Don’t politicise enforcement of Fisheries Regulation Law – Chief Fisherman
Nii Abeo Kyerekuanda IV, Chief Fisherman of Ga State, on Tuesday appealed to politicians to leave the implementation and enforcement of the Fisheries Regulation Law to the appropriate authorities to ensure sanity in the industry.
He claimed that some District, Municipal and Metropolitan Chief Executives were meddling with the arrest of those who flouted the law by asking the law enforcing agencies to wait for their direction before sending them to court.
Nii Kyerekuanda said this at a meeting between the Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture in-charge of Fisheries, Nii Amasah Namoale and the Greater Accra Regional Chief Fishermen in Accra.
The first bi-annual meeting was to discuss the fishing industry, problems facing it and provide possible solutions.
Nii Kyerekuanda, who is also the Executive Secretary of Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council, said most Ghanaian fishermen were operating in African countries not because those countries had enough fishes in their waters but the citizens there abide by the laws governing those countries.
Nii Namoale stressed the need for the Chief Fishermen to assist the taskforce to enforce the law.
He said the law was to protect the livelihood of the fisher folks and any connivance would affect them and their families.
The Deputy Minister said these days even during the fishing season fishermen did not make catch because of illegal practices of some of their colleagues.
He said the Attorney Generals’ Department would give authority notes to all Chief Fishermen to enable them undertake their watchdog work more effectively.
Nii Namoale urged the Chief Fishermen to encourage their members who bought the outboard motors to pay up their debts to enable government give them more assistance.
Parliament enacted the Fisheries Regulation, LI 1968 late last year to give effect to the fisheries Act 2002 (Act 625) and prescribed measures for conservation, management and development of fisheries and aquaculture in Ghana.
The law outlawed bad practices such as pair trawling, light fishing, use of under-size mesh nets, monofilament or rubber nets in marine fishing, dynamite and harmful chemicals in fishing.
Source: GNA