{"id":2626,"date":"2026-02-11T14:07:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:07:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/?p=2626"},"modified":"2026-02-11T14:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T14:07:16","slug":"closed-season-relief-princess-dugba-steps-in-to-support-fishing-families","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/?p=2626","title":{"rendered":"Closed Season Relief: Princess Dugba Steps In to Support Fishing Families"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Abdul Rahman Bah<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Monday, 9 February 2026, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources marked the second year of Sierra Leone\u2019s closed fishing season at the Tombo Boat Yard, Western Area Rural District. The event brought together fisherwomen, fishermen, fishmongers, community leaders, and security officials as government reaffirmed its commitment to protecting marine resources while cushioning the economic impact of the one-month ban on fishing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, Madam Princess Dougba, used the occasion to stress that the closed season is not meant to punish fishing communities but to preserve fish stocks for sustainable livelihoods. Speaking passionately to hundreds of women and men whose lives depend on the sea, she said that fisherwomen are the backbone of the sector because they control processing, marketing, and household food security. Without them, she noted, there would be no meaningful fisheries economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister explained that overfishing, weak monitoring, and illegal fishing methods had severely depleted fish populations in Sierra Leonean waters, forcing government to introduce the annual closure from 1 to 28 February. She said that during this period, fish are spawning, and allowing them to reproduce would ensure bigger catches in subsequent months. She pointed to last year\u2019s season, which she said resulted in improved fish availability in many coastal communities after the ban was lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Madam Dougba warned strongly against violating the closure. She reminded fishermen that using prohibited nets, going to sea illegally, or sabotaging monitoring efforts could lead to arrest, heavy fines, or imprisonment. Security agencies, she said, would patrol landing sites and coastal waters throughout February to enforce compliance. She made it clear that there would be no negotiations or exemptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To reduce hardship during the ban, the ministry distributed bags of rice and other support items to vulnerable fisherfolk in Tombo. The minister said this was not a permanent entitlement but a gesture to help families cope while they are unable to fish. She added that health checks and community outreach programmes would also be conducted during the month.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to complaints that \u201cthere is no fish in the country,\u201d the minister rejected the claim, saying that cold storage facilities at Sierra Fisheries and a South Korean-backed plant currently hold significant reserves of frozen fish. She encouraged fishmongers to purchase directly from these facilities without middlemen, provided they have the money, so that markets remain supplied during the closure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Local fishers who attended the ceremony expressed mixed feelings. Some welcomed the support and acknowledged the need for conservation, while others worried about lost income and mounting household expenses. Community leaders urged government to ensure that benefits of the closed season reach ordinary people and not only large companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closing the event, Madam Dougba appealed for patience and unity, saying that sustainable fisheries are in the interest of both government and coastal communities. She reiterated that fishing could resume on 1 March and urged everyone to abide by the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The programme was warmly received by fishermen, fisherwomen, and local security heads, marking another step in Sierra Leone\u2019s effort to balance marine conservation with the survival of its fishing communities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Abdul Rahman Bah On Monday, 9 February 2026, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2626","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2626","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2626"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2626\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2628,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2626\/revisions\/2628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2626"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2626"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vindicatorslnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2626"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}