Surinamese officials promise fishermen safety at sea in a week

The authorities in Suriname during a meeting on Saturday promised fishermen safety at sea in a week’s time, while distributing hampers to the twenty affected families in the April 27 piracy attack which left 12 fishermen missing.

Suriname’s Minister of Defence, Ronni Benschop during the meeting told the fishermen that they will be allowed to head out back to sea to ply their trade in a week’s time, noting that they are putting measures in place to ensure the safety of the local fishermen.

The fishermen in Paramaribo, Suriname have docked boats since the two most recent piracy attacks in the water. The boat owners have stated, that they would not send out their workers to fish until they were certain of their safety.

According to persons who were present at the meeting, the minister said they have sent out boats and helicopters which are working to make the entire area safe again.

Meanwhile, the country’s Minister of Agriculture, Lekhram Soerdjan pleaded with the fishermen to speak up about known pirates, or the areas they would usually operate from.

However, boat owners who were present told this newspaper that the ministers were told that the attackers are usually known to the fishermen, however, for fear of retribution, they would often opt not to identify them.

However, the boat owners noted that it is time the authorities and the fishermen work together and deal with the issue of piracy head-on. One boat owner said, that is the only way, the authorities stand a chance of eradicating this problem at sea.