Jamestown fishermen, whose canoes were devastated on Tuesday by intense rain, gusty winds and high tides, have abandoned their damaged craft in an attempt to raise money to either purchase new ones or fix the damaged ones so they may resume their livelihoods.
A number of canoes along the sea defence wall constructed as part of the Jamestown Fishing Harbour project were destroyed by the downpour.
When they reached the spot, they saw that most of the canoeists had moved to the shore, but the fisherman whose boats had been damaged were nowhere to be seen.
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But according to one fisherman, Nii Ayitey Addy, who spoke with Citi News, they were so shocked that they had to ask for money to fix their canoes.
“There is a significant lack of fishermen whose canoes were severely damaged by the tidal waves,” he stated. Stunned, they are now frantically trying to raise the money needed for the expensive repairs. Their situation is made worse by the skyrocketing costs—canoes now sell for over 800 cedis—which deprives them of their main source of income.
While some canoes are being repaired, several have sustained irreversible damage. Ten canoes have been successfully fixed by Jonathan Nortey, who charges 200 cedis each craft.
He repairs each sailboat using a mixture of fibreglass and sand to make it seaworthy and resistant to leaks in the future.
“I’m using a combination of fibreglass and sand,” he explained. I repair every boat to guarantee its seaworthiness and resistance to further leaks. All repairs are completed quickly to enable complete drying and protect them from any water damage. Each canoe costs 200 cedis from me.
To counter this persistent threat, a marine defence plan that extends from Osikan Beach to the newly built Jamestown Fishing Harbour is still desperately needed.
The fishermen are begging President Akufo-Addo to pay attention to their request that this infrastructure be put in place in order to put an end to their continuous problems.
“The key to overcoming the problem is building a strong sea defence from Osikan Beach that will smoothly link with the existing Jamestown fishing harbour project. Our troubles will not end until this infrastructure is established. We sincerely request that President Akufo-Addo give attention to our request.
