Case of pair trawling at Apam-2 fined $48,000

September 10, 2008 Front Page

Story: Musah Yahaya Jafaru
THE Ministry of Fisheries yesterday declared ‘war’ on trawlers that stray into Ghanaian waters and promised that the full force of the law will be applied against those that also engage in pair trawling.
To demonstrate its resolve to deal with the issue, which has negatively affected the local fishing industry, the ministry announced that owners of the two trawlers that were caught by the Ghana Navy engaging in pair trawling at Apam last week, had been fined $48,000, after admitting the offence.
It further announced that two more trawlers were being investigated by the national security for engaging in illegal fishing in the country’s waters.
The Minister of Fisheries, Mrs Gladys Asmah, who was speaking at a press conference in Accra, said the $48,000 fine was agreed to by a committee made up of representatives of the Attorney General’s Department, the Ghana Navy and the Ministry of Fisheries.
She commended the Ghana Navy for standing up to the challenge in effecting the arrests and promised that 30 per cent of the $48,000 fine would be paid to the Navy while the remaining would go into the internally-generated fund of the Ministry of Fisheries.
She said the money would be used to promote the fishing industry in terms of infrastructure development.
Mrs Asmah warned that foreign trawlers that fished in Ghanaian waters without the appropriate licences would face the full rigours of the law if caught.
Section 116 of the Fisheries Act (625) of 2002 states that: “...where it is satisfied that a person has committed an offence under this Act (illegally fishing in the country’s waters), and the person has in writing admitted to having committed the offence and expressed willingness that the offence be so dealt with, compound the offence by accepting on behalf of the government from the person a sum of money of not less than the minimum penalty specified for the offence plus the fair market value of any fish caught illegally, and the sum when paid shall immediately be paid into the Fund”.
The minister stressed that never again would the government allow the country’s waters to be invaded by foreign fishing trawlers in disregard of the country’s laws and territorial integrity, and that everything would be done to deter foreign trawlers from straying into the country’s waters and consequently safeguard the country’s fishing industry.
Mrs Asmah denied claims that the fishing industry was collapsing and indicated that the government was laying the foundation for the growth of the industry in terms of infrastructure development.
For instance, she said, the government had secured a seven million euro fund under the Spanish Protocol for the construction of ice plants and refrigeration facilities in some fishing communities, beginning from next month.
She said the construction of the storage facilities was to “reduce post-harvest losses to enable the fishermen to sell their fish at competitive prices for them to make profit to better their lives”.
The beneficiary communities are Nyanyano, Kormantse/Abandze, both in the Central Region, Upper Prampram in the Greater Accra Region, and Half Assini, Shama and New Takoradi in the Western Region.
Besides, she said, funding for the two fishing harbours and 12 landing sites had been arranged and disbursement was about to be concluded for the sod to be cut for construction work to begin by the end of the year.
The communities benefitting from the projects are Elmina Fishing Harbour in the Central Region, James Town Fishing Harbour and Teshie in the Greater Accra Region, Axim and Dixcove Landing sites in the Western Region, Moree, Winneba, Gomoa Fetteh, Senya Bereku and Mumford in the Central Region and Ada, Dzemeni, Tapa Abotoase and Keta in the Volta Region.
Mrs Asmah said a Fishery School had been slated for construction at Mumford, and indicated that the school would train students, both males and females, in the art of fishing, fish storage and smoking, and net mending, among others.
“The 20 projects mentioned are not programmes being imagined but projects which have been planned for the better part of the last two years and they will surely see the light of day,” she stressed.
Earlier this month, 13 Chinese and 23 Ghanaians on board two fishing vessels were arrested near Apam in the Central Region by the Western Naval Command for engaging in pair trawling without licence.
The vessels are Maache One and Maache Two owned by Nebula International Limited, a company registered at Tema. The vessels were also found fishing below the 30-metre depth, eight nautical miles from the shore, which is prohibited by law.