Some fishermen operating in the ancient coastal town of Axim in the Western Region have attributed the purported rise in the price of fish in the area partly to the inadequate supply of premix fuel to the fishermen.
According to them, despite the promise by the government to make the commodity available to them at all times for the past two weeks, they have experienced inadequate supply.
“Our minister is doing well but we are pleading with her to give us more premix. We used to have the product immediately after the closed season, but for the past two weeks, we have received only two tanks which is not sufficient for all the fishermen here, and the situation has rendered several canoes inactive,” they asserted.
Speaking to DAILY GUIDE in an interview, Francis Kwofie Jnr, Secretary to the Canoe Owners in Axim, said the situation was affecting the local economy.
“The situation is having an adverse effect on our fishing expedition. Why should fishermen always have to struggle to get adequate supply of the fuel?” he quizzed.
According to him, the public would have to pay more for fish due to the inadequate supply of premix fuel in the area.
“This is because due to the inadequate supply, some of my colleagues would have to buy super from the regular pumps, which is very expensive and mix it with diesel to get premix to embark on their fishing expedition.
“We all know what petroleum price causes prices of everything to shoot up. So whatever price we buy fuel to embark on an expedition, would have to be transferred to the customer,” he sadly pointed out.
He said he recently raised concerns about the shortage of premix fuel at the landing beaches, a situation he indicated had a toll on the fishermen’s operations.
“Now the problem is that we are not getting enough premix and because of that some of us have to resort to the buying of the fuel meant for vehicles to power our outboard motors to embark on fishing expeditions,” he noted.
He added that the few canoe owners who are able to afford the expensive fuel will incur huge debts if they do not sell their catch at exorbitant prices.
He, therefore, appealed to government to address the challenge to keep the fisher folk in business to support their livelihoods and that of their dependents.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi