Coronavirus: Keta fishermen lament over poor sales

Correspondence from Volta Region:

Normally, sales are very attractive when fishermen go fishing and then have a good catch, but now amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, it is very difficult to meet the required target a day.

The standard of living has become unbearable for most fishermen since they are not being able to make both ends meet.

Head of the Fishermen Association in Keta, Mr. Joseph Torsu, in an interview with GhanaWeb, explained: "fishing is the only source of finance for some of us. We mostly go fishing on Saturdays and Sundays, prepare our catch, head towards the Keta market, make an attractive sale and then return home to fend for our family.

"However, things have turned out to be worse during this COVID-19 times. We hardly make any sales when we take our catch to the keta market. Sometimes, the sales we make tend out to be half or lesser than the required target."

In view of that, the Keta fishermen mostly do not engage in any form of fishing on Fridays.

"We mostly do not engage in any form of fishing on Fridays. We rather stay ashore and mend our nets as well as repair our boats for a new catch that will occur the following Saturday and Sunday".

He added that due to the poor nature of their jobs in recent times, most of his fishing mates have resorted to doing menial jobs to make ends meet to take care of their family's basic needs as well as paying the fees of their children.