By Laudia Sawer
Tema, July 29, GNA — The Fisheries Alliance, a civil society organisation, says there are visible signs at the landing beaches of illegal fishing gear being prepared to be used after the closed season.
With barely two days to the end of the 2024 closed season for artisanal fishing, Mr Kwadwo Kyei Yamoah, the convenor of the Fisheries Alliance, disclosed to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) that landing beaches they visited along the four coastal regions revealed disturbing issues of illegal fishing gear.
Mr Yamoah said, “From Coast to Coast, each landing site visited had illegal fishing gear ready for fishing, including monofilament nets, multifilaments with illegal mesh sizes, and accessories for light fishing, among others.”
He said the landing beaches visited included Kedzikope, Dzelukope, and Fuveme in the Volta Region; Tema, Jamestown, and Azizanya in the Greater Accra Region; Abandze, Anomabo, Moree, and Elmina in the Central Region; and Ngyeresia, Secondi, New Takoradi, Axim, and Half Assini in the Western Region.
“It is rather disturbing to see widespread illegal fishing gear along the landing sites, and fishers are preparing to use them as soon as the fishing season is opened,’ Mr Yamoah said.
He added that during this closed season, fishers have acquired new and additional illegal mesh-size nets, monofilament nets; light fishing equipment, and other illegal fishing gear. The fishers have prepared these illegal gear and have made them ready for fishing when the season opens.
He added that, interestingly, it seemed there was competition among the fishermen to acquire and use these illegal fishing gears for fishing when the season opens.
He blamed the development on the lack of visible signs of deterrence and enforcement of the laws governing gears in the fisheries sector.
He said even though it is good that a successful closed season for artisanal fishing had been observed, the use of moral suasion and persuasion alone could not promote responsible fishing.
“There is the urgent need for effective enforcement of the fisheries laws to create the requisite deterrence,” the Fisheries Alliance convenor stated, adding that Ghana could not do close season, and when the sea was opened, all fishers were allowed to go in and use methods that led to the catching of juvenile fishes that were not allowed to grow.
He revealed that most fishers believed the deterrence measures were not visible and adequate because the illegal gears were sold at the open markets and the illegal gears were available and accessible to any fisher.
Meanwhile, Section 8(1) of the Legislative Instrument 1968, Fisheries Regulations 2010, “A person shall not use (a) a multifilament set-net the mesh size of which is less than fifty millimetres in stretched in the marine waters or a riverine system; (b) a monofilament set-net the mesh size of which is less than seventy-five millimetres in stretched diagonal length in a riverine system; or (c) a monofilament set-net in the marine waters.
It further stipulates in subsection (2) that “A person who contravenes sub-regulation (I) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than one hundred and fifty penalty units or to a term of imprisonment of not more than twelve months or to both.”
GNA