Let’s adopt co-management to revive fishing Industry-Minister

By
PK Yankey, GNA

Dixcove (W/R), Aug 20,
GNA – The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Madam Elizabeth
Afoley-Quaye, says her outfit has rolled out a comprehensive road-map under its
co-management policy to restore sanity in the fishing industry.

This she added would
increase the fish stock in the sea to ensure a bumper harvest.

Under the policy, she
said local fishermen, traditional rulers, fishing communities, enforcement
units and the mass media would collaborate with the government to stem
unwarranted fishing activities in the sea.

To this end, the
government has instituted an award system under the West Africa Fisheries
Project for fishermen, community members, traditional rulers, media houses,
District Assemblies who are most responsible to stem the tide and restore
sanity in the fishing industry.

Madam Afoley-Quaye was
addressing a forum for fishermen at a visibility durbar to mark the launch of
the annual Kuntum festival of the Chiefs and people of Ahanta West Municipality
at Dixcove in the Western Region.

The theme for this
year’s Kuntum festival is: ‘Empowering Communities for Effective Fisheries
Co-Management: The Role of Traditional Leaders’.

“Far Ban Bo”
meaning, Protecting Fisheries Livelihoods, is a -four-year European Union
funded fisheries governance project, which is being implemented by a consortium
of NGOs: Care International Ghana, the lead, Friends of the Nation(FoN) and
Oxfam.

Madam Afoley-Quaye
tasked Chief fishermen to be pro-active to ensure that fishermen respected the
marine laws and made illegal fishing unattractive.

She said President
Nana Akufo Addo would continue to wage the war on illegal fishing just like the
galamsey menace which were yielding dividends.

The Minister declared
government’s readiness to give the fishing industry a boost and would ensure
that the supply of pre-mix fuel production which has dwindled from 38 tanks to
17 tanks a day due to operational mishaps at the Tema Oil Refinery(TOR), would
be addressed and make fuel available to fishermen.

She reminded the
fishing communities that the closed season would strictly be in force next year
as part of efforts to increase the fish stock in the sea.

A Deputy Minister for
Fisheries and AquaCulture, Mr Ato Cudjoe announced that the government had
earmarked funds to purchase outboard motors for fishermen in the country by
December 2018 and appealed to fishing communities to keep the beaches clean to
promote domestic and international tourism.

Project Coordinator of
Care International, Mr Kwame Mensah said the forum was a platform for fishing
communities to be abreast with pertinent issues affecting their livelihoods and
entreated all stakeholders especially the media to get on board to manage
fishing resources for sustainable fisheries

The Chief of Dixcove, Nana
Kwesi Agyeman IX noted that fish stock in Ghana’s waters was fast depleting,
but neighbouring Cote D’Ivoire reeled in bumper harvest thereby forcing most
indigenes from the area to travel to that country for fishing expeditions and
called for measures to revive the fishing activities.

Nana Kwame Asemko,
Chief fisherman of Dixcove appealed to the government to supply the required
fishing net for fishermen to purchase and make fish from the sea undergo test
before it was sold to the public.

GNA

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