Fishermen and fish-mongers were spotted at some of the landing beaches and shorelineshar­vesting and buying fish as their first catch on the first day of the opening of the close season.

LAWRENCE VOMAFA-AK­PALU reports from the Jamestown landing beach in Accra that fisher­men have expressed their readiness for bumper fishing after a one month break, which enabled them mend nets,replaceobsolete parts of the outboard motors and acquired new fishing boats, while others have fixed the old ones in readi­ness for a new season.

When the Ghanaian Times got to the landing site at the beach, some fishermen, who said they just decided to see if their expectations would come truehad some small catch after casting their nets some few metres from the shore.

Meanwhile, therewas a winding queue of fishermen at the Pre-mix fuel sale depot, all in efforts to prepare for the season, while others were busily preparing their boats for the coming evening’s fishing expeditions.

SAMUEL AGBEWODE reports fromAnloga in the Volta Region that business was briskin fishing communities of Denu, Agavedzi, Adina, Keta, Blekusu and Anloga when the Ghanaian Times arrived there at 9 a:m , as fish-mongers had thronged the shores to engage in buying and selling of fish for the first time after a month-long break in the fishing businesses.

They expressed their happiness about the return of the fishing season and the resumption of their businesses.

The Volta Regional Chairman of the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council (GNCFC), Mr Doe Nkekeshie, who expressed mixed feelings about the closed and opened seasons of the sea, said the closed season did not achieve its in­tended purpose as some fishermen still engaged in fishing activities during the closed season period.

Mr Nkekeshie alleged that some fishermen who purportedly had registered as members of the National Canoe Fishermen Council in Ghana had also registered with other fishing associations in neigh­bouring Togo, explaining that such fishermen sneaked into Ghanaian waters during the closed season and engaged in illegal fishing activities.

The Chairman further stated that even though marine police were patrolling the territorial waters of the country during the period, there was no arrest of these fishermen who engaged in such illegal acts and prosecute them to give full meaning to the closed fishing season.

Mr Nkekeshie also accused fish­ermen from Ada area who contin­uously crossed their boundary into Volta Region waters and engage in illegal light-fishing during the closed season but escaped arrest by marine police.

He said such situations baffles him, saying the closed season could only be successful if the associated rules and regulations were strictly observed.

The Public Relations Offi­cer (PRO) of the Volta Region branch of GNCFC, Mr Vans Adedze, stressed that food items such as rice, canned fishes and oil offered to fishermen were not sufficient to cater for them during the closed season, adding that the closed season should not be regarded as a natural disaster for­which fishermen were provided with relief items.

Mr Adedze therefore suggested to the government to instead sup­port fishermen to save or invest with micro-finance or banks, which would enable the govern­ment to assist them financially in order to cater for themselves within the one-month period.

Officials from the Japanese Embassy and JICA touring project site