By Laudia Sawer
Tema, July 7, GNA – Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten, the Member of Parliament for Tema East, has called for improvement in identified gaps within the Fisheries Act 2002 (Act 625) on closed season.
He, therefore, appealed to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture and the Fisheries Commission to immediately work towards fine-tuning the Section 84 of the Act to enable it to properly serve its intended purpose.
Mr Odamtten, who spoke in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said there were some grey areas in the Act concerning the close season that needed to be looked at to bring clarity to the minds of the fishermen.
He made the appeal in reaction to a report he had received from four of his constituents, who went to sea some days ahead of the closed season period, which commenced on Saturday, July 1, 2023.
The four claimed that they had some issues with their outboard motors, making it impossible for them to return ahead of the closing, but rather returned at about 1200 hours of the first day of the closed season.
They were, however, intercepted by Naval personnel on board a Ghana Navy Vessel (GNS) P36 at the breakwaters, who confiscated their catch and allegedly molested them for going against the closed season law.
Mr Odamtten said there was ambiguity on what should happen if fishers were already at sea before the closed season, adding that when it happened, they should be allowed to return home with their catch.
He stated that if such fishers were not permitted to return after the closed season, then they must be properly sensitised and directed not to go for fishing activities some days prior to the official date for the closure.
He described as inhumane the molestation of the four fishermen by Navy personnel and indicated that he had already contacted the Chief Fisherman and the Navy Command on the issue to ensure that proper investigations were carried out and perpetrators brought to book.
Meanwhile, Section 84 of the Fisheries Act, 2002 (Act 625) stipulates that the Commission may by notice in the Gazette, declare closed seasons, including their duration, for fishing in specified areas of the coastal waters or the reverie system.
It further stated that “A declaration made under subsection (1) shall be given reasonable publicity and, where possible, shall be given in advance of the closed season.”
The ACT enjoins that a person who engages in fishing during a closed season declared in accordance with this section commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $500,000 and not more than $2 million in respect of a local industrial or semi-industrial fishing vessel or a foreign fishing vessel, respectively.
The offence could also attract a punishment of one hundred penalty units and not more than five hundred penalty units in any other case.
It added that, in addition, the catch, fishing gear, vessel, or any other apparatus, or any combination of them, used in the commission of the offence may be forfeited to the Republic.
GNA