Fishermen must take advantage of weather forecast

Kormantse, Feb. 6, GNA - The Mtantseman Municipal Officer of the Meteorological Agency, Mr. Patrick Awuku Owusu, has advised to follow the weather forecast to anticipate where and when they would reap bumper harvests.

He explained that the fish is a cold blooded creature, which did not need too much warmth to survive and, therefore, moved to the high seas when the coastal waters turned too warm. It, however, moves to the coast when the high seas become icy and they cannot contain the cold. The Meteorological Officer was addressing a disaster awareness workshop, organized by the World Vision Ghana WVG at Kormantse near Saltpond, on Wednesday.

"When fishermen are abreast of the movement of fish it will help them in their fishing expedition and reduce the cost of fuel spent on hunting," he said, and urged them to take weather forecasts seriously when planning their activities. The workshop, attended by unit committees and assembly members, chiefs, heads of departments, officials of the NADMO and security officers, was to assist assemblies in hazard mapping and preparing disaster response plan.

Mr. Ebenezer Okoampa, associate director of the Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Unit of the World Vision Ghana, expressed regret that people often forget about the existence of natural disasters. He quoted Dr. Torahiko Terada, a Japanese Scientist, who said, "Natural and man-made disasters will hit us at the time people have forgotten about it", to buttress his point. He said people would not build on waterways, fell trees indiscriminately or burn bushes if they remembered that their actions could cause disasters.

Mr. Joseph Tsetse-Arthur, a fisherman, expressed regret that people who had knowledge about the fishing industry and the weather were not educating fishermen to improve their lots. Mr. Tsetse-Arthur said if cost a great deal to go on fishing these days and added that they needed those vital information to save them from wasting money on fuel for expedition.