Photo of Chinese trawler illegally fishing in Ghana pops up; fails to pay GHC5 million fine
- Reports of the refusal of a Chinese vessel Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956 (AF 756) illegally fishing in Ghanaian waters have surfaced online
- The trawler was banned from fishing in Ghanaian waters in June 2019 and was subsequently fined GHC5 million
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YEN.com.gh has learned that a Chinese trawler is illegally fishing in Ghana as it is yet to pay the $1 million fine imposed on it by fishing authorities in Ghana.
The trawler, Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956 (AF 756), was banned from fishing in Ghanaian waters in June 2019.
The locally registered company, Gyinam Fisheries Limited, which is a subsidiary of the Shandong Province, China-based Rongcheng Ocean Fishery Co. Ltd, failed to pay the penalty for the act.
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Per a report by seafoodsource.com, the trawler was spotted fishing as the case still progresses in court.
Local laws stipulate that the vessel should be refused a license during the time the matter is being dealt with, the Environmental Justice Foundation asserts.
However, this was not the case as the vessel was observed from December 2019 to January 2020 operating in the waters of Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
According to Ghana’s 2002 Fisheries Act, it is the duty of the Council of the Fisheries Commission to hold on to licenses unless it is satisfied that all requirements for fishing in Ghana have been observed.
The quest to determine whether Gyinam Fisheries Limited had paid the fine or not suffered a setback as fisheries officials, Godfrey Baidoo-Tsibu and Michael Arthur-Dadzie, failed to provide answers to questions from SeafoodSource.
In other news, fears over the spread of the coronavirus have led to a surge in the refinancing of mortgages, YEN.com.gh has learned.
Mortgages refinances increased by 26% as people tried to take advantage of the falling interest rates. The interest rates have suffered a downturn as a result of the spread of the coronavirus.
The rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has fallen to the lowest point in over seven years as the coronavirus sparks uncertainty and anxiety.
A further reduction in Treasury rates has led market analysts to conclude that there is a possibility of an increase in refinancing activities.
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA), per a Business Insider report, the 26% increase in refinance applications was pegged at 224% higher a year ago.
The MBA also indicated that the application for mortgages also increased by 15.1% a week ago. It has also been determined that the increase in applications for borrowing and refinancing comes at a time when the average rate on the popular 30-year fixed mortgage dropped below 3.23%, which is the lowest in eight years.
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Source: YEN.com.gh