Government says Fisheries law has come to stay

The Fisheries Law that the government passed last year has come to stay and must be complied with to the letter, Nii Amasa Namoale, a Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, has said.

Addressing fishermen from the Western Region at a meeting in Sekondi, he said the law sates that the use of explosives, unapproved fishing nets, gear and the use of lights for fishing are strictly prohibited.

The fishermen from Shama, Aboadze, Abuesi, Sekondi-Takoradi and Axim and others are accusing the government of depriving them of their livelihood by banning the use of light for fishing.

The fishermen called for a review of the law because it has deprived them of their economic survival and placed them in financial difficulties.

They have also complained that they were not taught scientific method of fishing.

Nii Namoale said the law was binding all fishermen in the country and urged them to go by it or risk arrest and prosecution.

He explained that the use of light for fishing attracted the catching of juvenile fishes and this depleted the fish stock in the sea.

This method would deprive the succeeding generation of fish, hence the need to enforce the law.

Mr Mike Acheampong, Chairman of the Fisheries Commission, said the council would educate the fishermen on the need to ban the use of light for fishing and to explain the law to them.

He said the Commission would translate the law into local dialects to enable the fishermen read and understand it.

Mr Paul Evans Aidoo, the Western Regional Minister who chaired the meeting, appealed to the fishermen to exercise restraint while their grievances are addressed.

Source: GNA