Fisherfolks of the Takoradi Fishing Harbour in the Western region have shared compelling revelation on how the harbour has suddenly turn to become a hub of breeding drug addicts.

According to them, majority of teenagers identified to be going fish hunting with various fishing boats at the fishing harbour, have surprisingly delve into doing drugs through peer pressure and bad association.

Age bracket of these vulnerable teenagers uncovered to be often deserved into drugs at the fishing harbour was indicated to range between 15-20years.

The anomaly of underage teenage children been used for fishing, is a contravention to Article 9 Sec.3 of the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Convention 188 on the International Labour Standards on work in fishing.

Fishers blamed key duty bearers like the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) for relenting on the enforcement of the aforementioned convention in its operations at the harbour.

Afia Wilson, a fish trader in an engagement with Sompa News' Eric Annan, disclosed that due to the vulnerability of these young guys in the handling of money, leaves them overly excited should they go fish hunting and return with even GH¢200.

This excitement per her narration, creates a vacuum for them to be influence by peers on how effectively they can spend their acquired money from fishing, thereby, been introduced into drugs.

She admonished that due to the hardship these young guys are often exposed to through their persistent edge for drugs, usually leaves them with no choice than to steal fishing pans of female fishers at the harbour to sell at an affordable price, even to the extent of robbing them of their hard earned money with knives.

Afia Wilson called on authorities of the fishing harbour to help female fishers of the harbour by building for them a place where their fishing pans will be deposited while they wait for fishing boats to land at the harbour, having lost about 14 of her fishing pans to thieves only within this year.

Speaking in an interview with 19-year-old fisherman, Kwame Asomaning, from Winneba in the Central Region, he unveiled to have been introduced into fishing by his Uncle at the age of 15.

He shared the desire to have loved to be in school like his colleagues, but had to drop out at Class 2 since he found himself to be academically poor and was wasting the resources of his parents.

Kwame Asomaning highlighted how the fishing industry has been treating him in his four (4) years of active fishing and his assigned duty when his team of fishers sail for fish hunting. 

Isaac Nana Otoo, an Officer of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) at the Takoradi Fishing Harbour, emphasized how far the authority has come in enforcing the ILO Convention 188 at various fishing harbours across the country.

According to him, the GMA in its implementation and enforcement of the ILO Convention 188 are yet to implement that on smaller vessels like those sited at the Takoradi Fishing Harbour, unlike at the Tema Fishing Harbour where bigger fishing vessels operate.

On the fishing harbour's assumption of breeding teenage drug addicts, the Maritime Officer opined that the fight in curtailing the immoral act doesn't befall solely on GMA, but boils down to various labour organizations, the media, Fisheries Commission and all other stakeholders concern.

Sompaonline.com/Eric Annan