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Tag: Fisherfolks

  • Fisherfolks, leaders in Tsokome community call on govt to dredge river

    Fisherfolks, leaders in Tsokome community call on govt to dredge river

    Community leaders and fisherfolk from Tsokome Community in Bortianor, a fishing enclave in Accra, are calling on the government to dredge the local river and construct a canal connecting the sea to the river to enhance their fishing activities.

    Authorities are becoming increasingly alarmed as weeds progressively clog the community’s river. Leaders point out that a formerly existing canal, now obstructed by accumulated sand, compounds the issue.

    They elaborate that this obstruction hampers the flow of sea and river water, adversely affecting fish yields and driving up fish prices in the vicinity.

    Speaking to ChannelOne News, Emmanuel Aryitey, the Assembly member for the Bortianor Electoral area, shed light on the challenges encountered.

    He said, “The canoes find it difficult to move on the water as they get locked because the river is shallow now. And when the river is shallow, they will not get fish. The deeper the river is, the more it breeds fishes for us. Now fish is very expensive in this community. You may think it is a fishing community and so you will get it at a cheaper price, but it is very expensive as we don’t get it like we used to get. We used to get the small fishes that we used to enjoy our kenkey but now we don’t get it again. We have to go far to the Densu river.”

    He stressed the immediate necessity of river dredging, highlighting that residents have resorted to dumping waste along the riverbanks.

    “You see, because the river is shallow, when the water is spilled from Weija dam, it overflows into people’s houses. Because it is shallow, the water doesn’t sit in the river. That is why the people are dumping rubbish all over here, which is worrying.”

    Fisherman and traditional leader in Tsokome, Sentse Aklama, narrated a recent river accident and urged prompt government intervention.

    “Recently, more than thirty school children crossing the river on a boat perished, and nothing has been done by the government on the issue. It is disheartening. The lives of our children are at risk.”

    Several fishermen also spoke to ChannelOne News, underscoring the need for the government to address these urgent issues.

    One of them, Francis Susuawa, expressed concern about the inability of women to cross the river due to its current state and the absence of the canal.

    He stated, “The situation prevents the women who usually buy fish from us to come all the way to us on the river, which is usually disturbing. This has seriously impacted our job negatively. So if the government could come to our aid and fix the canal for us, that would be awesome so that could serve as a channel for us to meet the women who buy from us.

    In the meantime, the Assembly member affirms that government intervention will yield revenue for the nation.

    “All that we are praying for is that the government will come and dredge the river to its original state. It was from Bojo to Kusum Beach. That was how it was. And the canal was in it. It was very, very beautiful. If the government invests money into this river, the government is going to get its money back.”

  • Upper East increasing fish production

    Some fish farmers and institutions in the Upper East Region are sustainably increasing fish production and contributing to the national fish stock for food and nutritional security.

    The government, under its Aquaculture for Food and Jobs programme, has empowered some youth groups and institutions in the region including the Navrongo Central Prison and the Navrongo Youth Farmers Brigade in the Kassena-Nankana Municipality to venture into pond and cage fish farming.

    Apart from providing them with technical knowledge and expertise, the government, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, also supported them with fish feed, fingerlings and holding facilities.

    This aimed to sustainably increase fish production in the region, created employment and helped reduce poverty among the youth and contributed to the country’s drive to achieve food and nutritional security.

    Mr Francis Adjei, the Upper East Regional Director of Fisheries Commission, who said this in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Bolgatanga noted that catfish and tilapia were being cultivated.

    At the Navrongo Central Prison, under the pond fish farming, two cages were provided with 24,000 fingerlings and 274 bags of fish feed were supplied and they recorded two harvests and restocked the cages with new fingerlings.

    “They have harvested two times and were yet to harvest the third time, although the first-time stocking was high, that is, 12,000 per cage which resulted in mortalities, the harvest was over 600 kilogrammes while the second harvest was 1,460 kilogrammes.

    Mr Adjei noted that the Navrongo Youth Farmers Brigade, were also supported with 11,000 tilapia fingerlings and 274 bags of fish feed were supplied to them, which provided jobs to them and increased their income levels.

    Apart from that, the Commission had also restocked the capture fisheries including the dams and other water bodies in the region and collaborated with stakeholders including the Irrigation Company of Upper Region, Ghana Police Service, chiefs, and farmers to ensure safety.

    The Regional Director explained that the Directorate had a demonstration fishpond for providing technical and practical training on fish farming to students and youth and the move had motivated about 20 people to venture into backyard fishing farming.

    “Over 50,000 catfish have been stocked in these backyard fish farming which is tank and tarpaulin fish farming and some people have harvested already, with the first one having about 500 kilogrammes and the second one 250 kilogrammes,” he added.

    Mr Adjei explained that the excessive cost of fingerlings and fish feed had been identified as two critical challenges confronting fish production in the region and the government was working to address them to encourage more youth into the sector through the setting up of hatcheries in the Northern enclave.

    He said currently the government was renovating the fish hatcheries at Gowrie, near the Vea Dam in the Bongo District, adding “when that is finished, we will be able to supply over one million fingerlings annually to fish farmers in the Northern enclave.

    “Because currently the farmers travel down south to purchase the fingerlings and by the time, they get here about 70 to 80 per cent are dead and so before the hatchery is ready for use the Commission uses its vehicle to transport the fingerlings from the South to the farmers which have reduced the mortality rate to about two per cent,”.

    Mr Adjei encouraged the youth to venture into backyard fish farming and noted that the Commission had been able to identify a private entrepreneur who had established a fish feed production company in Bolgatanga and would soon begin to supply feed to the Northern sector.

    Source: GNA