By Emmanuel Gamson/ Veronica Kyei Baffour
New Takoradi (W/R), July 13, GNA – Fishermen at New Takoradi in the Western Region have packed their canoes and other fishing equipment in compliance with this year’s closed fishing season directives for inshore and artisanal fishers between July 1 and August 31.
The month-long closed fishing season directives by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in collaboration with the Fisheries Commission, under Section 84 of the Fisheries Act, 2022 (Act 625) formed part of strategic measures aimed at reducing overexploitation and ensuring fish stock replenishment in the country’s marine waters.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) observed during a visit to the shores of the community that, some of the fishers idled around, others were busily mending their nets, with some servicing and repairing their outboard motors, while the rest worked on their canoes to put them in good shape ahead of the restart of the fishing season.
While expressing varied views, some fishermen lamented the negative impact of the directives on their livelihoods and others believed it was necessary as it would help replenish the depleted fish stock.
Mr John Arthur, a fisherman, appealed to the government and other relevant stakeholders to develop alternative interventions to help reduce the impact of the closed fishing season on their livelihoods within that period.
He said: “Fishing has been our only source of livelihoods and during this period of closed fishing season, we find it very difficult to cope with its impact on our daily upkeep and so we are appealing to the government to do something about it for us.”
He called on authorities to put in place efficient measures to empower them economically to be resilient against the impact of the closed season, saying; the government should provide them with soft loans with affordable repayment terms after end of the period.
Mr Ekow Yawda, another fisherman, said though they were complying with the closed fishing season directives, that was not the sole solution to replenish the depleted fish stock.
He noted that illegal mining activities (galamsey), activities of pair trawlers and the use of unorthodox fishing methods posed danger to fish stock and urged the government to deepen efforts to eradicate the menace to help restore fish stock in the long run.
Madam Esther Essinieku, a fishmonger at the New Takoradi shores, expressed worry about the closed fishing season directives, saying it affected the businesses of mongers as there were not enough fish to serve their customers.
“During this season our businesses become slow because fishermen do not go fishing and that means we are not able to serve our customers adequately which in turn, affect our daily income,” she indicated.
The situation was not different for food vendors along the shores of the community, as the GNA observed that there was low patronage of food and other items as at the time of the visit.
GNA