Local fishermen, especially those operating along the west coast of the country, have been asked to use reflectors and other safety devices to ensure maximum safety during this harmattan season.
This is because of the increase in the fleet of ships and other cargo vessels going to the Takoradi Port and the Home Port of the Western Naval Command.
The Western Regional offices of the Meteorological Services Department and the Fisheries Commission, which gave the advice, said the combination of high dry dusty winds and the moist on the sea could affect visibility.
They said the failure on the part of fishermen to use the proper reflectors would make it difficult for the crew of vessels to spot them from afar to avert any disaster.
The Western Regional Meteorological Director, Mr David Perry Osika, said the warning had become necessary because activities in the country’s maritime domain had changed and there was the need for the fishermen to adopt safety measures.
He explained that during the harmattan, dry dusty winds at sea turned to be very thick, thereby impeding visibility, and if the fishermen did not use good reflectors for easy identification by bigger vessels, there could be a problem.
For his part, the Western Regional Director of the Fisheries Commission, Mr Alexander Addo, said the office had received advice from other players in the domain about the increase in the number of fleet and the need to educate the fisher folk to adhere to safety regulations.
Some of the fishermen who spoke to the Daily Graphic at the Sekondi Fishing Harbour said the weather on the sea was not friendly and, therefore, they were trying as much as possible to use reflectors to enable bigger vessels to identify them.
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