By Elorm Yao Aryee.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development has officially announced the closure of the country’s territorial waters to artisanal and industrial fishing beginning today.
In this regard, the closed season period for artisanal fishing begins on Thursday, July 1, and ends on July 31, 2021, whereas that of industrial fishing will commence from August 1, to August 31, 2021.
At a ceremony at Keta, in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region, to symbolically close the sea, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mavis Hawa Koomson urged stakeholders to comply with the directive, warning that the Ministry will not hesitate to penalise those who flout the law.
The closed season in the fishing industry was first implemented in the country’s territorial waters in 2019 by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development to temporarily ban fishing for a period to enable fishes to spawn.
The symbolic closure of the sea for fishing at Keta saw stakeholders in the fishing industry, including officials from the Fisheries Ministry, representatives from various fishing Associations, among others who endorsed the closed season initiative.
The Sector Minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson, stressed the need for the Ministry to protect the country’s over-exploited maritime boundaries for aquatic lives to replenish.
“We need to constantly remind ourselves that the marine and inland sub-sectors have been confronted with challenges that have the tendency to overturn the benefits from the fisheries sector if no action is taken. Currently, it is evident that fishery resources are overexploited and there are signs that some fish species have depleted,” she said.
The Fisheries Minister said, “the implementation of the Closed Season forms part of the strategies agreed with stakeholders to reduce excessive pressure and over-exploitation of stocks in the marine subsector and to help rebuild the depleted marine fish stocks. It is expected that sustained implementation of Closed Season will enable the sector to achieve the desired long-term objectives of stock recovery.”
Madam Hawa Koomson disclosed that the Ministry has set up a team to monitor activities on Ghana’s territorial waters during the period and warned that culprits will not be spared.
Meanwhile, the Ghana Industrial Trawlers Association (GITA), has called on government to purchase a fishing vessel for the Fisheries Commission to enable it conduct scientific research on the sea during periods like the closed season. The acting President of GITA, Stephen Adzokatcher who made the call, said scientific research on the country’s territorial waters will help improve the fishing industry. Mr Adzokatcher on behalf of GITA pledged to complement government’s efforts to stop illegal fishing methods and activities on Ghana’s coastline.
Executives of Fisher Unions in the Western, Central, Greater Accra, and Volta Regions pledged to ensure that their members comply with the close fishing season directive.