36 for them to leave them just because they have entered the IEZ. He admitted that sometimes
fishing in the IEZ is deliberate because the fish is normally found in the exclusive zones.
3.2 Who is engaged in these practices and generally when and where
they take place? The artisanal fishers admit that illegal fishing practices are mostly committed, by the in- shore
vessels, canoes, and some of the semi- industrial vessels. From the Fisheries Commission, an officer pointed out that,
“the semi- industrial vessels and industrial vessels need not resort to these practices because they have sophisticated gadgets like fish- finders which help them to locate
shoal of fish with ease”.
An officer of Mass Fisheries also stressed the point that,
“The use of carbide, dynamite, DDT and light fishing are predominantly the crime of the artisanal and the in-shore vessels which are incompetition with the semi-
industrial and the industrial vessels”. He hinted that the artisanal groups have resorted to these destructive methods because they
think that the industrial vessels have made it difficult for them to get fish in commercial quantities. That is, they fish below the 12 nautical miles In-shore Exclusive Zone IEZ
reserved for the artisanal fishing.
“The fishing industry is in crisis......, there are no fish stocks to sustain those making a living from fishing. As a result, the fishermen have resorted to all these illegal and
destructive methods in order to make a living”.
According to the FAO 1998, there are four main fishing fleets in Ghana namely, artisanal canoes, in-shore, industrial and tuna fleets. The artisanal sector is reckoned to be the most
dominant and important in terms of fleet, employment and quantum of fish catch and direct and indirect employment Koranteng, 1992. These illegal fishing methods and practices are
not limited to the major fishing areas or landing beaches dotted along coastal Ghana rather, they have a broader spread. From some of the respondents, the illegal fishing activities take
place when the fishermen embark on their fishing expeditions and anytime they deem it prudent especially, when such methods could help them have a good catch. Some of the
fishers said that these days with the light fishing especially, it is difficult for them to make good catch in the night. Places which were mentioned being predominantly involved in light
fishing include Elmina, Axim, Sekondi, Moree, Mumford and Apam. According to the chief fisherman of Moree light fishing is far easier to detect;
“You normally find a generator, bulbs and electric wires in the main vessel and bar boat hooked to the vessel. That should immediately tell you that they
are going to do light fishing. But that is not same with dynamite, carbide, or DDT. These materials can be concealed so unless you catch the person in the
act”
3.3 The evolution of these practices
One of the areas where information was difficult to assess was the evolution of these practices
37 overtime. The fishermen gave conflicting stories about the origin of illegal fishing methods or
practices in the coastal regions of Ghana. Some of the fishermen attributed the introduction of the light fishing by the Korean and the Chinese semi- industrial fishing fleet. Local stories
have it that, these vessels started using light in fishing in Tema and Takoradi harbours. This practice was then adopted by the in-shore vessels in Axim, Tema, Takoradi and Elmina and
until some of the canoe adopted the practices to the point that it has become a free- for-all affair. A gentleman from the Fisheries Commission intimated that,
`
“An attempt to ban light fishing is likely to be resisted because it has virtually become part of artisanal fishing practices so entrenched and pervasive. To the point that,
majority of the fishermen believe banning light fishing will throw them out of business.
Information gathered from some of the chief fishermen indicated that in the year 2000, all the fishers in the Central and Western Region were made to swear an oath to
the sea goddess that none of them will use dynamite in fishing. Should they breach this oath, the sea goddess should kill them by capsizing their canoe. In the course of
taking the oath, they did not include light fishing which they did not see as a problem. Other fishermen were of the opinion that, these innovative but illegal practices were
introduced into artisanal fishing by people who have worked with the industrial and tuna vessels in Tema and Takoradi as far back as 1969.In the view of a respondent ,
“ those who do not use the light in fishing, I think even most of the artisanal
fishers are poor and thus do not have the money to buy the bulbs and the generator or money to rent one that is why they have refrained from using
generators. Light fishing is mainly done by the young men who do not know how to paddle a canoe and yet call themselves fishermen. In Tema for
instance, most of the older fisher folks are not using light.’
According to a respondent from Elmina when they were asked to stop with the dynamite fishing, because of the oath, that was the time they started using carbide
in place of the dynamite. In sharing his views about the evolution of illegal and destructive fishing, an official of the
Fisheries Commission FC had this to say,
“Illegal fishing is something I can say, has been with us for a very long time. But as the years go by, a lot of innovations have come. People keep on doing things because
of scarcity of fish. I think illegal fishing comes about as a result of the ingenuity of the human beings and scarcity which is the mother of invention. So immediately you are
not getting something, then you findother means of doing things. People do all sort of things to survive including the use of illegal anddestructive fishing practices”.
Again, the fishers mostly complained that the costs of their operations have increased. That is, the costs of the net, outboard motor and the premix fuel are dear. To them, it is economically
unwise to go to sea and come empty handed.
“Some of our people are now in debt crisis because they were relying on the old methods of fishing, not wanting to use light. In fact, without light for instance you
38 cannot survive in the fishing business these days. Fishing is lighting and lighting is
fishing. The Koreans and the Chinese started these light and other illegal fishing especially pair trawling in Asia. Their countries saw the danger with them and banned
it. Now they are here to do the same thing. Go to these countries today, illegal fishing has almost depleted marine fish stocks”.
This was the response of a young fisherman from Elmina when he was asked whether artisanal fishing could be carried out without light these days.
3.4 Attempts to control illegal fishing
