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Guyana Fisheries
![[JPEG]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/jpeg.gif)
Workers cleaning grouper (foreground) and mackerel at the Guyana
Limited Fisheries plant, Georgetown
Courtesy Inter-American Development Bank (David Mangurian)
Fishery products took on increasing importance during the 1980s
as potential earners of foreign exchange. By the end of the decade,
shrimp had become the third leading earner of foreign exchange
after sugar and bauxite. Fisheries production in Guyana totaled
about 36,000 tons in 1989, down from 45,000 tons in the mid-1980s.
The most valuable portion of the catch was the 3,800 tons of
shrimp. Many fishermen reportedly sold their shrimp catch at sea to
avoid taxes and earn foreign currency. Thus, shrimp exports may
have been much higher than recorded. Shrimp exports were expected
to continue increasing as Guyana developed shrimp farms along its
coast; Guysuco began operating one such farm in the late 1980s. The
bulk of the fisheries catch was sold at the dockside and consumed
domestically. A US$5 million fish-processing plant was under
construction on the Demerara River in 1990, raising the possibility
of frozen fish exports. The government sold Guyana Fisheries
Limited, which employed about 5,000 people, to foreign investors in
1990.
Data as of January 1992
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![[JPEG]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/guyana/gy03_04c.jpg)
