Ministry denies granting permit for pair trawling

Moree (C/R), June 10, GNA - A Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture , Nii Amassah Namoale, has said the Ministry had not granted permit to any fishing trawler to engage in pair trawling.

He said trawlers operating on the high seas were single trawlers whos e activities are not to exceed 30 meters deep and appealed to fishermen to

report trawlers engaging in unorthodox fishing. Nii Namoale said this on Tuesday when he handed over items electri cal items worth GH¢14,648 to the Chief Fisherman of Moree, Nana Kweegya VII , for the extension of electricity to the Moree beach.

They included 20 electricity poles, 60 bags of cement and that were

bought by the Landing Beach Committee with profits accruing from the sale of premix fuel. Nii Namoale assured the fishermen that the use of flash light in fishing would be a thing of the past by July because a law would soon be passed by parliament to ban its usage. He said the Ministry had imported 1,000 outboard motors for fishermen and that the initial price of 5,300 Ghana cedis had been reduce d to 4,900 Ghana cedis yet fishermen were of the view that it was still expensive. The Minister said the Ministry was negotiating with its bankers to further beat down the price.

Nana Kweegya expressed concern that some recalcitrant fishermen w ere persistently using unorthodox methods such as the use of flash lights despite several warnings and that pair trawling was also going on. Nana Kweegya said if these activities were not checked by the Ministry, it would in the near future result in the depletion of fish sto ck.

"We depend on the sea for our livelihood and how are we going to educate our children if the Ministry fails to address the issue?" Nana Kweegya asked and appealed to the Ministry to institute immediate measure s to curtail the use of flash lights and also halt pair trawling. He said the Moree beach was unsafe at night due to absence of electricity and when fishermen land at night their catch is stolen. The community therefore decided to use its profits to illuminate the

beach to ensure security.

Ms Aba Edusah, District Chief Executive for Abura-Asebu-Kwamankese , appealed to fishermen to concentrate on their profession and eschew parti san politics to enable them pursue vocation. 09 June 10