In the wake of recent pirate attacks on fishing vessels in the Corentyne River, fishermen will meet this weekend to discuss plans to improve their security while at sea. They have denied allegations that they are acting in concert with pirates.

One of the fishermen whose engine was stolen by the pirates said yesterday that among other things, the fishermen will decide on ways to improve their own security and will also form a delegation to meet President Bharrat Jagdeo next week.

The fishermen are also planning protest action which they hope will force the government and the Guyana Defence Force Coast Guard to provide better protection for them.

A total of eight boats were stripped of their engines and other equipment when the pirates held up the captains and their crews on Saturday.

But Mohamed Khan, manager of the Georgetown Fisherman's Co-op Society, criticised the fishermen saying they had been collaborating with the pirates and stealing engines, nets and other equipment. Khan also alleged that the Guyanese pirates were working in concert with their counterparts in Suriname, Venezuela and French Guiana. According to Khan, most of the stolen engines and nets from Guyanese fishermen were usually sold overseas, while those stolen in the foreign countries were sold here.

Questioned about these allegations yesterday, Rudranauth Bridgemohan, a fisherman of Mon Repos, said he was not aware of such activities by fishermen. The young man agreed that there seemed to be some level of cooperation between the fishermen and the pirates, but he had no evidence to support this.

In Saturday's incident, Bridgemohan said, the boat that was used by the pirates was allegedly stolen from a fisherman in Berbice. He said following the incident, the fisherman made a report to the police, but shortly after the attacks, the boat was found abandoned without its engine.

Bridgemohan also confirmed that three suspected pirates were held on Monday by members of the Berbice Anti-Smuggling Squad. They have been assisting the police in their investigations.

Meanwhile, a source close to the Coast Guard said yesterday that information gathering in the Berbice area has been very difficult. The source said despite determined efforts by the Coast Guard, the fishermen and residents were unwilling to speak. The source said that while the pirates continue to wreak havoc in the area, whenever the GDF was patrolling the sea they would stay away. The source said that for years some of the fishermen have complained about being attacked yet they never seem able to identify the persons who committed the acts.

The source added that even though the fishermen have branded the Coast Guard as ineffective, the army was seldom summoned to the scene during an attack. The source recalled only once when the Coast Guard was called while a boat was under attack.

Additionally, the source recommended that in order to reduce these attacks fishermen should fish in groups which he feels will make things difficult for the pirates.

"They need to go out in groups and stay within close range of each other so that they could render quick assistance to their colleagues in event of an attack," the source said.

Like Khan, the source believes that it is time fishermen equip their boats with radio sets. The source said at the moment most of the boats were in breach of the Maritime Law which states that they should have radio sets. "But the fishermen are not observing these laws; in fact some of them don't even have life jackets in their vessels."