Elizabeth Afoley Quaye – Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture
The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, has justified the decision of her ministry to ban fishing activities next month.
The Ministry has announced that there would be a ban on all fishing activities in August 2018.
The move, according to the Ministry, is to ensure that pregnant fish give birth and feed properly on the Chlorophos that would be supplied during the season.
Some fishermen and fishmongers, particularly those operating at the Bosomtwi-Sam Fishing Harbour in Sekondi last Friday staged a demonstration to protest against the move.
They called on government not to go ahead with the decision to place a ban on fishing activities, saying that it has never happened before.
“The month of August is the bumper season, and it is wrong for the government to ban fishing activities during the period, they claimed.
However, the Minister Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, in a statement, appreciated all concerns raised by the stakeholders with regards to the proposed closed season in August.
She explained that the month of August was chosen based on scientific research.
She indicated that spawning occurs largely in August and that during the period upwelling pregnant fish come to the shore to feed on the greens.
“It is this time that fishermen easily get access to the fish and call it the bumper season. But most of the fish caught within this period are filled with eggs (the roe),” she indicated.
She noted that the fatty cells of the pregnant fish caught in August usually splash on whoever cooks them.
“A single fish produces over 70,000 eggs. The herrings season as we once had is no more. If anyone tells you that we get bumper harvest in August, what I can say is that the stock has been depleted. We have consumed the fish with its eggs,” she stated.
She disclosed that for over 20 years running, fishermen in the country have not recorded the bumper catch.
“There is a full moon in the early part of August and with the sighting of the moon it makes fishing almost impossible so fishermen will attest to the fact that they fish for only two weeks in August,” the statement added.
According to the Minister, “Closing the season in February scientifically does not necessarily translate into increase in fish stock because spawning happens more around August and not February.”
She continued “The February closed season which was instituted by the Chinese trawlers did not have any scientific basis except that it coincides with the Chinese holiday.”
She pointed out that Ghana must not work in the interest of the Chinese but meet her own needs.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Takoradi