Court
The Circuit Court in Denu, Volta Region, has convicted ten persons for engaging in illegal fishing activities and ordered that 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 brought against them.
Upon conviction, each 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 also ruled that three fuel generators retrieved from the accused be forfeited to the State, while light bulbs, lamp holders, long cables, and seven rubbers associated with the offence be destroyed under the supervision of the Court, the Prosecution, and the Registrar.
The GHC3,000.00 proceeds from the illegal fish catch are to be lodged into the Consolidated Fund.
The proceedings were led by Chief Inspector MacRae Pomevor representing the Republic, with interpretation provided in both Ewe and English.
Present at the hearing were the complainants, Johnson Agbeko Souzey and Mr. Francis Agbeko Abotsi, Vice Chairman of the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council (GNCFC), Volta Region.
This ruling highlights the judiciary’s determination, working alongside enforcement agencies, to deter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing while advancing sustainable fisheries management in Ghana.
