Fishermen laud establishment of Marine Police

The Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council (GNCFC) has lauded government for the establishment of Marine Police, to monitor the activities of fishermen.

The Secretary of the Council in the Western Region, J.F Ebambe, told Joy News he is confident the operations of the Marine Police, a Unit of the Ghana Police Service, will help protect the Marine resource which is fast depleting.

According to him, the Marine Police will also check illegal fishing methods which have been adopted by some fishermen.

Kwadwo Kyei Yamoah, Project Coordinator of ‘Friends of the Nations’, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) working with the fishermen to stop illegal fishing activities, was confident the establishment of the Marine Police Unit would solve part of the problem.

He said arrests and subsequent prosecution of fishermen using illegal fishing methods by the Police would deter other fishermen from engaging in the practice.

The Marine Police, formerly called the Water Police, which was disbanded in 1942 under the Colonial Administration, was re-launched by Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur in Takoradi on Saturday June 22.

The need for protection and surveillance, according to the Vice President, had become crucial with the discovery and exploration of oil.

Illegal activities like transfer and traffic in arms and illicit drugs, testing of hydrocarbon in the marines, and the Ghanaians seas becoming a major trade route as well as potential threats to the nation’s vegetation resources, warrant a constant eye on the nation’s waters.