Accra-Ghana, July 6, GNA – Some canoe owners and fishers at the Sango Landing Beach at Teshie are lamenting the impact of the closed fishing season on their livelihoods.
The fisher folks, most of whom have been temporarily rendered unemployed, said they were beginning to feel the impact of the month-long closed season with issues of lack of money and foodstuff just a week into the closed season.
While some left the shores to engage in alternative sources of livelihood, others, mostly canoe owners and fishermen, are working on their canoes and fishing nets.
When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited the Sango landing beach, it observed that some fishers were mending their nets, others were playing cards eagerly look forward to the end of the season.
The GNA also observed an excavator that was desilting the canals of the Sango lagoon and sea.
The GNA also saw a group of young men ferrying people across the canals of the lagoon and the sea at a fee.
The leader of the group, who gave his name as Armah, said, they charged GHC2 to ferry a person across the canal from Teshie into Nungua and vice versa.
The move, he said, was to create an alternative source of livelihood during the closed season.
In an interview, Nii Adjei Wawadzan, the Chief Fisherman at the Sango Landing Beach, said the fishers, many with no alternative sources of livelihood, were beginning to experience difficulty in sustaining their families.
He said some fishermen often used the period to mend their fishing nets and canoes after, which they stayed idle.
The 47-year-old said apart from his four wives and 19 children, he also had 12 employees, who depended on him for their livelihood.
“I spend not less than a GHC100 daily to provide food for my employees.
“Fishing is the only job I have known, and just like my colleagues, who do not have alternative means, I am experiencing the hardship,” he said.
The Big Seven, a group of fishermen, who interacted with the GNA, said: “Considering the fact that the business itself is no longer lucrative, the month-long season is taking a toll on us.”
The fisher folks, who are appealing to the government for support said, they were looking forward to the end of the season with bated breath.
They have appealed for food stuff to help them sustain their families during the month-long closed season.
Following the depletion of fish stock in the sea, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in accordance with Section 84 of the Fisheries Act, 2002 (Act 625), instituted the closed fishing season.
The implementation of the closed season, which forms part of a series of strategies to recover fish stock also aims at ensuring sustainable management of fisheries resources.
While canoe and inshore fishers would observe the closed season between July 1 and 31, industrial trawlers would observe it from July 1 to August 31.
