Stakeholders in the fishing industry have implored on President Akuffo Addo to issue immediate directives towards ending “Saiko” in Ghana.
“Saiko” is a severely destructive form of illegal fishing, where industrial trawlers target the staple catch of artisanal fishers and sell this fish back to local coastal communities at a profit.
The groups noted that although the President has resolved to ensure the sustenance of the fishing industry in Ghana, the ongoing illegal fishing activity is undermining the efforts made by the government towards achieving its set goals.
In a letter addressed to the President of the Republic by the Environmental Justice Foundation, National Canoe Fishermen’s Council and BUSAC fund, the groups lamented how industrial trawlers, which are licensed to harvest demersal (bottom-dwelling) species, are now deliberately targeting the same species as the artisanal fishing community.
Read this: SAIKO; An Albatross on the neck
This “Galamsey on the sea”, the group noted, has drastically affected the harvest of fish by local fishermen such that marine fisheries are in a deplorable state, with an increasing number of fishing trips recording ‘zero catch’.
According to the groups, small pelagic fishery could collapse by the end of 2020 if significant measures, such as addressing Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
This impact of this illegal activity it said, could threaten job security and adversely affect the economy of Ghana.
“Your Excellency, if this menace is not urgently addressed and measures instituted to permanently eradicate it, the source of income for over 2.7 million Ghanaians will be lost: including breadwinners of both genders, 140,000 fishermen, along with thousands of fishmongers – the majority of whom are women – traders, canoe carvers, input suppliers and fish carriers, as well as their dependents”, the letter said.
The group indicated that much has not been done in implementing the enforcement actions needed to eradicate Saiko although several proclamations have been directed towards its eradication.
You can read this too: Saiko; An Albatross On The Neck – Part 2
It said, the finance Minister in the 2020 Budget Statement mentioned that the ‘Ministry will intensify the implementation of the Fisheries Act, 2002, (Act 625) to ensure that domestic, regional and international laws that prohibit IUU fishing are strictly enforced through the following: … all domestic and international ‑feet that are involved in “Saiko” fishing (i.e transhipment at sea) shall be banned from fishing in Ghanaian waters’.
“We therefore respectfully call upon you to lead and ensure the necessary actions are taken to end Saiko fishing for good”, they said.
The group believes that in ending poverty in Ghana, a move to permanently ending Saiko, will contribute greatly to achieving the targets set in SDG 14
“It will protect the livelihoods of Ghanaians in coastal communities and contribute to alleviating poverty and malnutrition in the coastal communities”, it said.
Source: ATLFMNEWS
