Chief fishermen in Western Region ban light fishing

The Chief fishermen in three coastal districts of the Western Region have banned light fishing to enable the fingerlings to have enough time to grow and hatch during the off-fishing season.

The Chief fishermen in the Nzema East Municipality, Ellembelle and Jomoro districts made the resolution about three weeks ago at a conference, held in Takoradi.

Nana Kofi Anan, the Chief Fisherman for Axim, told the Ghana News Agency that light fishing had ruined the fishing industry over the years, and had rendered the lives of fisher folk miserable, hence the decision to safeguard the remaining fish stock in the sea.

He said although the Government had outlawed light fishing, some fishing communities in the Region were secretly practising it and that had deprived the livelihoods of many fisher folks and their dependants.

“Therefore, we decided to call all chief fishermen in the three coastal districts where fishing is the mainstay of the local economy and we have resolved to ban light fishing so that the fishes could have enough time to grow and hatch during the off-fishing seasons for our own good,” he stressed.

Nana Anan, therefore, advised other coastal districts across the country, to emulate the three coastal districts in order to protect the fish stock and ensure bumper catch during the main fishing season in August and beyond.

For the past 10 years, fishermen in the coastal districts have adopted light fishing as a quick method of catching fish by using generators and bulbs with more than 2,000 watts, which are often laid into the sea.

The light and the heat normally attract the attention of the fishes so the fishermen cast their nets and catch them in large quantities, including the fingerlings.

Source: GNA