World Oceans Day was celebrated on Wednesday June 8 in the town of Aného, located 55 km east of Lomé at the crossroads of the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Togo. Its beach, like the whole coastline, is dirty. All the users, fishermen, market gardeners were present to talk about the sea.
With our special correspondent in Aného, Peter Sassou Dogbe
Not very far from the mouth, in front of the town hall, facing the meeting point of the lake and the ocean, fishermen, fish sellers and all users of the sea have ceased their activities. They came to listen to Ami Aholou, a seller of smoked fish, who comes from a neighboring village. ” We have been invited to the meeting today. The watchword is to take care of the sea in order to preserve the marine environment. »
The Municipality of Lakes 1, the Ministry of Maritime Economy and other ecological organizations have come to inform and hammer home the urgency of protecting the ocean. ” Today, we are much more in a spirit of awareness, so that they too see that other players in the sector are also involved and committed to solving this problem and not just them. “, explains Dani Abla Akakpo, the president of the association of shipping companies and consignment of ships in Togo.
Kokou Tengué, Minister of Maritime Economy, Fisheries and Coastal Protection, comes to drive the point home: “ the fishing of fingerlings, which must constitute the stock for the renewal of marine fauna, is also to be avoided to ensure that we can revitalize the oceans. »
Awareness will continue and if the messages are not heard the regulations will become tougher. According to the government, the urgency is to empower sea users and their residents.