Monrovia – Many artisan fishermen in West Point, Liberia biggest slum, and a place well known for fishing; have reacted strongly against President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recently passed Executive Order 84 which allows industrial vessels greater access to fish in Liberia’s coastal waters.
Report by J.H. Webster Clayeh – [email protected]
In the new regulation, the government insists that the economic benefits from the domestic harvesting of fish rather than importing of fish will help the country’s balance of payment and the foreign exchange situation.
This benefit, the government believes, will help the entire country including artisanal fishermen.
But artisanal fishermen in a separate interview with FrontPage Africa over the weekend said they are worried about the kind of vessels that will be coming to fish in Liberia’s waters.
According to them, they have had several experiences with many vessels from Asia and the experiences were not healthy for them.
Koyan Toe, a member of the Kru traditional Fishermen at the Kru beach in West Point recorded that when vessels from Asia came to Liberia some years back they only employed staff of other nationalities leaving the Liberian fishermen totally hopeless.
“We want the vessels, but the kind of vessel that will be coming on our water is what matters. We want the Europeans boats to come because we will be benefited but not the boats that will come and exploit us. The boats that come from Asia are not good we don’t want them”, Toe said.
John Nimely, another fisherman said: “This is our resources here”, pointing his hand to the Atlantic Ocean. He added: “It should benefit all Liberians and not people from other countries”.
Nimely alleged that the last time foreign vessels fished along the coast of the country no Liberians formed part of the fishing teams.
For Williams Chea, 40, a father of six, the coming of the foreign vessels is going to be a complete setback for him. “Government should do things to help we the local fisher people”, Chea asserted.
Augustine koffa who uses a line to fishing says they got a limit in the water. He added that to have foreign fishing vessels in the water competing with them will not be good for their livelihood.
“We who use the line got a limit. We know what fishing doing for us in this country. For us, the best money making in this country right now is this water”, Koffa said.
He added: “The government needs to employer us than bringing other people, because they will be carrying the money back to their country. The government needs to open their eyes and do the right thing”.
According to sources close to the Liberian presidency, the recent decision by the President to sign Executive Order 84, reducing Liberia’s Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ) from six Nautical Miles to three Nautical Miles for the purpose of revitalizing commercial and semi-industrial fishing in Liberia, was triggered by the fact that the Ministry of Agriculture was unable to control the fishing industry, thus prompting the decision to turn over that responsibility to the Liberia Maritime Authority.