MINISTER CAUTIONS OWNERS OF FISHING VESSELS (PAGE 47, JAN 28, 2010)

THE Minister for Food and Agriculture, Mr Kwesi Ahwoi, has cautioned that owners of fishing vessels that operate without licences and competent crew will be arrested and prosecuted.
In an address read on his behalf at the opening of a training course for 120 crew members who operate on inshore vessels at the Tema Fishing Harbour, he said the ministry would also not renew or grant application for new fishing licences if all the conditions stated in the Fisheries Act were not met.
The opening programme was attended by executives of the Ghana Inshore Fisheries Association (GIFA) from fishing communities including Mumford, Apam, Sekondi and Takoradi.
Mr Ahwoi said the programme was a collaboration among the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA), the National Fisheries Association of Ghana (NAFAG) and GIFA to equip the fishing crew with modern trends in fishing. Beneficiaries of the training included coxswains, boatswains and mechanics manning inshore fishing vessels.
Mr Ahwoi noted with concern the recent spate of accidents at sea involving inshore fishing vessels and appealed to all stakeholders of the fishing industry to declare 2010 a year of doing things the right way.
He said among the conditions set in the Fisheries Act before being issued with a licence were a valid seaworthy certificate for the fishing vessel, a valid safety certificate, a valid insurance policy for the vessel and the crew and qualified crew manning the vessel.
He hinted that the ministry was working hand in hand with the Ghana Navy and that they were in the process of acquiring a patrol boat for the Navy to facilitate its patrols and arrest of vessels which fished illegally in Ghana’s waters.
Mr Ahwoi emphasised that the ministry needed the concerted effort of all stakeholders to help weed out non- compliant fishers from the fishing industry.
The Tema Regional President of GIFA, Mr Joe Kramo, commended the government for instituting the training programme to support the growth in the industry.
He said in the lean and the fishing seasons, most vessels lay idle because of lack of knowledge of new trends in fishing.
Mr Kramo noted that they lacked dry-dock and cold storage facilities at the Tema Harbour and had to sail to Winneba for the facility.
He appealed to the government to assist the association to mount communication gadgets in the office for effective communication with fishermen at sea to save lives and property.
A Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, Nii Amasa Namoale, urged fishermen to have a unified front for their expectations to be met.
The Chairman of the Fisheries Commission, Mr Mike Akyeampong, disclosed that a fisheries regulatory law would soon be promulgated to regulate the Fisheries Act to ensure harmony and peace among artisanal, inshore and industrial fishing operators, noting that that would give the industry a new face.
The Tema Mantse, Nii Adjei Kraku, appealed to fishermen to respect the stool and desist from going fishing on Tuesdays, which had been set aside to be observed as sacred.