By Eunice Hilda A. Mensah
Accra, July 05, GNA – Fishermen in Jamestown and Korle-Gonno have resorted to weaving nets and some social activities following the closing of the fishing season on July 1, 2024.
The Ghana News Agency (GNA) on a visit to these communities, observed that the fishermen were weaving fishing nets, with a few relaxing in their canoes in observance of the directive from the Fishing Ministry not to go fishing.
Nii Armah Wulu II, James Town Chief fisherman, in an interview with GNA, said the closed-season though was initiated by government with a good intention, had often posed a financial threat to the fisher folks.
“Every canoe has 10 people on board and whatever they get, they share with the canoe owner, the wife and their entire family.
“Maybe when they go fishing and get for instance, GHS4,000, the money will be divided into three, the canoe owner and the canoe might take two and all the crew members will take the one. They rely on just a little and so are not even able to save anything substantial,” he said.
Nii Armah added: “Since the season has just begun, the struggles haven’t really started. But as time goes on, you will see how much they are struggling to survive and as soon as they see me as a Chief Fisherman, they will come to me asking for some cash to survive on. So now the burden becomes ours, unless you don’t come around.”
He said authorities had given them an assurance to donate uncooked rice to them to lessen their hardship during the season.
“In a while now, the hardship from closed-season sometimes make some of the fishermen resort to stealing. That’s why they’ve told us they are bringing us rice and early enough to control this situation.
“The season is for a month and I don’t think the rice will be sufficient or we can eat rice everyday but we will manage anyway. Most of these fishermen have many children they must cater for. I for instance, I have seven children and I’m almost 60 years. I need to be able to cater for all these children during this period,” he lamented.
Speaking about the hikes in prices of fishes during the period, the Chief Fisherman said it was caused by the scarcity of fish.
Nii Armah appealed to government to strictly fight illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing that had engulfed some fishing harbours.
“After the closed season, usually all the promises by government and concerned authorities to regulate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing cease to be fulfilled and with human beings too, you have to walk the talk, put strict measures in place to control their activities, else they won’t stop.
“In Jamestown here, we don’t do illegal fishing because we know the consequences. We are many here and sell some of the fishes to our own people and we know the effects of fishes illegally harvested.
“Anytime one catches fishes with the light or dynamite, they become very weak and dull and have to be stored in freezer to become hardened. Some even spray the fishes with chemicals to make them very shinny, which is very bad,” he said.
At the Korle-Gonno Fishing harbour, where the traditional leadership declined to speak to the GNA until they had received a bottle of gin and turkey as a customary rite, the team observed that there were no canoes, trawlers and fishermen at the banks.
The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, announced this year’s closed season for artisanal and inshore fleets from July 1 to July 31 and for industrial trawl vessels, July 1 to August 31.
The move, according to the Ministry, was to consolidate the gains made, while it continued to help to restore the depleted fish stocks.
GNA