The Secretary General of the Sierra Leone Artisanal Fishers Consortium Union (SLAFCU), Masudi Kekura Koroma, has decried the negative impact of channel fishing on the livelihoods of fishermen, fish traders and consumers. Koroma who was speaking to Awoko at Tombo, the largest fish landing site in the country, said, “The negative impact of channel fishing is depletion of fish stock. This is why fishermen are having low catch, raising the prices of fish for fishmongers and consumers of fish and fish products.”
He defined channel fishing as “catching fish in the riverine and mangrove swamps where the fish spun and breed their fingerlings before going to the sea”. “Some fishermen enter these protected sites at night and fish” the SLAFCU Secretary General alleged.
He revealed that Sierra Leone has seven coastal districts namely; Western Area (Rural and Urban), Kambia, Port Loko, Moyamba, Bonthe and Pujehun. “In all these fishing communities, bad fishing practices are ongoing with the exception of Tombo,” he stressed, citing “Bonthe, Port Loko and Kambia with the worst track record”.
For his part, Abdul Mamoud Koroma (SLAFCU) said they formed a consortium of three fishermen’s unions, together with the Sierra Leone Amalgamation Artisanal Fishermen Union (SLAAFU) and Sierra Leone Indigenous Artisanal Fishermen Union (SLIAFU), to speak with one voice on how to combat illegal fishing and promote their common interest. “This consortium was to regulate the challenges of fishing activities in the country and harmonise our interest to overcome these challenges,” he said.
He furthered, “From Kereba in the North to Sulima in the south, which contains the 641 fish landing sites in the country, fish stocks have depleted. This is posing serious risks for fishermen and their livelihoods. People blame overfishing for depletion of fish stock in our waters but there are other factors such as the use of an Electric Shock Device (ESD) which is a chain that kills the fishes immediately they come in contact with it. The bile of the fish remains in the water for a long time scaring other fishes from coming within that radius. This chain cannot decay for centuries. As it moves in the sea, it kills marine biology and aquatic life which hinders the growth of juvenile fish.”
Meanwhile, Saidu Mansaray, a fisherman from Tombo, said these days they have low catch, which he attributed to bad fishing practices, namely channel fishing. “The fishing trawlers are also affecting us. Recently, they cut my chain and I could not catch much. I fish kuta, spanish, cowreh, white fish,” he said, adding that “when the fish quantity is high, the price is low, and when the fish quantity is low, the price is high”.
Notwithstanding that, Ramatulie Jalloh who has been selling fish for over ten years, said she started the business with her mother while she was at Lungi. “The prices of fish are very expensive right now, so we make little profit. Kuta price ranges from Le500,000 to Le700,000, mackerel, snapper, lady fish, all cost very much these days,” she said. The Secretary General of SLAFCU, Koroma, called on the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources “to empower us by giving us logistics and we can collaborate with the Marine Police, Navy and Fishing Officer to protect the four Marine Protected Areas (MPA); River Rokel (Salone River), Yawri Bay, Sherbro River, and Little and Great Scarces. “If we monitor and surveillance these areas, we can reverse the bad trend. It takes 21 days for fish to spun and develop. If government does not intervene, we will end up like fish depleting nations such as Liberia and Ghana. The amount to combat illegal fishing is minimal compared to importing fish. We have migrating fishers who smuggle fish out of our country,” he warned.
By David Thoronka