The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) has had a closed door meeting with Rite FM ans selected fishermen about arresting some fisher folks using dynamite to fish at the Kpong Fishing Harbour, in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality.
The meeting was attended by fisherman who voiced out some challenges confronting them in their fishing activities.
Rite FM for the past years has been following the activities of the fisher folks along the Volta Lake and discovered that there were indications of some fisher folks using dynamite to fish in the area.
Presenting some challenges to the sector Minister, the fisherman highlighted that the use of these dynamites has been in existence for a long time and affected fishing activities in the area, citing that many fishermen are now indulging in the act which he said will cut down the production of fish in the country.
He noted that those fisher folks who use dynamite in the area mostly blast it in the night and at dawn adding that it sometimes scares the people living around the lake because it can harm them.
Expressing the worry, the fisherman had fears that these practices will kill the fishing industry if government does not intervene to curb it. They stressed that fingerlings which replace stock in the water are also killed when the dynamites are used.
According to him, the fisher folks have kept silent on going forward to expose users of dynamite because they have been threatened.
Miss Sherry Ayitey, the Fisheries Minister responding to the issues said there is the need for the ministry to join hands with the Chiefs and the traditional leaders, the municipal chief executive of the area, and all the stakeholders to meet and educate the fisher folks on fishing practices.
In view of this , the minister said she is going to write to all the stakeholders and also to the BNI to make sure that they collaborate with the Marine police to arrest those fishermen who indulged in that practice.
According to the minister, her outfit will make sure that they will arrest those fisher folks who are using the dynamite for fishing or any fisherman who goes contrary to the fisheries law.
In another development, she revealed that the ministry will soon register all the inlands fishermen with their canoes to monitor their operations and ensure that no fisherman will go to fishing without registering his canoe.
According to her this exercise has begun in most of the coastal areas and will continue to the inland areas especially along the Volta Lake.
By: Richard Dankwah@ ritefmonline.org
