It’s quite unsettling to hear that Samuel Abayitey, a Ghanaian fisheries observer, has vanished. He was on duty aboard the Marine 707, a tuna vessel, as part of a governmental initiative aimed at curbing overfishing and other unauthorized, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. These practices have pushed small pelagic fish, a primary food source for the coastal region, to near extinction. His whereabouts have been unknown for the past two weeks, with no updates from the crew manager, the Fisheries Commission, the vessel owners, or any other parties involved. The incident has been confirmed by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development to JoyNews, and Deputy Minister Moses Annim has stated that an investigation is underway.
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In the world of Ghanaian fisheries, observers like Emmanuel Essien play a crucial role. Back in 2019, Essien mysteriously disappeared, leaving a void in the industry. He was last seen on June 24, aboard the Chinese trawler Jin Hao 608, where he filmed the crew engaging in Saiko, an illegal fishing practice. Just two weeks later, while on duty on the Meng Xin 15 vessel, Essien vanished. His family, including his young children, are still seeking answers and have made several appeals to the government for help.
Fast forward to three years later, the Marine Police Division of the Ghana Police Service has yet to find any leads on Essien’s whereabouts. However, Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah recently revealed that the police have concluded their investigation and identified new suspects. He stated, “I wrote a letter under my signature to the IGP, and they have responded. The Tema police have completed their investigations, and they have sent a duplicate case docket to the Attorney-General for study and advice. The AG upon study directed that they need to do further interrogation of three persons; Isaac Cudjoe, Dziwornu Ahabile and Antony Asiedu.
