Close fishing season: Life bounces back at landing beaches

Economic activities have bounced back at landing beaches in Accra after the end of this year’s close fishing season for artisanal fishing.

Activities, including buying and selling, have started picking up as fisher folks prepare for the first fishing expeditions after the season.

The fisher folks, most of whom left the shores to engage in alternative sources of livelihood during the close season have started returning for fishing expeditions.

When the Ghana News Agency (GNA) visited the Sango Landing Beach at Teshie and the Nungua Landing Beach, it observed that while some fisher folks were mending their nets, others were putting their canoes in shape.

The GNA also observed some young men carrying outboard motors to the shore.

In an interview, Nii Adjei Wawadzan, the Chief Fisherman at the Sango Landing Beach, described the end of the close season as welcoming news, saying their finances and livelihoods had been affected by the month-long season.

He said the fisher folks, most of whom did not have alternative sources of livelihood would now be able to feed and sustain their families.

Together with some traditional priests, Nii Wawadzan led the fisher folks to perform rituals at Sango Beach, which is home to some 180 canoes.

The 47-year-old Chief Fisherman, who employs 12 others, said opening the sea for artisanal fishing was a relief to him and all others whose employees depended on them.

“I spent not less than a GHC100 daily to provide food for my employees,” he said.

Samuel Boye Ashong, a fisherman, who interacted with the GNA, also revealed that the close season had negatively impacted his finances.

The fishermen, who looked forward to the end of the season with bated breath, will make their first expeditions tomorrow because fishing on Tuesdays is prohibited.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development in accordance with Section 84 of the Fisheries Act, 2002 (Act 625), instituted the close fishing season to address the depletion of fish stock in the sea,

Implementing the close season, which forms part of a series of strategies to recover fish stock, also aims to ensure sustainable management of fisheries resources.

While canoe and inshore fishers observed the close season between July 1 and 31, industrial trawlers would observe it from July 1 to August 31.