The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development says it is committed to providing enough relief items to fisherfolk during this closed fishing season period.
According to the sector minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson, the move is to support them in desisting from embarking on fishing expeditions during this period, which could lead to their arrest.
The government has implemented the 2024 closed fishing season for both artisanal fishers and industrial trawlers, which began on July 1.
Speaking to the media after presenting some relief items to fishermen in Jamestown, Accra, Hawa Koomson mentioned that among all the neighbouring countries observing the exercise, only the government of Ghana is supporting fisherfolk with relief items.
“Previously, what we were bringing them was not enough because we didn’t have their data. But today, fortunately, we have their data, and we’ve been able to, I mean, every canoe and its crew, even if not all the members of the crew, we have met them more than halfway.
“Some other countries are not supporting it. We do the closed season together with Cote d’Ivoire, Benin, Togo and then Liberia. But they don’t give relief items.”
“It’s only Ghana that we give relief items because we know our situation and we think it’s a way to also motivate them, encourage them to also stay out of the sea. It’s become a law now. When they go, the officers will be there, enforcement officers will be there to arrest them.”
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