The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has debunked assertions that oil exploration has made Ghana Fishermen worse off.

According to the agency, it is risky and against international regulations for fishermen to ply their trade close to oil installations. Per the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas, there must be a safety zone of 500-meter from all oil installations on and off shore.

The Director of Petroleum at the EPA, Kojo Agbenor-Efunam told Starr Business it is high time the misconception was addressed.

“Let’s make that point clear, oil has not deprived them. They have other places that they can fish but they want to go close to the installation.”

He added many of the fishermen who lament about the development want to fish close to oil platforms where they believe the fishes aggregate but it is not allowed due to safety reasons.

Mr. Agbenor-Efunam believes the restriction imposed is to the benefit of the fishermen as the fishes that mass up close to the installations will be able to reproduce.

“With this installation in place and some of the fish aggregating there they will have the chance to reproduce and remember that the fish also feed on themselves, the smaller ones are taken in by the bigger ones so it is not like all the fishes will now connive and say let’s be here. All of them can’t be here because the predators are also there,” he explained.