Government to revive fishing industry - Ashitey

Ghana's fisheries minister Ishmael Ashitey, on Saturday, stated that the government is to resuscitate the fishing industry to increase catch.

Currently, he said, that the fishing industry takes care of only one percent of the nation's population.

The Minister was inspecting the obsolete equipment at the African Industries Limited (AIL), manufacturers of fishing nets, ropes and twines at Tema with a view to offer assistance to enable it to operate.

The factory, established in 1980, has been out of production for the past 18 years due to aged machinery and lack of raw materials. It needs 2.5 million dollars to procure modern machinery to produce fishing nets.

To this end, Mr. Ashitey said, his sector Ministry is seeking Japanese grant and funds from local sources to reactivate sectors under the Ministry to enhance production.

He was not happy that despite the existence of the factory in the country, the fishing industry kept on importing fishing gear to the detriment of the economy.

Mr. Ashitey noted that the production of fishing nets in the country would cease the importation of the same product, which would be affordable to fishermen and definitely reduce the price of fish to meet the pocket of the ordinary person.

The Fisheries Minister, however, pleaded with fishermen to exercise restraint while he sought for assistance to help improve the industry, saying, "there is little I could do for you this year since the fishing season is almost near."

Earlier, Alhaji A. S. Williams, General Manager of AIL briefed the Minister about the plight of the factory and said currently, the factory only produces nets for fishermen who bring their own materials for a meager fee. The factory has only 15 workers to operate the machines.

He, therefore, appealed to the Minister to help the factory to procure raw materials and equipment for it to prove that it can contribute to the nation's development by generating employment for the youth.