PREPARING FOR A BUMPER HARVEST (JULY 18)

Very soon, Ghanaians will usher in the fishing season when we expect fishermen to flood our markets with fish at affordable prices.
Many people are, however, not too sure whether there will be a bumper harvest this year because for some time now we have not been able to reap the benefits of the season as a result of challenges such as lack of storage facilities and fishing gear, the high cost of premix fuel and the use of obsolete canoes.
In the circumstance, the fishermen have been compelled to adopt a shift system to avoid a glut on the market.
It had been expected that by now the country should have had storage facilities at all the fishing centres. The previous government began the process of building fishing harbours and landing sites in 14 communities along the coast.
Reports indicate that the equipment for the project has arrived at the port.
We urge the present government to expedite action on the project to provide facilities for our fishermen to reap the benefits of their toil.
Already, the fishermen are upbeat about this year’s fishing season. Unfortunately, however, the lack of logistics, as well as the high cost of premix fuel, is frustrating their preparations towards a good harvest.
While the Daily Graphic urges the government to take a critical look at the fishing industry and provide the necessary resources to enable the players to play their roles in the economic development process, we also urge the fishermen to carry out a self-examination of some of their practices in order to mend their ways.
Fishermen sometimes indulge in negative practices such as the use of powerful lighting systems on the high seas, smaller nets and dangerous chemicals to trap the fish.
The fishing industry can play a key role in our economic survival provided it is given the needed push to deliver, and that is why the government has the responsibility to eliminate the bottlenecks threatening the promise that the fishing industry holds for our economic reconstruction.
The infamous pair trawling is still being practised with impunity on the high seas, forcing our fishermen to incur heavy losses during their expeditions.
We concede that the government has a big challenge in modernising the fishing industry; but the fishermen too have an obligation to put their house in order to enable them to reap the benefits of our marine resources.
The Daily Graphic calls on the government to put policy interventions in place as soon as possible to save the fishing industry.