Fisheries Experts Call On Gov’t To Stop Illegal Trawling

Friends of the Nation (FoN), a non-governmental organization (NGO), has called on the government to help stop illegal pair trawling by foreign vessels on Ghanaian waters.

The fishery sector has been suffering due to illegal fishing as well as transhipment, popularly known as “Saiko” which is fast depleting fish stock in the sea hence requiring urgent attention to address the situation.

The Programmes Manager for the NGO which is based in Takoradi, Western Region, Mr Kyei Kwadwo Yamoah stated that, the continuous illegal acts have resulted in the depletion of the marine fishery resources which has led to many fisher folks and their dependents living in abject poverty.

In the same light, the Director of the Environment and Natural Resource Research Initiative (ENRRI – EfD Ghana), Professor Wisdom Akpalu called on government to take urgent actions towards halting “Saiko”.

Professor Akpalu during a presentation titled “Capture Fisheries Management in Ghana: Challenges and Prospects” revealed that “Saiko” exceeded normal trawl landings in Ghana by 150 percent in 2017. According to him, the illegal transshipment accounted for 57 percent of the landings of artisanal fishers in the same year.

At the seminar organised by Environment for Development (EFD), held in Accra on Tuesday, August 18, 2020, he also disclosed that many industrial trawlers and canoes use small-sized illegal nets to catch undersized fishes which is against Ghana’s fisheries law Act 625 of 2002, Fisheries Regulation of 2010 (LI 1968) and the Fisheries Amended Act 880.

The Professor who doubles as the Dean of the School of Research and Graduate Studies of the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), indicated that about 90 per cent of artisanal fishers use illegal fishing nets. He explained that such a situation is greatly contributing to the depletion of fish stocks in Ghana’s waters. He noted that as a result, Ghana imports about 60 per cent of her fish needs, a situation he described could worsen in years to come if proactive measures are not taken to regulate the sector well.

Professor Akpalu stated that currently, Ghana has over 70 fishing trawlers and that each of these trawlers catch more infant fishes than expected.

“We have evidence of fish stocks collapsing in the world! We are not in a very good place. We have to think carefully about this.”

Professor Wisdom Akpalu

Mr. Yamoah on the other hand believes that most culprits in the “Saiko” fishing business were Chinese trawlers.

He then urged the government to heed to the many appeals from fisher folks and stakeholders to end Saiko to save Ghana’s fisheries which contributes about 10 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Professor Akpalu also emphasised that without sacrifices, the fishing sector cannot be well regulated, hence urging all stakeholders to make some sacrifices in order to save the country’s fishing industry from a possible collapse.