Persons breaking closed season rules will be punished – Fisheries Ministry

The Fisheries Enforcement Unit of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development has warned that fisherfolks who fail to comply with the closed fishing season rules will be punished severely.

The exercise, which began on July 1, is expected to end on July 31, 2024, and both artisanal fishermen and industrial trawlers must comply with the rules.

Addressing the media, the National Coordinator of the unit, Commodore Francis Ayiteyvi Nyarko, indicated that his team has deployed enough personnel to monitor the coast to ensure that no fisherman goes on a fishing expedition during this period.

He added that the marine police, navy, and other security agencies are on board to ensure the exercise is conducted effectively.

He further stated that the law would be applied against anyone found breaking the arrangements of the closed season.

“Anybody that we arrest, we will hand them over to the police for the appropriate action to be taken against them. The enforcement team comprises the Marine Police, the Navy, MCS personnel and then any other security personnel that may be available.

“Now we are doing this in close collaboration with the Navy in particular. The police are strongly behind us. So it is teamwork. For them to accept that this closed season has come to stay, it is a law that we are enforcing, so we don’t expect them to do the things we don’t want them to do”.

The essence of the closed fishing season implemented by the incumbent government is to allow fish to lay eggs and reproduce more.

In 2023, three fishermen were arrested by the Denu Police in the Volta Region for fishing during the closed season.

They were identified as Atitso Atsitsogbui, Seth Kwesi Abelia and Agbesi Atisu.

The fish they had caught on their fishing expedition was retrieved while the canoe they were using was impounded.