Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Rampant Illegal Activities Threaten Ghana's Fishing Sector

Stacey Knott

   ACCRA, GHANA - On a beach in Ghana's capital, Accra, fishermen from the
   Nungua community are waiting for the vibrantly painted canoes to return
   from sea with their catch of small fish to be sold at the local market.

   In Ghana, about 2 million people rely on these fish for their food and
   income. But trawlers, run almost exclusively by Chinese operators using
   Ghanaian front companies, are illegally targeting this staple catch and
   selling it back to local communities at a profit in a practice called
   saiko, according to a report from local NGO Hen Mpoano and the
   Environmental Justice Foundation.

   Kofi Agbogah, director of the NGO, says saiko used to just be a regular
   practice where fishermen would meettrawlers at sea and exchange the
   trawler's catch for goods they were carrying.

   "Today it has become a multimillion-dollar business where trawlers are
   harvesting fish that they are not licensed to harvest and sell it back
   to some canoes -- I will call those canoe business people," he said.
   "They are not traditional fishers. They just go out there without nets,
   they buy the fish from the trawlers, and come and sell it in some
   designated ports."

   Destroying livelihoods

.