Fishermen

FISHERMEN along the coast of Accra are making big catches but lack of pre-mix fuel and inadequate canoes are hampering their efforts to achieve bumper harvest this season.
Last June, the fishermen along the coast predicted bumper harvests this season and underscored the need for the authorities to address their logistic challenges.
And the signals along some fishing communities on the coast, picked by the Daily Graphic point to the realisation of that prediction as most of the fishermen are making good harvest ahead of the peak season in August-September.
Within the fishing communities of Osu Aborm, Alata, Mensah Guinea and James Town fishermen are making catches far exceeding what the fish mongers could patronise.
Some of the fishermen however said although the sings were there for a bumper catch, they were unable to take advantage of it because of the absence of enough logistics including pre-mix fuel and canoes.
The fishermen also complained about the activities of pair trawlers, saying they posed a threat to their occupation and lives.
They also complained about the use of light by some fishermen which normally disturbed their activities.
Because of the acute nature of the pre-mix situation some of the fisherman at Osu have abandoned their canoes while their counterparts at Mensah Guinea and James Town have resorted to running shifts with the few canoes they have at hand.
“Today (Thursday) is a busy fishing day but unfortunately only four canoes from Osu have gone fishing. This is because we have no fuel in our canoes. The situation is so disturbing and we don’t know what to do”, Teeto Lee, a fisherman at Osu lamented.
The Chief fisherman at Osu, Nii Gyamlogya also said “I have searched the whole of Osu for pre-mix fuel but I did not get any to buy”.
“The situation is so alarming and if immediate steps are not taken, things will get out of hand”, he added.
“There are a lot of fishes in the sea and sometimes we even get tired of catching them but lack of fuel and its high price is really affecting us, Togbo Annan the Chief Linguist added to the general lamentation.
According to them, one canoe needed as much as 16 gallons of fuel for just one trip.
At Mensah Guinea and James Town the fishermen had resorted to the laborious use of hand paddles to power their canoes because they could not get the need fuel for the use of outboard motors.
The fishermen said apart from sapping their energy, the use of paddles endangered their lives at sea, especially when they encountered high tidal waves.
Interestingly, out of about 50 fishermen at Mensah Guinea, only five had canoes of their own.
Most of them could not afford the high prices of the canoes, which costs GH¢5,630.
Normally, the fishermen went fishing for a week or at least four days but those who could not wait for their friends to return had to either join them or wait patiently for their turn.
“We all have families to cater for so the situation becomes very difficult for us especially when you do not have a canoe to use” , Amassah Kottey a fisherman said.
“Fishing is our life and so if you do not have a canoe to work with then life becomes so unbearable”, one fisherman said almost in tears.
They called on the government to help solve the problem.