Fisherfolks in the coastal communities in the Keta Municipality of the Volta Region have called on the authorities to enact stronger rules and regulations to help eliminate the practice of light fishing in the area.
They said the practice, which involves using bright lights to attract fish, has been a contentious issue in the fishing industry with many fisherfolks and stakeholders calling for a total ban.
Mr Dzimadi Joseph, a fisherman at Tetevikope, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the incident of light fishing in the area had a devastating impact on the fishing industry and the livelihoods of fisherfolks.
“Light fishing is prohibited all over the country and our investigations revealed that some fishermen are still practicing it, we need better laws to eliminate this totally,” he said.
He explained that light fishing has been blamed for depletion of fish stocks which damaged the marine ecosystem and believed that the practice was unsustainable and threatened the future of the fishing industry.
Mr Dzimadi urged the ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and the government to enact stronger laws to ban the practice of light fishing since the current regulations were not effective enough in preventing such practices.
“Our people here are no more involving themselves in light fishing, but recent information we gathered indicate that some fishermen from Ada and Togo always come here to do light fishing and go back.”
He said the fisherfolks in Keta were deeply worried about the situationtas it threatened their livelihoods, source of income and the future of the fishing business.
They urged the authorities to take immediate action to address the issue to avoid any unforeseen disputes.
Mr Dzimadi said that complaint about light fishing was previously forwarded severally to the fisheries authorities, including the marine police, fishing associations among others, but nothing was done to stop the activities which forced fisherfolks to establish and deploy local groups to arrest the perpetrators and hand them over to the police.
Mr Victor Dzokoto, the Volta Regional Secretary for Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council, told the GNA that the association received the complaints and critical actions would be implemented to prevent the practice of light fishing.
He called on the government to ensure that the laws were enforced effectively to hold those who engage in the practice accountable.
He said the practice had a devastating impact on the fishing industry which called for immediate action to address the situation before it escalated to anything untoward.
Some fisherfolks GNA spoke with also expressed worry about the situation and appealed to government and other fishing associations to implement effective laws to govern and prohibit light fishing and punish all culprits severely to serve as an example to others.
Some fishermen also cried over the low level of catches experienced recently and attributed it to the light fishing and appealed to leaders to help stop the act.