Tema Manhean, Sept. 11, GNA - The Corporate Social Responsibility Movement (CSRM), a fisheries advocacy group has lauded the efforts of the Fisheries Ministry to spawn Ghana's sea waters with fingerlings for increased fish production.

Mr Richster Nii Amarh Amarhfio, Executitve Secretary of the Movement said however that, the Ministry's plans to feed fingerlings into the sea to lessen the periods of lean catches in the fishing industry could only be achieved when the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Division of the Fisheries Commission was independent and well-equipped to monitor the Ghanaian waters.

Mr Amarhfio in an interview at Tema Manhean, with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) over the proposed stocking exercise, said the lack of logistics for the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Division had rendered the Division ineffective with its duties. He said this had consequently given the way for the large unlicensed fishing trawlers to operate.

There have been recent concerns about the activities of unlicensed fishing trawlers, as well as the decrease of fish in Ghana's seawaters. The situation has prompted a reaction from the sector Minister, Mrs Gladys Asmah, who announced on Tuesday that the Ministry was to embark on an ambitious project, to increase fish stock in its waters, by feeding millions of fingerlings into the sea.

Mr Amarhfio said the declaration of war on vessels that engaged in pair trawling without license is a mirage, if the appropriate facilities to the Division were not put in place to check the operations of unlicensed trawlers.

He took the Fisheries Minister to task over the failure of the Division to deliver effectively, saying that it was not enough to only impose a fine of $48,000 on a trawling firm that encroached on Ghana's sea waters.

"Imposing a fine of $48,000 on trawling firms who engage in pair trawling with a single-trawlers' license is not enough, looking at the dwindling of fish stocks on the country; the ministry should formally arraign such firms before a law court,"' he noted. Mr Amarhfio advised the Ministry to partner with the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries of the University of Ghana, Legon, instead of building a fisheries school at Mumford to offer refresher courses for fishermen.

Meanwhile, the Tema Awudum Chief Fisherman, Nii Odametey II has denied the news reports that the Tema canoe beach experienced a bumper harvest last week, adding that the said 'bumper harvest' was only a nine-day wonder.

He said the present output of fisherman could not be compare with five years where the catch was very large and consistent. He appealed to government to assist the fisherman to receive premix fuel regularly and at a subsidized rate, adding that fishermen have abandoned their canoes because of the difficulty in getting fuel for some days now.

A fisherman, Nii Aryee said most fishermen were having troubles raising money to buy outboard motors at soaring prices. He said their transportation kept increasing as a result of having to travel to Kumasi and Koforidua, non-fishing communities, to purchase outboard motors. 12 Sept. 2008