A total of 20 Venezuelans have been arrested and charged for illegally fishing in Guyana’s waters and operating unlicensed vessels in Guyana.

The twenty were arrested earlier this week and appeared in Court on Tuesday and Wednesday.

During their appearance, the Court was told that the twenty Venezuelans were arrested between the 20th August and the 5th September. They were held by ranks of the GDF Coast Guard while patrolling Guyana’s waterways.

The crew was found in two vessels within Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone carrying out fishing activities. They admitted that they had no license to fish in Guyana but explained that they had been hired by a local company to work on its behalf in the fishing industry.

The Venezuelans told the Court that the company was informed of their presence and fishing operations. The Court also heard that it was not the first time that they were carrying out fishing activities on behalf of the local company.

The charges were read to the Venezuelans through an interpreter, and all of them pleaded guilty to the charges. They were each fined $300,000.

The captains of the two vessels faced an additional charge of operating a fishing vessel without a valid license. One of them pleaded guilty and was fined $1 million, while the other Captain pleaded not guilty and will have to reappear in Court later this month.

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