Monrovia- Plans are said to be underway by the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA) to launch a task force for the purpose of tackling illegal fishing, mainly dynamite fishing by unscrupulous fishermen in Liberia.
This was disclosed by Madam Emma Metieh Glassco, Director General of the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), the entity charged with the statutory responsibility to regulate the country’s fishing industry.
Speaking Thursday, March 16, 2023, at the relaunch of a government-rebranded public engagement forum named and styled “BRINGING GOVERNMENT TO THE PEOPLE, Madam Glassco described dynamite fishing as a threat to sustainable fisheries management that requires collective efforts to have it minimized for the good of the population.
According to her, NaFAA is now setting up a national compliance taskforce that would include the Ministry of Justice, the Liberia Coast Guard, the Liberia Immigration Service, and the community to deal with the situation.
“This dynamite fishing is a big problem in Liberia. We’re developing a national compliance task force. That will comprise the Liberia National Police under the Ministry of Justice, the Liberia Immigration Service under the Ministry of Justice, the Coast Guard under the Ministry of National Defense, NaFAA, and the local fishing communities. We are going to consummate that document between now and July”.
Director General Glassco also mentioned that the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority had instituted a national call center to receive complaints about dynamite fishing across the country.
“We have developed a national call center, “6232,” and will be working with the police and the local communities to help tackle the issue of dynamite fishing. We cannot solve it alone as an institution.”
Speaking on other methods of fishing considered illegal, the Director General said NaFAA was concerned about beach seine, a kind of destructive fishing method commonly known as drawl way in Liberia. According to her, seine fishing has been banned”.
Beach seine fishing: A net shot by hand or from a small boat in a circular shape and drawn ashore by hand from both ends targets fish living close to the shoreline. Beach seines are surrounding nets operated with two long ropes, set from the shore for encircling a school of fish in shallow coastal waters.
