Artisanal fishers in all three coastal districts of the Volta Region have hanged up their fishing gear in compliance with the one-month closed season directive effective July 01.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) in collaboration with the Fisheries Commission directed artisanal and inshore fleets to observe the one-month closed season while industrial fleets observe two months.

The closed season directive aims at avoiding over-exploitation of the fishery resource and to allow the fish stock to replenish to avert the possible collapse of the fishing industry due to depleted stock.

Visits by the Ghana News Agency (GNA) to some beaches showed that premix fuel dumps at the fish landing beaches had no attendants as the fishers for whose use the highly subsidised blend of fuel is made, were directed to stay away from fishing expeditions.

Also, the GNA observed inactivity at the beaches as canoes were decked to the shore without fishing nets and other gears in sight.

At Hedzranawo landing beach where few individuals laid lazily in the sand to enjoy the breeze from the sea and a couple of children of school going age roamed the beach, some four fishers busied themselves mending nets.

Mr Samuel Kporxah, a fisher with the Zoblazo Fishing Crew, Hedzranawo said they were making use of the break from fishing to put their gears in good shape and hoped they would feel the impact of the closed season from August.

Torgbui Seth Apedido, chief fisherman, Hedzranawo landing beach in an interview, admitted the closed season policy was in their own interest as it sought to replenish the dwindling fish stock to ensure the sustainability of the industry but wondered if its implementation in July would make any impact suggesting, the month of August would have been the best time for the season closure.

Torgbui Emmanuel Anomoo Tettey who speaks for Volta Region fishers said unlike previous years when fisher groups received closed season relief items including bags of rice and cartons of cooking oil from the MOFAD to appreciate fishers’ support for the directive, there were no words on such relief items this year.

He said the situation might worsen the plight of most fishers especially when weeks to the implementation of the directive, fishing crews were recording low or no catches at all.