Francis Tim Mbom
25 April 2008
The General Manager, GM, of the Cameroon Development Corporation, CDC, Henry Njalla Quan, has said the government needs to take urgent steps to check the ravaging methods used by Chinese fishing trawlers in Cameroon.
Njalla Quan stressed that if government does not take immediate steps to bridle the lot of the industrial fishermen from their destructive fishing methods in Cameroonian waters, there may be no more fish for the country soon.
The GM raised this issue on Tuesday, April 22, during the visit to Limbe of the Inspector General at the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development, Daniel Awum Anaraban.
Awum was in Limbe to launch the Tiko-Limbe-Bakassi Zone lap a data collection programme aimed at making better the gains of the fishing industry, especially along the coastal waters of Cameroon.He said the data collection exercise was concurrently going on in other two zones: Kribi and the Douala.
The new programme, Awum said, is an offshoot of the Atlantic Community Fishery Development Project launched in 2002 and aimed at developing small scale fishing along the coast of Cameroon.This project has been re-baptized the Atlantic Community Integrated Development Programme involving several other ministries.
Njalla Quan's pre-occupations emanated from a series of problems that have been plaguing the local fishing community along the Tiko-Limbe-Bakassi coastline for over two years now.
Since the influx of the Chinese trawlers and those of other countries into Cameroonian waters, the local artisanal fishermen have virtually been tossed out of the waters.
The trawlers are said to rake every little bit of marine life when they are fishing, nor do they keep out of shallow waters, usually breeding grounds for fish. As the law states, they have to fish within a limit of three nautical miles away from the coastline. But this has not been the case.
Njalla Quan said: "Worse, they do very risky fishing because they switch off their navigational lights each time they steam towards the coastal waters," He went on to disclose that these trawlers also destroy a lot of nets anchored in the sea by the local fishermen.
"This coastline has indigenous fishermen as well as immigrant ones. But these categories of fishermen, today, are almost out of work," said Njalla Quan.The Divisional Delegate of Fisheries, Livestock and Animal Industries for Fako, Dr Cecilia Chiawah corroborated the CDC GM by stating that there were already three abandoned outboard engines in her office left by some disgruntled fishermen who say they can no longer continue fishing because their nets were destroyed by the Chinese trawlers.
She added that the said fishermen had borrowed money to acquire the materials and now they are unable to repay. "One of the nets destroyed, "she said," cost some FCFA 500,000," Njalla told the Inspector General, Awum, that if anything has to be done to make better the sector, these problems plaguing the local fishermen must first be looked into.
Njalla Quan went forth to call on government to see how inland fishing in Cameroon can be revived. He also said Cameroon's inland waters needed to be repopulated.In reaction to the press after the meeting, Awum said what the government was launching would solve the current problems plaguing the sector.
He, however, admitted that the industrial fishermen have been causing havoc. He said they have included among them security officers who would have to ensure that the trawlers do not violate their limits.
"You know that industrial fishermen are mostly made up of foreigners. As foreigners, all they do is extract and go. They do not want to think about what becomes of the fish in the next generation," he said.
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Hello Mr.Quan. Although I do not know u personally, I will like to say thank you and God bless you for taking note on our behalf and that of the next generation cameroonians. As we all know fish plays an important part of our diet and traditional food, we must try to encourage conservation too. I`m not an expert in that industry though but I believe common sense is not common. It is one of the sectors that need developement and support by the state. If this is not the case right now therefore something is not right with the state or the policy makers are not just smart. As a resident in asia I understand that no african. I mean you and me blacks can never be granted access on their asian reserved fishing area if we had become fishmen. However thats not my main concern for now since most sectors like this one are already gone to foreigners through generous contracts. Do not misunderstand me here I`m not racist,just making a point. Lets assume that we want to encourage industrial fishing in cameroon irrespective of whether it is run by foreigners. Does the state that only foreigners must carry out industrial fishing? Ofcourse No
Then what is stopping our men from going industrial in that area?
Technics and equipments! Can technics and equipment be acquired yes or no. If yes, but how can we acquire both technics and equipement?
If no on the other hand, therefore foreigners are should not equally be capable of doing industrial fishing.
Our local fish farmers can go industrial and out smart those chinese afterall they can take home advantage
A registered cameroonian company in asia is willing to help
contact Jeff digitalenglish3000@yahoo.com
JEFF ENGLISH, PLEASE STOP BEEING MYOPIC WE ALL KNOW TO WELL WHAT THE PROBLEM, THE ANSWER IS COMPLETE INDEPENDENCE FROM THIS FRENCH-AFRICAN COLONIAL STATE ,CALLED CAMEROUN. ACCORDING TO YOU IF A CAMEROUNIAN NEED TO GO INDUSTRIAL HE/SHER SHOULD, BUT THEN THIS PERSON, OBVIOUSLY WILL PAY A HUGE BRIBE TO THESE FRENCH COLONIAL ADMINISTRATOR TP GET A PERMIT, SOME TIME EQUAL TO THE INITAIAL CAPITAL FOR STARTING SUCH AN OPERATIO. AS A WAY OF DISCOURAGING ALL
SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS FROM DEVELOPING THEIR COUNTRY, ALL THE GOUVERNORS, COUNTY CLERKS AND POLICE CHIEF ARE ALL FRENCH -AFRICAN IMPORTS, WHO HAVE ONLY ONE GOAL KEEO YOU OPPRESS. SOO, THEY ALSO INSTITUTED THEIR FRENCH LAWS ON THEPEOPLE, AND THEY SPEAKS ONLY FRENCH TP THEM VIA TRANSLATORS, THEY OWNED THE CDC QUAN IS TALKING ABOUT, THE SEIZED BAKWERI LAND AND ARE FARMING QUIETLY, THE DRILL OIL RIGHT IN VICTORIA, AND TAKE IT TO THEIR DOUALA 300 MILES AWAY. THEN CITIZENS HAVE TO GO THERE AND BUY THESE COMODITIES, SOO, THE CHOICE IS ONE AND NOT TWO
YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE INDEPENDENCE OR CHOOSE SLAVERY
WHEN WE WILL BE INDEPENEDENT, WE WILL WRITE OUR OWN LAWS TO PROTECT OUR WATERS, OUR LAND AND OUR SKIES
EVEN OUR EDUCATION TODAY, WHICH IS A FOEIGN ANGLOSAXON SYSTEM TO THESE FRENCH AFRICANS, THEY CONTROL IT FROM YAOUNDE, WE HAVE TO START BY BRING THE CONTROL OF OUR EDUCATION TO BUEA AND ONLY BY OUR SOUTHERN CAMEROONIANS.
dear GM henry njalla quan pls stop playing three card even with your brothers all of you are corrope stop playing cach cah with the south west and north west people if you dont have some thing to say please go and sleep. we want this country to sepreat we need the soutden cameroon as before the french people have corrope you people please go and sleep.well let me talk here in cameroon you talk you will remain poor you dont talk you still remain poor please if you realy like us give guns to us MR GM. if you can remember when i was at the age of 16 the S W people were bving as the real opposition but today since the french people have given you the post of poor prime minister cameroon is moving well yayayay. but i no one day it will change this country most divide i main it pls just thank your petit jesus paul biya that he is still keeping you on your post stop fulling the english S D KAMEROONIAN your good.well take care am not working when would i have a job pls dont make this tipe of comment again
Well, i presume the GM is right protecting the only source of living for sum of our desperate parents. It is wrong to chip in critical views on simple feasible realities. Fishing sector is totally imperative for our economy and the fishes are very indespensable for our health thus, sustainability of these products remain indespensable. Some of u always try to forcefully linked stupid and selfish ideologies to what feasibly seems to be the truth. what has the sustainability of fishing which is the only source of survival for some of our parents got to do with politics. Why are some cameroonians so norrow minded and blocked headed, why are some of us so confused and frustrated under the canopy of SCNC. Can some of us shift a lil out from our caves and bondage of segregation and try to face real world situations concerning our environment without juxtaposing the for and the against misconception. We are all studying and must learn to link facts up. Politics should click on politics and environmental issues linked to the right track. Am sick and tired of some of ur quack linkage. God bless us. Ammy, copenhagen
WELL MR QUAN. MAY BE YOU DONT KLNOW, BUT KNOW THAT THE CHINESE ARE ONLY GETTING THEIR MONEYS WORTH. IF YOU GO TO CHINA AND BRIBE THEIR LEADER TO FISH OFF THEIR COAST, , YOU WILL BRING ALL LARGE SCALE SHIPS TO CLEAN THE WATERS OF ALL THATS UNDE IT, RIGHT, RIGHT, THATS ONLY A TINY PORTION OF WHAT WE THE UNARMED PEOPLE OF BRITISH SOUTHERN CAMEROONS AHVE TO LIVE WITH.
MIND YOU THAT, THE OWNERS OF THESE WATER IS THE BAKWERI PEOPLE OF BRITISH SOUTHERN CAMEROONS, THEIR LAND TOO IS BEEN AUCTIONED OFF TO THE FRENCH CAMEROUN FOREIGNERS TO RAPE, AS HARD AS THEY CAN, THE VOICES OF THE PEOPLE DOENT YEILD ANY FRUITS, THE GERMANS, DIDINT TREAT US THIS BAD, THE ENGLISH DIDNT, YET THE BALCH FRENCH NEGRO, WHO SOME OF US STILL CLAP THEM HANDS ARE RAPING US TO OUR BORNS, AND THERE ISNT ANT DAMN THING ANY ONE CAN DO ABOUT IT> EXCEPT ARMED THE PEOPLE. ARM THE PEOPLE FROM TIKO TO VICTOTOIA TO BAKASSI, FROM BUEA TO MAMAFE, NDIAN AND BAMENDA, TO DETER THESE FOREIGN CRIMINALS, TO SAFE GUARD THEIR FREE LIVING, THESE CRIMINALS ARE BOTH LOCAL ( BLACK FRENCH MEN AND THE FOREIGN COMPARTRIOTS.)