Deal with anyone involved in illegal fishing - Queen Mother to Police Service

The Queen Mother of Anomabo Traditional Area, Nana Obaahemaa Mbromba Dabo I has charged security agencies not to spare any fisherman who will be caught engaging in illegal fishing activities including Chinese trawlers.

The Queen mother gave this directive at “FAR BAN BO” a community durbar at Anomabo in the Central Region funded by the European Union and implemented by a consortium with support from friends of the nation, CARE International and Oxfam GB.

Obaahemaa Dabo called on the chief fishermen, Assembly members, traditional authorities to join hands to prevent the use of dynamite, chemicals carbide, undersized mesh among others for fishing to revamp the fishing sector in the area.

She urged fishermen to engage in practices that would sustain their livelihood rather than those which threatened their survival.

Obaahemaa Dabo, therefore, applauded the implementers for the initiative expressed hope that they collaborate with the security agencies in apprehending the truant fishermen.

She implored on the people in the area, to form taskforce or watchdog committees to assist the security agencies to fight illegal fishing activities in the area.

On his part, the head of Fisheries Enforcement Unit Member of the Ghana Police Service, Nana Agyemang Opambour, appealed to the fishermen to feed the police service with accurate information on illegal fishing to enable the police arrest and prosecute them to give a lesson to others.

He urged the fishermen to abide by the rules and regulations in the fishing industry by doing the right thing to boost fishing industry in the country.

The Project Manager of Friends of the Nation, an NGO based in Takoradi, Mr. Kyei Yamoah stated that plans were underway for his organization educate voluntary fishermen on how to take pictures of pair-trawlers as evidence to prosecute Chinese vessels.

This, according to him, would help fishermen to gather real evidence on illegal fishing activities at the sea through training and provision of relevant technology including mobile phones, cameras as one of the best ways to get rid of illegal fishing activities.

Mr. Yamoah stated that “Far Ban Bo” project a Fante expression means “protecting fisheries livelihood” being run in James Town in the Greater Accra, Anomabo, Discove, Kpando and Kedzekope in the Volta Region with the aim to contribute to sustainable fisheries resources management to improve food security, nutrition and livelihoods of smallholder fishers and other users of fishery resources.