Nearly ten percent of the population depends on the Fisheries sector which creates direct and indirect employment for over 2.4 million people. In 2010 alone, the industry generated around 190 million dollars, a sum that could be multiplied several times over if the industry were given a boost. Yet, Ghana’s marine fishing sector is in deep trouble – depleting stocks, unfair competition combined with higher costs of doing business have wiped many local fishermen out. Those that are still in the sector live precarious existences at best. Eric Ahianyo reports in this edition of Hotline. The warm sand beneath my toes is a gentle massage and a balmy breeze welcomes me to a perfect piece of paradise - Keta beach. Until the smell of stinking fish brings me back to reality and the reason I am here, to find out why the local fishing community is worried about their future. The pockets of smoke rising from huts dotted along the beach suggest there was a good catch the previous day. Women sit chatting under the coconut trees while their husbands keep up a steady chant as they drag their nets along the beach. Sixty-one-year-old Godwin Yao Nyamade is a retired teacher and has been fishing since the age of seven. Fishing has been in his family for generations but he cannot depend on this alone to make ends meet. The seabed at Keta is shallow and less rocky and therefore an ideal place for drag net fishing. Sweat pours down the faces of 25 exhausted men who have been pulling the net for an hour now but they won’t give up. Albert Kpodo, who owns the net, is disappointed with today’s catch, barely three buckets of assorted fish. Depleting stocks is a big problem today. In Ghana it is estimated that the volume of fish caught has almost halved over the past thirty years – from eight hundred thousand to less than five hundred thousand metric tons - a dramatic drop when one considers that so many people depend on this sector for their livelihood. Dr F K Nunoo is a senior lecturer at the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, says industrial fishing is virtually taking over the industry. “Industrial fishermen have all the power in their engines…People use nets as huge as football fields and they are able to catch everything in their way,” Dr Nunoo said. Poor fishing methods are another reason why fish stocks are decreasing. According to Koffi Abuga, the Programmes Coordinator of the non-governmental organization, Integrated Coastal and Fisheries Governance Initiative, there has been a sharp drop in the number of sardines partly because of the fishing methods being used. Fishermen are now obliged to sail much further than before in order to fill their boats, adds Dr. Nunnu. Marine fishing in Ghana accounts for nearly 80 percent of the fisheries sector. In 1993, this sector contributed about six percent of GDP but had fallen to 3.9percent in 2008 according to the Ghana Living Standard Survey. This period saw a systematic drop in the incomes of people involved in the fishing sector and sporadic agitations took place in different parts of the country. The government finally intervened in 2002 and passed the Fisheries Act 625, which was aimed at regulating the fishery sector. The Act banned light fishing, the use of under sized nets and pair trawling within 30 meters depth zone, the three main factors identified with depleting fish stocks. But the new regulations were not really understood by the people concerned says Kofi Abuga, Programmes Coordinator of Integrated Coastal and Fisheries Governance Initiative. Ghana is blessed with 550 kilometers of coastline and around 300 landing beaches. Unfortunately most of them are undeveloped and can best be described as death traps. Only three are of any use says 2008 National Best Fisherman, Kojo Sortoh Mensah. Prampram landing beach is one of those death traps. It is a windy afternoon today at Prampram beach. The fishing canoes are returning and the women are lined up on the beach, waiting anxiously for the safe return of their men….and a good catch. Everyone is fighting for space. The old men are also there – no longer able to go out to sea, they come to the beach every day, to offer their advice and support. And the hope of getting some fish for their dinner. The expressions on the faces of the fishermen say it all… its been another disappointing day. Two or three well built men brave the four feet high waves to raise one end of the canoe with their backs to pull it to shore. Acting Chief Fisherman of Prampram, Nicholas Mensah Sausey is a deeply worried man. “We stay at home for days when the sea is rough. If you dare attempt to go to sea, your canoe will capsize. It is even worse when are returning. Sometimes we lose all our catch. The waves can even smash your canoe against these rocks and damage them and they are expensive.. Some have lost their lives through accidents. Its very pathetic. Because of this many fishermen have now relocated at Winneba, Apam and even Togo,” he said. In Prampram too, most fishermen build their own canoes. It will take fifteen men around two weeks to build a canoe. Almost everything is improvised – from the engine to the gear box – there seems to be no limit to the inventiveness of these men. But this is at a cost because what the fishermen really need are marine engines and not improvised engines of all sorts which end up creating more problems. Local fishermen virtually depend on fate or experience anytime they go to sea and they keep their fingers crossed for their safe return. Ghana has only three fishing harbours – Sekondi, Elmina and Tema, which is the oldest and was built in 1962. But all three facilities have been neglected and Tema is in a state of utter dilapidation. The wharf is rotten and the dockyard is dry and full of much. It’s not just the fishermen who are suffering – their families too feel the heat when the catch is poor or the sea is rough or…when the fishermen simply cannot afford to go out to sea anymore because everything they require to practice their trade has become more costly. The fishmongers too are unhappy and frustrated. “We are not able to pay our children’s school fees,” lamented a fishmonger at Prampram. There is no getting away from it – the situation is dire in fishing communities. Poverty is rife, children are dropping out of school, teenage pregnancy is on the increase and many are left wondering how they will manage in the future. Old age is not something to look forward to for these people. Not when there is no hope of pension or any social guarantee. Nii Odamitey II, Chief Fisherman at Tema said it is difficult to sign up to a pension plan with the state insurer, SSNIT. Clearly, the fishing industry in Ghana has huge problem. But there are solutions and one doesn’t have to look far to find them. Koffi Abuga says Ghana can take a leaf out of Cote d Ivoire’s book. He recommends training for fishermen. In August 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture established the Fisheries Security Task Force to check illegal fishing. In October, the Defense Ministry took delivery of four fast patrol boats from China augmenting Ghana Navy’s fleet to 12 and boosting their capacity to protecting the country’s maritime domain from illegal activities such as pair trawling, drug trafficking, and recently piracy. Good are these measures enough? The fishing sector is a crucial part of Ghana’s economy…..we will ignore this sector at our peril warns Dr. Nunnu.