Features
Our dead fishing industry
As a vegetarian, do I have to bother if others do not get their meat and fish to eat? The answer simply is yes, I am bothered because being vegetarian is a choice which I have no right to impose on anyone; not even on my family. My son, however, chose vegetarianism along the way. And my youngest daughter too.
Ghanaians love their fish and consume over a million tonnes annually. Almost all of our coastal communities are into fishing as a source of livelihood. Indeed, statistics tell us that about 10 per cent of Ghana’s population is engaged in fishing. This means a little over three million Ghanaians are into fishing. But I think this figure needs a review downward since our inland water bodies are being degraded and throwing our fishers out of business. In fact, the only natural environment for fish to thrive in is water.
The Tema fishing harbour has all but died since the middle of last year. All fishing vessels, except a few tuna trawlers, have been grounded because the Ghana Maritime Authority has now woken up from its slumber to insist that these fishing vessels are primed to international standards before they go out to sea.
This edict has affected the operators financially in these hard times that they have virtually nothing to fix their vessels with. The institutional failure in our land is so nauseating that the ordinary man becomes a victim. Of course, standards must be maintained, no doubt, but why did the Maritime Authority wait all these years for these poor fisher folks to manage their businesses the way they knew only to be shackled when they least expected it?
Now, only those with connections in high places import frozen fish into the country. Today, trading in frozen fish is the only activity at the fishing harbour in Tema. One can only get some fresh fish from the artisanal canoe fishers, a negligible undertaking. Those on the value chain of fishing activities at the harbour are out of commission at this point in time.
The situation is not different at the landing beaches. At Jamestown in Accra, plastic waste constitutes the greater percentage of what the fishermen haul ashore from each expedition. And this adds to the cost of repairing their fishing gear.
We have a Fisheries Commission but I wonder if it has all the data on what fishery is all about. Research findings are gathering dust on shelves, because we do not yet have the culture of using research material to better our lot. Every available water body that has living microorganisms is a resource for aquatic life. Rivers, lagoons, lakes and ponds serve this purpose.
The Fisheries Commission should be the one spearheading the fight against the pollution of our water bodies by illegal mining operators, not the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. It is because once the rivers are polluted with toxic chemicals, aquatic life is lost, thus depriving the fishers of their source of livelihood and the communities their source of protein.
The Fisheries Commission seems to be unaware that the estuaries of our rivers have all been silted, thereby starving mangroves of nutrients and cover for the spawning of crustacians like crabs, prawns and shrimps. As a result, shrimpers have folded up their business.
Take the estuary of the Volta River, for example. The silting of this area has given rise to water hyacinth along the banks of the river right from Kpong in the Asuogyaman District all the way down to Sogakope and Ada in the South Tongu and Dangme East Districts respectively. The river used to discharge water into the Keta Lagoon by way of Galo and Savietula and, as a result, introduce new fish varieties into the lagoon. That has not happened in the last thirty-five years or so and nothing is being done to reverse this.
I spent 15 years living by the Keta Lagoon, first in Keta itself, Anyako and Anloga in1957.
At Anyako, my grand-aunt fried over a dozen species of fish for sale in Accra. One room was dedicated to baskets of assorted fish right from the floor to the ceiling. I didn’t need permission to help myself with any that caught my fancy, but I never took undue advantage.
Personally, I went fishing for sport. After all, there was more than enough in my home to choose from, but I loved the water and seeing fish live in its own environment had its own therapeutic attraction for, and effect on, me. Today, the Keta Lagoon cannot boast of even a quarter of a dozen species.
Oh, how I miss those fishing trips. I loved the hook-and-line fishing since my grandparents did not permit me to go with the professionals for fear I might impede their work, according to them, was my precocious disposition.
I was also fascinated with drag-line fishing. Two people would drag a twine 20 or 30 metres between them on the bed of shallow water. Others waded in behind the twine and, as the fish ducked flat under the twine and embedded in the sand, sunlight exposed their shiny bodies and were quickly picked up. Today, it is no fun trying to fish in this once life-sustaining environment.
The Volta River Authority (VRA) cannot be bothered by the silting of the Volta River. I sighted a letter written by Hon. Ken Dzirasah, a former Member of Parliament for South Tongu and Deputy Speaker to the VRA to address the issue and the effect on the economy of the area. Nothing seems to be done about this.
Lake Bosumtwi is also losing its fish stock. It seems the Ministry of Fisheries is only interested in revenue from licensing fishing companies operating in the oceanic maritime zones. What about inland fishing? Is the Ministry following the provisions in the Fisheries Act to the letter?
Meanwhile, fish constitutes the greatest source of Ghanaians’ protein needs, yet we have leaders over the years who have not taken the fishery sector seriously. Prized fishes are spawned and carried by the Benguela currents along the Gulf of Guinea all the way to the West and North Atlantic. Why we do not take advantage to maximize our harvest of these fishes beats my mind.
State intervention with the supply of what is known as pre-mixed fuel is even undermined by state officials who take bribes in the supply chain or divert the fuel to other areas.
The fight against pollution of our water bodies must be relentless and offenders severely punished. Not only do we need fish for consumption, we need water for our very existence as a people.
We must be worried when the very people whose duty it is to ensure our lives are assured are the ones alleged to be involved in mining activities that pollute the environment and water bodies. Only God knows what future we bequeath to our children and their children.
Post Script: I take this opportunity to wish my dear readers Merry Christmas and Happy 2023. I appreciate the mails you send.
Writer’s email address:
akofa45@yahoo.com
By Dr. Akofa K. Segbefia
THE typical itinerant salesman in Sikaman is a herbalist. He is normally a slim macho with the capacity to perambulate the expanse of area covering the triangle of Accra-Tema-Ashiaman. In short, he can walk a total of 60 miles a day, marketing a product that cures every disease, including poverty. 
The door-to-door herbal pharmacist advertises his product by word of mouth. He has nothing to do with the Food and Drugs Board (FDB). After all, his concoctions do not feature on FM stations.
Those herbalists who cannot walk to propagate the herbal gospel, liaise with drivers of mass transportation and their mates. They are, therefore, given the chance to sell their products on Benz buses that ply the routes.
Normally, the herbalist starts his sales message with a prayer and Bible study. He asks the passengers to bow down their heads in supplication to God the father, the son, the Holy Spirit.
When a herbalist asks the passengers to close their eyes and bow their heads, Moslems on board naturally feel offended. They feel that the herbalist has no right to assume that every passenger is a Christian. They think such an assumption is an affront to Islam.
So a Moslem on board will raise the hand for a point of order. He’ll remind the herbalist that it would be in his own interest to mind his language.
“Be careful the way you address people in a public place. Not every person here is a Christian,” he’d state assertively.
Of course, the herbalist will promptly ignore him, but would all the same “watch” his tongue. Who knows whether or not the Moslem brother is inspired by Quoranic zeal to defend the tenets of Islam to the hilt?
When he starts saying, “Wallahi!” and “Inshallah!” it could be the beginning of proclaiming Islam as supreme, a point which must be driven home with talibanic precision.
So the herbalist must tread carefully lest he steps on fire.
The herbalist could even add a measure of mirth to it all, by announcing that Christians on board today have very interesting company on the journey, but that should not detract from the business of the day.
The Moslem brother will weigh the words carefully and offer a wry smile.
He must be careful the occasion does not degenerate into the use of semantics and proverbial oration to deride his conviction that public utterances must be mindful of religious sensibilities. He has made his point very clear and expects that it is taken in good faith in the interest of a peaceful journey.
The herbalist will now open the New Testament and preach salvation, stating clearly that salvation can come only through Jesus Christ and NOBODY else.
The Moslem brother will now start twitching his moustache. The visible and almost revolutionary reflexes of his upper lip can be an indication that sentiments have begun superseding reason, and the outcome could well be tragic now shift uneasily in his seat.
The time has come for him to also express his right to the religion of his fore-bears. He’ll put his hand into his pocket and rise to his feet. The time has indeed come!
This article was first published on Saturday, September 9, 2006
When the cause of a particular problem like sickness, disease, sudden illness, a social issue etc. are not known, it stands to reason that resolving it becomes a huge challenge.
Citizens would understand the government when public announcements are made to the effect that government is trying to find a solution to the issue, even though it is taking a while for it to be resolved because citizens are rational beings.
On the other hand, if the solution to a particular issue is known to everybody but the government for whatever reason, is dragging its feet in resolving it, citizens become frustrated and begin to lose trust in their leaders.
One such issue is the heavy traffic along a section of the Kasoa – Odokor road. A short stretch of bad road between the traffic light at the Weija Government Hospital and the entrance to the entrance of the overhead that leads to the N1, is the cause of the problem but nothing is being done about it, day after day, week after week, month after month. Thus is clearly unacceptable.
Another issue that requires urgent attention is the lack of pavements along a lot of streets in parts of the various Municipal Assemblies. Exercise is a prerequisite for long life and healthy living and for those of us who it has become a way of life, this issue of people putting up structures right to the edge of the drains beside the roads, are making life difficult for us.
We are compelled to walk along the roads, putting our lives at serious risk. Pedestrians should never be compelled to compete with vehicles on our streets and roads. Roads and streets are made for vehicles and pavements are made for pedestrians. That is the norm. Any attempt to normalise a situation where pedestrians are mingling with vehicles is insanity.
It is the road regulations that makes it so and therefore district or municipal assemblies are to take responsibility and ensure that spaces for pavements are not encroached upon. Citizens have rights that must be protected by their leaders and making pavements available to pedestrians, is one of them.
When we hear of teachers having sex with students, it appears it is something recent. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been there since Adam. Perhaps this issue is getting much attention due to the proliferation of social media. It was an open secret in times past when Teachers were in relationships with female students and some married them immediately after completion of school.
Some teachers were also known to be having unholy interactions with female pupils but due to the times that these acts occurred, human rights issues and the awareness around it, allowed such unscrupulous teachers to get away with their crimes.
Now we are in a different era and so a Headmaster is now in hot waters. He is alleged to have raped about 19 female students and as usual, some officials tried to cover it up and are also in hot waters and their actions or inactions in the matter are under investigation.
Why the man has been allowed to roam freely without being arrested is simply mind boggling. It appears that the law applies differently, depending on who you are. This issue came to public attention sometime in August this year, yet the police had not arrested or invited this man for question regarding the rape allegation.
It has come out that he is a Constituency Secretary of the ruling party and the question in the public domain is that, is it because he is a political figure that is why he is still walking around without questioning? I believe in the rule of law so let us hold our breadth and let the proper thing be done.
The police must however be seen to be active in this matter. God bless.
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