Minister deplores filthy state of coastline

Accra, March 9, GNA- Mr. Daniel Christian Dugan, Deputy Minister of Fisheries on Friday said it was rather unfortunate that fifty years after independence, the country's, coastal areas were in more a deplorable state than at the time of independence.

"The task of keeping our coastal environment, especially the beaches clean is a duty for all of us," he told members of the Oceanography and Fisheries Students Association (OFISA) at a day's seminar at the University of Ghana, Legon.

The seminar, part of activities marking the OFISA week celebration was under the theme, 93Ghana @50: The State of Our Coasts and Oceans".

Enumerating some of the problems resulting in the deplorable state of the country's coastal areas, Mr Dugan said they included the lack of coast guards who patrol the coast to prevent unscrupulous dumping of waste, soiling of the beaches with waste matter, sand winning, and over-fishing, among others.

He said the Ministry of Fisheries was ready to work hand-in-hand with research institutions such as the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, Water Research Institute; Marine Fisheries Research Division, The Fisheries Directorate and Environmental NGO to fight the menace in the polluted areas.

Mr Dugan praised the Tema Mantse, Nii Adjei Kraku II for his initiative in calling upon other chiefs and chief fishermen to join hands in ridding the country's shoreline of filth. "The vision of the Tema Chief needs to be supported by all," he said, adding that in the next 50 years, Ghana's beaches should be referred to as the 93Golden Beaches".

Mr Daniel S. Amlalo, Director of Field Operation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said complains from fishermen of late indicated that they often caught plastic materials in the nets instead of fishes. "They way we are dumping plastic materials into our ocean is becoming alarming, because it is killing the fishes as well as drive many species away from our coast lines," he said. Mr Amlalo said the problem of sand winning was also causing sea erosion along the coastline, leading to the wiping away of some towns and villages.

He said there were a number of policies, laws and other institutional frameworks regarding the protection of the ocean and its coastline, but what was lacking was enforcement.

"This we cannot leave to the law enforcement agencies alone, but rather we all have to join hands in protecting our coastline and the ocean, to help protect our country and its people," he said. 09 March 07