By Prince Acquah
Cape Coast, Aug 01, GNA – The Abrofo Mpoano Landing Beach, adjacent the Cape Coast Castle, was inactive on Tuesday, after a month-long dormancy in compliance with the closed fishing season.
The beach was expected to be buzzing with activities of enthusiastic fishers, fishmongers and customers waiting for the official opening of the sea to fishing activities.
The situation was, however, different as there was very little activity at the beach when the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited.
Nearly all the boats, many of which had been re-painted and looking fresh for the new fishing season, were parked on the beach just as they were for the entire closed season.
A few groups of fishers were spotted mending their nets while others were seen repairing their boats.
Some fishers told the GNA that they were waiting for an official announcement from the Fisheries Ministry to go to sea even though the closed season was technically over om Tuesday.
They said they were deterred by the death of some fishers in Tema after an alleged encounter with the navy.
They further recounted how some three fishers who flouted the moratorium were arrested, detained and made to pay GHC3,000 for their release.
“We are still waiting for the announcement because we don’t want to have any issues with the authorities. They closed it and so they must open it,” a fisher, Kwesi Tawiah said.
“It is our hope that they will open it by afternoon so that we will go to sea and return tomorrow morning,” he added.
Another fisher, Fiifi Arthur, adding to what his colleague said, hinted that they would remain compliant until they heard from the sector minister.
He further lamented the impact of the moratorium on their livelihoods, saying they were unable to cater for their families.
“Some of our children were not able to go to school because we could not get money for them.
“We have struggled a lot but now it is over, and we hope to make adequate catch to compensate for our losses,” he added.
Yaw Annan, another fisher said that for the entire season, each boat received a small bag of rice and a small bottle of oil to be shared among three people.
“It is not enough for even one day. In fact, some of us rejected it,” he said.
The Ministry of Fisheries placed a ban on fishing in the sea by artisanal fishers from Saturday, July 01 to Monday, July 31 while industrial trawlers were banned from Saturday, July 01 to Thursday, August 31.
The ban forms part of a series of measures by government to save the country’s dwindling fish stock from complete extinction.
But the fishers emphasised their call for the closed season to be fixed in March or April when there was very little activity on the sea because July and August were the major harvest months.
GNA