Scottih investors are to invest about $9 million in the fisheries industry to boost activities of the sector.

The investors are expected to concentrate on building storage facilities and embark on the export of sea products to foreign markets. The Minister in charge of Fisheries, Mr Ismaell Ashitey, who disclosed this, said discussions with the prospective investors have almost been concluded.

He was addressing a meeting he held with fishermen in some fishing communities in the Central Region on Monday as part of his three-day familiarisation tour of the region. He was accompanied by the Director of Fisheries, Mr George Ayani and officials of the Fisheries Department.

Mr Ashitey said the investors would build cold stores along the various beaches and train the fishermen on the proper handling of fish to meet international standards. He said this would help the fishermen earn more and improve their living standards as well as enable the fisheries industry to earn more for the nation.

He gave the assurance that the government would do all it can to ensure the fishermen are given the needed assistance to boost their activities. On the activities of fishing trawlers along the coast, the minister said it is illegal for the trawlers to fish close to the shores and asked them to write the identification numbers of trawlers which fish in such areas and present them to the ministry for the necessary action.

The minister had earlier met workers of the Ministry of Agriculture and encouraged them to make their expertise available to the fishermen to improve their efficiency