The Circuit Court in Denu, Volta Region, has convicted ten persons for engaging in illegal fishing activities and directed that an amount of GH¢3,000.00, being proceeds from the fish catch retrieved, be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
The case, with reference number CC.277/2025, was heard on Thursday, 31st July 2025, before His Honour Joseph Ofosu Behome, Circuit Court Judge.
The accused persons Evans Djanieniiquye Zuatah, Elijah Akrofi Petiafo, Mathias Sappor, Bernard Sappor, Lawoe Odonkor, Edwin Otipeseku, Kwaku Nakan Akorli, Isaiah Okutu, Ebenezer Sappor, and Moses Sagbordzor, all pleaded guilty to the charges preferred against them.
Upon conviction, each of the accused was sentenced to pay a fine of 50 penalty units on two counts, or in default, serve one year imprisonment on each count. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The Court further ordered that:
- Three fuel generators retrieved from the accused persons be forfeited to the State.
- Light bulbs, lamp holders, long cables, and seven rubbers associated with the offence be destroyed under the supervision of the Court, Prosecution, and the Registrar.
- The GH¢3,000.00 proceeds from the illegal fish catch be lodged into the Consolidated Fund.
The proceedings were conducted with Chief Inspector MacRae Pomevor representing the Republic, with interpretation in Ewe and English. Present at the hearing were the complainants, Hon. Johnson Agbeko Souzey and Mr. Francis Agbeko Abotsi, Vice Chairman of the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council (GNCFC), Volta Region.
This ruling demonstrates the continued efforts of the judiciary, in collaboration with enforcement agencies, to deter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and to promote sustainable fisheries management in Ghana.
