The Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG) has expressed concern over the current closed fishing season being implemented in the country.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, in accordance with Section 84 of the Fisheries Act, 2002 (Act 625) declared a closed season for artisanal and inshore fleets from July 1 to July 31, while that of industrial trawlers spans from August 1 to August 31, 2023. 

Nana Kweigyah, president of CaFGOAG assessing the impact of the closed season, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Tema that the implementation of the closed season in July for the artisanal sector was simply unsustainable. 

He said many fishers and fishing communities have expressed genuine concerns about how the closed season in July restricted and undermined artisanal fisheries in Ghana. 

According to him, the consensus that greeted the implementation some four years ago when it commenced was lost; therefore, managers of Ghana’s fisheries must initiate open discussions that prioritize effective representation and participation of artisanal fishers to address their concerns. 

He said artisanal fishers have genuine concerns about the implementation of a closed season in the artisanal sector in the month of July, and that must be looked at. 

He suggested that managers of fisheries must initiate some discussions to improve implementation, taking scientific and local ecological knowledge into consideration in the management of Ghana’s fisheries. 

He explained that while the period of the implementation of the closed season, according to the scientists, was within the biological period of the fishery, it also fell within the economic period of artisanal fishers and, more importantly, the month that ushers in the bumper season. 

“There has to be a trade-off in this situation, and this goes into the heart of the implementation of the closed season in the artisanal sector, taking into consideration the static nature of space and time and the level of dependence on fishing by the communities,” he said.