Consumers will in the next one to two months have to brace themselves to pay more for fish they consume.
This follows the closure of the sea to all fishing activities for artisanal and industrial trawlers in Ghana’s territorial waters.
It is that time of the year again where the sea will be closed to all fishing activities by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.
Termed closed fishing season, the temporarily ban is to allow some key fish species such as sardinella, mackerel and anchovies, popularly known as the poor man’s fish to spawn during the period of the sea closure to replenish themselves in the country’s territorial waters.
The Fisheries Ministry insists that the practice is backed by science and data.
As a result, artisanal fishermen will observe the ban for a month starting Monday July 1, 2024 while the industrial trawlers will observe the ban for two months.
Other West African countries bordered by the Gulf of Guinea will also implement the closed fishing season.
Some fishermen at Tema in the Greater Accra Region have hinted of readiness to comply with regulations regarding the sea closure, but they hold the view that the closed fishing season does not significantly improve marine resources.
Ayi, a fisherman popularly known as ‘Seven Eleven’ wants regulators of the sector to check activities of the industrial trawlers engaging in pair-trawling at sea when the fishing season resumes.
“The Chinese operating trawlers in our territorial waters are destroying it. They are also polluting water bodies through illegal mining. These activities really affect the fisherman.”
To buttress his argument, he showed an amateur video of workers on a trawler dumping volumes of dead juvenile fishes caught with unapproved mesh into the ocean after excessive catch.
The Tema Chief fisherman, Nii Odamitey II noted that the closed fishing season will present price hikes of available stock hence, consumers should brace themselves to pay more for fish during the closed season.
According to him, the demand for fish will out-weigh supply, which will prompt the price hikes.
Vendors whose livelihoods are dependent on the fresh fish sale want alternative business to cater for the home.
Mary has been selling fresh fish at the Tema Fishing Harbour for more than a decade. She is worried that the close fishing season will take a toll on her family’s finances.
Already, some fishermen have started repair works on canoes wrecked by rough tides.
The closed fishing season is in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13, which promotes sustainable fishing practices and protection of life under water.
