The one-month moratorium on fishing activities for artisanal, semi-industrial and industrial trawlers have taken effect on July 1, 2022.
The short ceremony to officially close the country’s sea to fishing activities saw several dignitaries including the Chief Fishermen and Government officials gracing the occasion at the Tema Canoe Basin.
Leaders of the various fishing groups who took turns to address the gathering, promised their support to ensure the ban was adhered to.
At a short ceremony in Tema to symbolically close the sea, Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Madam Mavis Hawa Koomson warned of punitive action against fishermen who failed to desist from the practice of illegal fishing methods when the sea is reopened for fishing activities.
She assured the fishermen of the Ministry’s readiness to ensure the free flow of premix fuel when the closed season ends.
Madam Koomson also charged them to do away with the illegal fishing methods and other indiscipline acts which degrade the sea.
Mayor of Tema, Yohane Armah Ashitey who addressed issues on premix scarcity and distribution challenges, announced that his office will soon issue out membership cards to fishermen to identify them in the distribution process.
He also employed the services of the Ghana Navy to ensure that the old system where premix was hoarded and sold to non-fishermen becomes a thing of the past.
Customs were performed by traditional priests to officially initiate the close season, with the Minister also locking the sea with the symbolic closed season key.
Meanwhile, checks by newsmen at the Tema Canoe basin revealed a general adherence to the ban by fishermen there.
Hundreds of canoes have been generally decked at the Canoe Basin with most fishermen found mending their nets.
Some fishermen who spoke to newsmen pledged support for the closed fishing season.
However, they called on the authorities to do more to clamp down on the illegal activities of their Chinese counterparts on seas.
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