By Ilyasa Baa
Since the ruling Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) took over the governance of the state, poaching in our high seas by foreign vessels has hugely affected fishing activities in Constituency 110, Ward 388 at Tokeh and its surrounding fishing communities.
Farmers have increasingly complained of having experienced a very low catch as these foreign vessels have depleted potential breeding grounds for fishes.
Traditional stakeholders in the area have complained of encroachment on their reserved land by people claiming to be members and supporters of the Sierra Leone People’s Party.
Headman for Tokeh Village, Alhaji James Slowe, during a meeting organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications, have complained to the Minister of Information and Communications about the issue of land grabbing in his community by so called SLPP supporters and sympathisers.
Government, he noted, has not taken action on the matter with the view to retrieve their land grabbed. The village, he continued, has no future land for development and other touristic activities. Headman Slowe desperately wants the SLPP government to reclaim and protect their remaining land for potential investors in the tourism sector.
On the issue of fish scarcity and illegal fishing by rogue Chinese vessels, Headman Slowe admitted that the attention of the Maritime wing in Tombo had been drawn to this clandestine activity, but nothing has been done to stop it.
According to the Harbor Master and his Deputy, Abu Fofana, the standard of living of the youths in the harbor has dropped drastically due to the illegal activities in the exclusion zone meant for local fishermen. They said fishing nets are destroyed by these vessels and this has affected a lot of families, who are now finding it difficult to make ends meet.
Marie Sesay, a fishmonger, explained to this medium that for the past two weeks, her husband has not been able to make a good catch and according to her, their children are not allowed to attend their school sport because they were unable to pay the sport charges.
John Koroma, a fisherman, also explained that their current predicament has prevented him from his daily ‘osus’ contribution. He said one of his wives has already left him because he could not measure up with her financial needs. He called on the Minister of Marine Resources, Madam Marie Kowa-Jalloh, to the supply the fishing nets she had promised to provide for them.
The Minister of Marine Resources, Mrs. Marie Kowa, in a recent interview with a BBC reporter, said her ministry is not aware of illegal fishing in the seas. She said any vessel caught doing things illegally will be dealt with according to the laws of Sierra Leone.
The use of unspecified nets by fishermen, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), is a contributing factor threatening food security in Sierra Leone. Such activity, it was revealed, destroys food security.