“Saiko” is a term referring to the practice of trawlers coming close to the shore to catch small fish like sardines and herrings in addition to the big fish like the tuna they are licensed to catch and subsequently transfer the small fish to local canoes.
A study conducted few years back on ‘Saiko’ fishing put a value on the cost of the destructive fishing practice, which is being driven largely by Chinese trawlers and is devastating Ghana’s overexploited fisheries.
An investigation by the London-based Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has confirmed earlier estimates that in 2017 ‘Saiko’ fishing took around 100,000 metric tonnes of fish.
The new data enabled the EJF to calculate that the catches were worth $41-51 million at sea, with much of this money flowing straight into the hands of mostly Chinese fishing companies and out of Ghana, the report claims. Once landed, the fish were sold for $53-81 million – a profit of $12-30 million for the local collaborators.
This activity on the high seas has gained grounds and a source of concern for local fishers along the country’s coast. Of major concern is that ‘Saiko’ is threatening to throw artisanal fishers out of business.
And to forestall that from happening, there have been mounting calls for these activities to be curbed on the high seas. The latest to make such call is the Western Regional branch of the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council (GNCFC), which has appealed to the government to intervene to curb the growing trend of ‘Seiko’ fishing in the country.
According to the council, the artisanal fishing would collapse unless urgent measures are taken to stop the canker.
Addressing a news conference at Axim in the Nzema East Municipality on Thursday, the Regional Secretary of the group, Mike Abakah-Edu, stated that the council had embarked on a silent protest because the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) and Fisheries Commission (FC) had “not demonstrated the needed commitment to end this illegality.”
He explained to the journalists that after exhausting every means of engagement through various platforms, the council decided to embark on silent protests at the various landing beaches.
The Ghanaian Times shares in the frustration of the fishers and wish to appeal to the government, especially the sector minister, as well as the Ministry of Interior, to further engage the fishers and to deal with the menace once and for all.
The invasion of our territorial waters by foreign vessels is worrying and the sooner action is taken to stop them the better it would be for the country and its fishing industry.
‘Saiko’ is bad. It is fishing activity that is depleting the fish stock in our territorial waters, worst of all the catching of juvenile fish, and must be stopped now.
