Nii Ashitey Odametey, the Tema Awudum Chief Fisherman, has called appeals to authorities to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (IUU) to sustain Ghana’s marine fish stock.
Nii Odametey said implementing closed season measures without holistic measures, such as effectively fighting IUU, would not yield the needed result of reversing the country’s dwindling fish stock, especially the small pelagic.
He was speaking with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on artisanal fishers’ expectations and plans on sustaining Ghana’s fish stock after being excluded from the closed season, which commences on July 01, 2025.
He said artisanal fishers did not see any difference in the fish stock over the years after the closed season, an indication that that was not the solution to the dwindling fish stock the country was faced with.
He stressed that “we are not seeing anything from the closed season; there is no improvement. If practices such as IUU continue, no amount of closed season will change anything.”
He said, “I am calling on the authorities to use the period to enforce IUU laws, and let’s see up to December if things will not improve.”
Nii Odametey called on the Ghana Navy, Marine Police and other agencies to check trawlers from sweeping the sea of small pelagics and intensify implementation of policies that would sustain the fisheries sector.
Meanwhile, this year’s closed season, which aimed at sustaining Ghana’s marine stock, would begin on 1st July and end on July 31st for inshore vessels, while industrial trawlers would also observe it between July 01 and August 31, 2025.
Artisanal fishers, who form many fishers in Ghana, are, however, exempted from this year’s closed season following a directive from the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture.
By Laudia Sawer
