Government Places $1m Fine On Pair Trawling Operations

The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Sherry Ayitey, says pair trawling and other illegal fishing activities including transshipment cost the nation over $10 million annually.

She said as part of efforts to rescue fishing illegalities on the sea, government has placed a fine of $1 million on pair trawling activities or operations in Ghanaian waters where defaulters of the fine will face a jail term.

The ministry in collaboration with the Ghana Maritime Authority has also put in place vessel tracking and monitoring systems which will monitor all vessels that enter Ghanaian waters.

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Madam Ayitey said the monitoring system would also enable the maritime Authority to follow the movements of these ships on the sea and track them when they start moving towards inappropriate places on the sea.

Speaking at a stakeholder’s forum in Sekondi to address issues concerning the safety of the sea and its resources, Madam Ayitey confirmed that there is no pair trawling going on in the country because of the strict measures against the practice.