Government would roll out life insurance policies for fisher folks across the country in December this year, Ms Sherry Ayitey, the Minister of Fisheries and Acqua-Culture, said.
The policy, she said, was aimed at cushioning fishermen with some payment of compensation in the event of accidents or having their working tools damaged during their fishing expeditions.
The minister made this known in Cape Coast when she met various stakeholders in the fishing sector in the Central Region to discuss positive action and options to secure and revamp the fishing industry.
Although she did not mention which insurance companies were to execute the policy, she said the insurance companies would be visiting the landing beaches to start the execution of the scheme from December.
Mrs Ayitey advised fishermen who had not registered their canoes to do so to be able to fully enjoy the facility as the policy would benefit only fishermen who had their canoes registered.
She mentioned, among other things, that the establishment of many cold stores and the construction of a fish processing factory along the coastal belt of the Central Region was an indication of Government’s commitment to improving living conditions of fisher folks in the region.
She said Government would start giving out micro-credit loans to fishmongers in November to enable them to expand their business.
Ms Ayitey said the fishing industry would soon see a boom and become the backbone of the Central Region’s economy once again considering the huge investment Government had made in the sector.
The Central Regional Minister, Mr Aquinas Tawiah Quansah, charged fisher folks to desist from illegal fishing practices adding that they would be at the losing end should the fishing industry collapse.
He called on stakeholders to see the sea as a national asset and work together to protect, maintain and ensure its sustainability for posterity.
Mr Quansah advised the fish mongers who would receive micro credit from the Government to use it wisely such that they could pay back as expected for others to benefit.
Nana Kwame Yaa-Ababio III, Chief Fisherman of Agyaa and the Public Relations Officer of the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council, expressed gratitude to the minister for the steps taken to revive the fishing sector.
