Watch moment Hawa Koomson locked the sea with giant key at Elmina

On June 1 at Elmina, Madam Hawa Koomson, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, symbolically closed fishing season by locking the sea.

Fishing will be prohibited from Saturday, July 1 until Tuesday, August 31.

She was the leader of the government delegation that attended the festive event with the chiefs and residents of Elmina in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality in the Central Region.

She was the leader of the government delegation that attended the festive event with the chiefs and residents of Elmina in the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abrem Municipality in the Central Region.

The government delegation watches as customary ceremonies are carried out nearby the shore as a linguist pours libations and summons the gods of the sea in a video posted on her official Facebook page.

The Minister travels to the water’s edge with the chiefs and other interested parties. There, she receives a symbolic, enormous key that she uses to “lock” the sea.

The closed season will be observed by inshore fishermen from Saturday, July 1 to Monday, August 31. It will be observed by industrial trawlers from July 1 to Thursday, August 31.

The halting of fishing operations during the spawning season in order to help replenish the stock is referred to as “closed season,” also known as “biological rest period.”

When stocks are at their most productive, closed seasons are observed to lessen fishing pressure on them and give fish an opportunity to lay eggs to replenish the population that has been lost to fishing and other natural factors.

Closed seasons are regarded as one of the most important fisheries management practices to help save fish supplies and boost their population globally.

The Closed Season is being implemented for the first time since Ghana began doing so in 2016 in conjunction with Togo, Cote d’Ivoire, and Benin, with Benin joining in 2024.

 

 

Source: Mynewsghana.com