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The Western Sector Fisheries Enforcement Unit (WSFEU) of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development arrested 13 fishing trawlers and canoes between December last year and July this year for engaging in illegal fishing. They were prosecuted and fined a total of GHc189, 939 for various offences including transshipment, fishing with undersized mesh nets and fishing below 30 metre Isobaths. Some of these industrial trawlers and canoes arrested during the patrols were operated by Chinese and Ghanaians including Meng Xin (AF670), Lian Run14, Fidelis 102, Lu Rong Yuan and Yu 910. The rest were Twin Port City 101, Comforter 2, Miracle Malor, Nyame Ye Kese, Ewie-Ne Asem, Ketewa Bia Nsua, Awoo Yaa 8,AKA Ewie ,Genesis 3 AF688. The National Coordinator of the Unit, Naval Captain Emmanuel Kwafo, told journalists during a press briefing in Takoradi that fisher folks that contravened the fisheries laws and regulations and engaged in criminal acts would be arrested and prosecuted. He said 27 unapproved fishing nets popularly referred to as monofilament nets were seized between August 5 and 13 in some fishing communities in the Ahanta West, Ellembelle and Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis. Captain Kwafo said the Unit was inaugurated in October last year by then Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mr. Nayon Bilijo, to inject sanity into the fishing industry through activities such as sea and land patrols as well as installation of vessel monitoring system and other electronic monitoring system on industrial trawlers to check illegal fishing. He said since the passage of the Fisheries Act, Act 625 extensive education had been carried out at the various coastal communities to sensitize the fisher folks on the fisheries laws and regulations and urged the fishermen to get acquainted with the laws to avoid confrontation with the Unit.