July 12, 2017 By Joseph S. Margai
Hazards at sea: Abdul Turay says foreign trawler operators have shot at local fishermen
Fishermen at Tokeh wharf have reported that some foreign trawler operators have been targeting them at sea, shooting and subsequently destroying their fishing gears, adding that the development has led to poor catch as a result.
Tokeh village is predominantly a fishing community situated in the Western Area Rural District.
Abdul Turay is a local fisherman. He claims that they have constantly been terrorised by foreign trawler operators and that they at times drop their fishing nets in the sea at night with the hope to getting some catch in the morning, but their nets are always destroyed by foreign trawlers that sail at night.
He alleges that most times foreign trawlers could be seen fishing very close to the wharf, thus preventing local fishermen from doing same.
“Whenever we chase them at sea to remind them about their ‘ugly behaviour’ they shoot at us. They have shot guns in the trawlers. They are all white folks who come to invade our waters on daily basis,” he claims and adds that “They have some of our Sierra Leonean brothers who aid and abet this illegal activity.”
Turay explains to our reporter that the foreign trawlers operate at night, reiterating that local fishermen are faced with grave threats from foreign trawler operators.
Aside the apparent threat from foreign trawlers, he also reveals that local fishermen have to contend with the fact that fishing gears are very expensive, thus many are forced to purchase them from neighbouring Guinea
“We don’t have solar lights at the wharf to aid our operations at night. We are local fishermen. We don’t have the financial muscle to hire private security personnel to be helping us here at night against foreign trawler operators,” he says. “We don’t have any cold room here to preserve our catch. We don’t even have a vehicle that sells ice cube to us here.”
When contacted for comment, Director of Outreach and Public Relation in the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF), Brigadier Usman Turay, says they have deployed a naval patrol team at Tombo that patrols fishing communities in the Western Area Rural District.
“The fishermen would have informed the Officer Commanding in Tombo about their plight. But I will inform him so that he would intervene immediately. The team at Tombo has always rescued fishermen at Shenge and other areas,” concludes Brigadier Turay.