who all hail from the Upper Corentyne area were on nine fishing boats, which were accosted while at sea and their captains and crew members arrested for allegedly not having in their possession valid passports that were stamped to show they had entered the country legally. The men were each fined S$500, which is equivalent to $20,000, the alternative was to face deportation in early 2017.

Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen Co-op Pameshwar Jainarine, when contacted, told Stabroek News that the boat owners were successful in paying the fines for their crews.

However, they were still out at sea and had not yet returned home.

Jainarine shared that when fishermen in the deep sea learned of the arrests, two men with their boats proceeded to investigate, but they were also arrested. He said this move by Surinamese officials will affect the Upper Corentyne fishermen negatively.

He noted that the campaign, which was led by Surinamese military had started since the beginning of 2016, but had intensified.

“Most of them fisherman this is poor people,” Jainarine said, and attempts to register the fishermen were unsuccessful since most of them did not have a birth certificate.

He said that usually the Surinamese marines would check to ensure that the fishermen were all licensed to fish in the Corentyne River.

However their main focus now, is on whether or not the Guyanese fishermen have passports with a stamp showing they have legally entered Suriname. “We have been fishing in these waters for about 50 years,” he said.

“We don’t normally take our passports to go fishing. You just go in the fishing boat which is registered and go out into the water.”

Jainarine expressed disgust at the fact that they were not notified of the operation or given time to meet the new requirements and he labelled the move by the Surinamese marines as “harassment”. He explained that the terms of the licence granted to fishermen to ply their trade in Suriname waters state that they must purchase ice from Suriname and they must take their catch to a port located in Suriname before returning home.

According to Jainarine, some of the boats detained on Sunday were on their way to take their catch to a port in Nickerie, Suriname, before beginning their journey home, while other boats were on their way to purchase ice, as stated in the licence.

Meanwhile, Jainarine further divulged that since the arrests, they have started to work on getting the fishermen the necessary documents. However, he noted that this task will not be an easy one and it would be rather helpful if the relevant ministries could intervene and assist with getting the fishermen documented in Guyana at an early date.

Meanwhile, Stabroek News was informed that Surinamese military patrols were out on standby. According to the Chairman of the Upper Corentyne Fishermen Co-op, there were over 200 other fishermen out at sea who could face charges since they were, possibly, fishing in Surinamese waters.

The Upper Corentyne Fishermen Co-op is calling on the relevant authorities to look in to the matter urgently.