FISHERMEN from Sekondi/Shama operating at the restricted areas around the oil rig have resorted to the use of Ghana Navy military uniforms to outsmart the patrol team.
The fishermen are said to believe that their action would prevent them from being accosted or driven away from the restricted area.
A fisherman dressed in a navy uniform who was chanced upon by the Ghana Navy patrol said the uniform was given to him by his friend in the Ghana Navy.
According to the source within the patrol team, because the illumination offshore at night had increased after the arrival of the Floating Production Storage and Offloading platform, fishermen were taking advantage to fish near the platform.
It said other vessels undertaking the installation and other support services on the offshore project had increased therefore intrusion of fishermen from the neighbouring Cote d’Ivoire and shores of Sekondi and Shama was a problem at the moment.
To enable them to get closer to the light on the rig to fish at the restricted area, it said, one member of the fishing group was made to wear a Ghana Navy uniform.
This is to create the impression that they had been arrested and by the time they would be discovered, they would have scooped enough fish into their canoe.
According to the source, the activities of these fishermen posed serious threat to the project offshore since at a point their nets got entangled with the rig and they also set fire and cooked close to the rig.
When contacted, the Flag Officer Commanding the Western Naval Command, Commodore Tim Appiah, confirmed this and said the reason for the fishermen resorting to the use of their uniform was to pose a “friendly force” to outwit them.
He said apart from their patrol team there were marks offshore clearly which prompted the fisher folks about the restricted area but some recalcitrant ones went beyond the restricted area.
Commodore Appiah reminded the fishermen that the investment offshore was a national asset and any threat was a threat to national asset and setback for growth.
He said they were not against fishing, saying “the exploration activities offshore and the fishing were two important things that could not be underestimated, but they have to co-exist according to the set rules governing the two sectors.”
Asked how the fishermen came by the uniform, the commanding officer said the Naval command had launched investigations into the issue.
However, the one wearing the uniform said it was given to him by his friend in the Ghana Navy.
Interactions with the fisher folks at the shores of Sekondi indicated that they would do everything possible to follow the fish to wherever it appears even at the risk to their lives.
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