Four fishermen have been convicted for violating the close season fishing regulations imposed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD).
The Magistrate of the TDC District Court in Tema, Benedicta Antwi, handed down the sentence after all accused persons pleaded guilty to the charges.
Out of the four convicted persons, three pleaded guilty, while Francis Bobole pleaded guilty with an explanation.
Bobole claimed they went to sea during a fishing expedition to Togo, as they were unaware of the close season in force at the time of their arrest.
However, the court did not find this explanation to be a reasonable defense, and his guilty plea was maintained.
The court, considering the fact that the convicted fishermen were first-time offenders, imposed a fine of 400 penalty units on each of them. At the current rate of GH₵12.00 per penalty unit, the total fines amount to GH₵4,800 each.
Additionally, the court ordered the police to confiscate the fish found in the possession of the fishermen, along with their fishing equipment.
The facts of the case indicate that on July 25, 2023, a joint team from the Fisheries Enforcement Unit (FEU), consisting of officers from the Monitoring Control Surveillance Division (MCSD) and the Marine Police, conducted a patrol at sea to identify fishermen not complying with the close season, which had commenced on July 1, 2023.
During the patrol, the team arrested four fishermen who were found fishing in two separate canoes, a clear violation of section 84 of the Fisheries Act 625.
The fishermen were also in possession of an unspecified quantity of fish, further exacerbating the offense.
It was based on these facts that the accused persons were arrested and subsequently convicted.
The close season fishing ban, implemented in accordance with section 84 of the Fisheries Act 625, aims to allow the replenishment of Ghana’s overexploited and depleted fish stocks during the period favorable for fishes to reproduce.
This year, canoe and inshore fishers were required to observe the closed season from July 1 to 31, 2023, while industrial trawlers were to adhere to the closed season from July 1 to August 31, 2023.