Minister of Fisheries has ruled out the reports of the Navy which says foreign vessels are pair trawling in the country’s territorial waters, stressing that those vessels are Ghanaian owned. Gladys Asmah, Minister of Fisheries, disclosed this to media in Accra when she reacted to a statement by the Chief of Naval Staff, Real Admiral ARS Nuno, that large numbers of foreign vessels are engaging in pair trawling and the Navy cannot stop the practice.
Asmah denied the Ministry ever issue license to any foreign vessel to pair trawl, but said only four local companies were given license in 2000, before the establishment of the Ministry, to use the method as an experiment for study of its effect. She further added that after the experiment period, the companies petitioned the Ministry to be given more time, for them to settle bank loans used in purchasing the vessels. According to Asmah the foreigners on board the vessels should not be misconstrued as pair trawling, since they are part of the crew employed due to lack of the required expertise in Ghana.
Asmah informed that the ban on pair trawling is still pending and the government will not encourage such practice which can harm the fishing industry of Ghana.
