GINA: The third annual Rockstone Fish Festival attracted thousands of international and local participants giving a tremendous boost to Region 10 tourism development.
The event which is held by the Rockstone Fish Festival Committee and supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce and the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA), captivated the huge crowd with various events which included sport fishing guided tours to the nearby Gluck island and Golden Beach in the Essequibo river, fish-cooking and fillet competitions, paddle boat racing and a variety of cultural events.
Director of GTA, Indranauth Haralsingh expressed his delight to be part of this emerging tourism activity. He noted that the area’s potential is vast and the Ministry, GTA and other stakeholders are committed to the development of sport fishing in Guyana.
“What we are doing at the Ministry and the GTA is to brand Guyana as a sport fishing destination. I would like to encourage the management of the festival to be consistent in hosting and marketing this event,” he said.
Haralsingh posited that this event has the ability to be held twice or event thrice a year, since it generates great economic activities for the community.
The Director declared that, “This is domestic tourism at work, the event offers visitors the opportunity to escape from their normal surroundings, to explore, experience and enjoy yet another new event and destination in this country.”
While noting that the festival is a unique attraction that offers relaxation and entertainment for both visitors and locals alike, he said that, “the principal reasons for showcasing the skills and talents of the residents are to improve the profile and image of Linden, to increase the awareness of Linden as a tourism destination and to share with the world the lifestyle and activities of this fishing community.”
The festival is the first of its kind to be held in Guyana and it continues to generate interest and excitement among fishing enthusiasts. In addition, activities such as bird watching, river safaris, nature walks, sport fishing and visits to the nearby beaches are all ideas that will be explored.
Chairman of the Rockstone Fish Festival Committee, Selwyn Lancaster, said that, “We have been having a real good time because we have the maximum number of tours taking place.
Everything is on schedule and it’s way beyond our expectations right now.”
A member of the Guyanese disapora in the U.S, Dennis Ramprashad said, “We just came out for a day of fun fishing with our friends, we knew that the festival was going to be an activity but we are not professional fishermen… it has potential, I know some people came and they stayed overnight…if you have a resort or a hotel, people can come and spend more time.”
Jiri Jiranek, from the Chec Republic described the experience as being great. “It’s excellent, good fish, many nice people… Sport fishing potential is enormous, the infrastructure should be arranged and some propaganda in Europe to bring Europeans and Americans here.”
Persons participating in the fishing competition had a lot to display, with a variety of Ariwana, Himara and Lukunani.
A group called “Bass Tracker” won the first prize having netted the most fish weighing 32 lbs!
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