By Ewoenam Kpodo
Tokor (V/R), July 13, GNA – Mr Maxwell Koffie Lugudor, the Municipal Chief Executive of Ketu South, says the ban on fishing in sections of the Keta Lagoon in the Municipality “still holds”.
His reminder comes on the back of the ongoing closed fishing season being observed across coastal regions in the country since July 01, this year.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in collaboration with the Fisheries Commission, had directed artisanal and inshore fleets to observe the one-month closed season, while industrial fleets are to observe it for two months.
Mr Lugudor speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said it was important to remind the people of the ban, as it could be increasingly tempting to shift attention to fishing in the lagoon especially during the closure of the fishing season.
The Ketu South Municipal Security Council (MUSEC) during an emergency meeting on December 27, 2022, placed a temporary ban on fishing and other human activities in the Denu-Tokor-Laklevikope stretch of the lagoon.
He said the stretch forms part of the Adafienu Concession (formerly White D’Or Concession) belonging to a mining company in the area, Seven Seas Salt Limited.
It followed the drowning of a 77-year-old woman in the lagoon near Laklevikope on December 26, 2022.
Investigations by MUSEC indicate that the deceased had an underlying medical condition that caused her to leave home unannounced necessitating a search for her until her body was found around the lagoon.
Earlier, in September, a 41-year-old woman and her two children and one other child who live with the family, drowned when they fell into a pit in the lagoon at Laklevikope while attempting to fish.
September’s drowning was the third of such incident to occur in the electoral area, (Viepe-Tokor) in a spate of two months, he said.
Mr Lugudor said the events, compelled hundreds of concerned residents of the Municipality to hit the streets last September protesting operations of Seven Seas Salt Limited, on suspicion that the pits might have been its creation, as the company had uncompleted dikes on its concessions in the area.
He said MUSEC recognised the inconvenience and hardship the ban might cause but appealed to the public to comply in the interest of public peace and security.
“…the ban still holds until further notice. We understand that it may be difficult for our people, but its enforcement is important. As you know, we cannot bring people back to life, but we can one day remove the ban,” he said.
GNA