Galamsey operations affecting fishing industry
The Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG) has bemoaned the loss of young, energetic fishers to illegal mining (galamsey) space.
This, Mr Adjetey Tawiah, the National Organizer of CaFGOAG, said was affecting the artisanal fishing industry in Ghana.
He reiterated that many canoe owners were now facing a great challenge in getting the required number of crew members for their canoes to embark on fishing expeditions.
He, therefore, appealed to the Government to take measures to address the menace of galamsey in the country for the young energetic fishers to return to their original fishing profession.
Mr Tawiah made the revelation in an interview with the Ghana News Agency at Prampram in the Greater Accra Region, on the sidelines of the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) three-day validation and training workshop for the Labour Department and other stakeholders on the implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) on the application of Fishing Convention No.188 (C188) in the Artisanal Marine Fishing Sector.
CaFGOAG is an association of fishers and fishworkers who have organised to participate effectively in fisheries management and governance.
Mr Tawiah said CaFGOAG represents over 4000 members from 133 fishing communities across Ghana’s four coastal regions.
He said the association promotes sustainable fishing practices and protects Ghana’s marine environment to secure small-scale fishers’ and fishworkers’ welfare, with a particular focus on women and youth.
Mr Tawiah reiterated that canoe owners play a vital role in the country’s socio-economic development, adding that their work also contributes to addressing the unemployment situation in the country.
He said one needed about GHS 400,000 to make an extra-large canoe, after which a minimum of 12-member crew was needed to man it.
He said they were not getting the fishermen to man their canoes because they had abandoned their fishing profession to take to illegal mining (galamsey).
He also mentioned that some of the fishers, after going through apprenticeship training, leave the artisanal fishing to work with trawlers on the high sea.
Mr Tawiah said the menace of illegal mining was polluting the environment and destroying the nation’s water bodies, saying, “everybody in the country, unless those who are doing the illegal mining, everybody wants the illegal mining to be stopped.”
“So, I think the Government has set up a task force to tackle galamsey. They should continue so that all those who have gone for the illegal mining, especially our fishers, will come back to the beaches so that we can work with them. Their work is still waiting for them. So, we are welcoming them, they should come,” Mr Tawiah said.
“They are fishermen, we know how capable they are. When they come, their place is still lined up and waiting for them. They should stop the illegality. Because when you get the universe and you are not able to get clean water to drink, all the money that you have gotten, you will die and leave the money. So, they should come back.”
He also appealed to the Government to ensure a regular supply of premixed fuel at all the landing beaches across the country to facilitate their operations.
On the ILO Training Programme, Mr Tawiah, who is a canoe owner, lauded the ILO for producing SOP to help improve efficiency in the fisheries sector.
“It is an excellent workshop, because when you work and there is no Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), that means you don’t know what you are doing. Every work should be standardized, so that there will be a procedure to follow,” Mr Tawiah said.
“Being a fisher myself, I think this is a very good thing that the ILO has done for our fisheries industry.
The C188, which was adopted in 2007, is an international legal instrument that addresses working conditions and situations in the fisheries sector.
The aim of the Convention is to guarantee that fishers have decent working conditions on board fishing vessels regarding minimum requirements for work on board, such as conditions of service, accommodation and food, occupational safety and health protection, medical care, and social security.
Ghana ratified the ILO Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (C188) in August 2024.
Watch the latest episode of Health Focus below