Mavis Hawa Koomson, Minister, Fisheries and Aquaculture Development
• Elmina fishermen will continue to observe the closed season
• This is because they refused to heed the minister’s directive on illegal fishing
• The minister explained it has become necessary for her ministry to keep the fisherfolks in check
As a form of punishment for the fishermen to stop illegal fishing activities, the fishermen in Elmina will continue to observe the closed season despite the reopening of the sea for artisanal and inshore fleets, the Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister has said.
Mavis Hawa Koomson told JoyNews in a report monitored by GhanaWeb that, the fishermen refused to heed to her campaign against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, thereby, it has become necessary for the ministry to keep the fishermen in Elmina in check.
“After my presentation on Tuesday, June 27, they said I said, they should stop the Saiko and light fishing which they were not happy with and so I should reverse that statement and I said no. I wasn’t ready and so they said if I am not going to reverse, I should take back the items I brought for them and I did.
“Now they are begging, they have come to apologize, I am told they had a press conference, one of the chief fishermen is here to apologize but we still have to punish them for that I will not hide it,” Hawa Koomson explained.
The minister indicated that, the fishermen will also be refused premix fuel as well as other fishing logistics which will be of great help to them until they are willing to comply with the directives set out to deal with illegal fishing.
On his part, Joseph Heman Asmah, the 2019 National Best Fisherman who represented the Elmina fishing community appealed to Mavis Hawa Koomson to reconsider her decision.
He said, “The fishermen were sitting down patiently waiting to hear from the minister but the guru boys they did that so I have to be here and apologize.”
“If the woman says she won’t give us premix, where will we get premix? If the woman says she won’t give us outboard motors at control price, where will we get some to buy? Whenever we are in need and we go and she closes her door to us those who did it, won’t feel it,” Asmah pleaded.
