Fishmongers Cry For Help

Fishmongers busy at work

Fishmongers at James Town, Chorkor and Mamprobi in the Greater Accra region have called on President Mills to put measures in place to rescue them from harsh economic conditions.

In an interview with CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE , the women disclosed that due to pair trawling and other factors the price of fish has increased drastically this year as compared to the previous year.

Vida Koomson, who has been in the fishing business for the past 30 years, told this paper that due to the increase in the pair trawling, some of the fishermen had packed their boats.

The situation, she noted, has negatively affected their families as well.

'We can no longer send our children to school, neither can we feed our families since most of our husbands are now sitting at home doing nothing,' she lamented.

'We don't have any job apart from this one and the men are not getting enough money to fuel their boats in other to enable them to fish, what do we do.'

Ms Koomson indicated that the fish sellers at Kaneshie and Adabraka Markets, who normally buy their wares, have suspended their transactions because of the increase in the price of fish.

She pointed out that the demand for fish is high, noting that the fishmongers have to struggle to get their portions.

'The fishermen sometimes land at different place and then sell all their fish before getting to their original destinations,' she added.

'The only alternative we have is to rely on cold stores for survival and a box of herrings is now being sold between GH¢90 to GH¢200, some even sell at high prices making it difficult for us to get profit at the end of the day'.

Araba Arthur, a fish seller at Adabraka, in an interview with this paper, said the increase in fuel prices affected them negatively since most consumers have stop purchasing their products.

She indicated that the price of a box of mud fish had increased tremendously, adding that they do not have any choice than to increase the price and reduce the quantity in order to get profit.

She said due to the increase in the price, customers often express anger and it sometimes result in quarrel.

According to her, the worrying situation is sending bad signals to traders and Ghanaians as a whole.

A box of tilapia is now being sold at between GH¢150 and GH¢200.

The fishmongers have therefore pleaded with government to immediately address the problems.

By Portia Anaman