Close fishing season begins successfully in Keta

The 2024 Close fishing season has commenced successfully in the Keta Municipality and other communities along the coastal belt of the Volta Region.The closed fishing season is expected to be observed from Monday, July 1 to Wednesday, July 31 for canoe and inshore fishers, whilst industrial trawlers would observe it till the end of August.Mr Seth Agbokede, the Public Relations Officer of Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council, told the Ghana News Agency that the period would help other fishermen to repair and maintain their damaged canoes and nets.'We hope all of us will comply and go according to the rules and regulations that govern the closed fishing season for the benefit of all after the period,' he stated.He urged all fishermen to abide by the rules and regulations of the closed fishing season to avoid any lawful punishment.Mrs. Mavis Hawa Koomson, Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, in an earlier meeting with the fishers along the coastal belt at Keta, promised that outboard mo tors and some relief items would be provided for fishers to mitigate the prevailing challenges during the period.'The Ministry would train some youth within the fishing areas as an alternative to reduce the pressure on the sea,' she said.Mrs Koomson said other countries such as Benin, Togo Côte D'Ivoire, and other sub-Saharan countries had also introduced the closed fishing season 'since the period was one of the best ways to replenish and reduce pressure on the fishing business.'The GNA, during a visit to the Keta seashore, saw no ongoing fishing activity.Some fishers, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) engaged and appealed to the Fisheries Ministry to provide the relief items as early as possible to begin the season.The season would enhance the capacity to produce fish to improve, maintain, and conserve the sea, and protect the aquatic animals for better replenishment.The official ceremony of the closed fishing season was held at Dixcove in the Ahanta West Municipality of the Western Region on Monday, July 1.Source: Ghana News Agency