A section of canoe fishermen in Elmina and Axim in the Central and Western regions have jointly accused the government of throwing sand into their eyes by telling them that the practice of pair trawling on the high seas had been banned.

According to them, several reports to the Fisheries Ministry on the practice failed with the sector Minister, Mrs. Gladys Asmah asking them to bring evidence since she claimed the pair trawling was banned some years back.

The furious fishermen who were speaking to journalists in Elmina on Tuesday said they have been able to film between eight and sixteen foreign vessels indulging in pair trawling on the high seas and include Chinese and African fishermen.

They have however called on the Ministry of Fisheries to prosecute the perpetrators after a copy of the film had been given to the Ministry for their view.

This according to them would deter the pair trawlers to refrain from the practice which has made fishing difficult for Ghanaian fishermen.
They therefore called on the government not to undermine their integrity since they are not fishermen of old who did not know anything and therefore accepted anything that came their way.

They hoped the evidence provided by the fishermen would see immediate action by the government, adding, numerous promises made by the government to improve the lot of fishermen had not been fulfilled.

The leader of the group, Ato Sortor, who said they were not being backed by any political party, stated that fishermen are now fed up with lies by Ghanaian leaders, which according to him has rendered fishermen penniless.

He contended that meetings with directors of fisheries on the issue proved futile and therefore called for the total abolishing of pair trawling on the sea, saying, their worry is not about themselves but their descendants and Ghanaians in general.


Source: Times