Joseph Nii Armah Quaye, the President of the Fishermen Association, has expressed his commitment to engage with the Fisheries Ministry in order to provide support to the families of two fishermen who tragically lost their lives in Tema Newtown.
He considers the incident deeply unfortunate and believes that it could have been prevented. Consequently, he strongly condemns the actions of the patrol team that resulted in the death of the two fishermen in Tema Newtown.
During an interview on Adom FM’s Dwaso Nsem, Nii Armah acknowledged that he had contacted the Ministry with the presence of the Tema Mayor, and they were directed to submit a letter. However, he was not informed when the permission letter was eventually written.
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Nii Armah emphasized the need for professionalism when enforcing sea arrests. He believes that if arrests are necessary, naval officers should handle the situation with empathy and humaneness. Instead of resorting to force, they could have taken the individuals to the marine police station if they were found to be in violation of the closed-season order.
“You inform the relevant authorities and if this has happened there is nothing we can do. But if we are going to arrest people at sea, we must be professional so I will condemn the way the patrol team went about their operation.
“The naval officers are there to protect us 24/7 and they should attach a human face when making an arrest. They could have taken the people to the marine police station if they felt they had defied the closed-season order,” he stated.
“They should have prompted me to follow up because they even wanted premix fuel but that didn’t happen. I’m not part, certain things cannot be done,” he said.
“It is unfortunate that people took the law into their own hands. They wrote a letter to the minister and they were supposed to get a reply but it seems that did not go through.”
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He expressed regret that certain steps were not followed appropriately, and he was not kept in the loop. He mentions that there were plans for the fishermen to obtain premix fuel, but this did not materialize, indicating a lack of proper coordination.
The tragic incident occurred when a patrol boat from the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority collided with the fishermen’s canoe at the Tema Port anchorage during their ritual Homowo fishing expedition. As a result, the canoe capsized, leading to the loss of lives.
One of the deceased fishermen, Francis Acquaye Allotey, who was in his late 30s, leaves behind three children, including a class three and class one pupil, and a newborn baby.
The incident has sparked tension between the fishers and port authorities as they seek to understand the cause of the deaths and address the situation appropriately.
