Fishermen

At a cost of K1.5 million, the fish market is a proper facility for artisanal fishermen to also sell their daily catch.

The crowded Lae Main Market on Friday had the bottom part of it reserved for the official opening of the new fish market. 

The new market is located right at the end corner of the main market.

Fisheries Minister and Member for Kabwum, Patrick Basa, cut the ribbon to open the doors of the fish market.

The fish market comes with an ice maker, a blast chiller and a storage container.

The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) is calling on people to practice traditional and safe methods of fishing, rather than resorting to dynamites.

Dynamite fishing is the practice of using explosives to stun or kill schools of fish for easy collection.

This practice can be extremely destructive to the surrounding ecosystem, as the explosion often destroys the underlying habitat such as coral reefs that support the fish.

Fisheries officer Mark Bangkoma said this method of fishing is still common in many local areas in the country.

The victim was part of a group of six fishermen from Central Province, including three children, who were out trolling when they were attacked by what they believe were sea pirates. 

Brother of the victim Nanai Heni, who was also a victim himself told media that they went  trolling in the afternoon along with the three sons of the deceased, one a nine-year-old and six-year- old twin boys.

 When recounting the events of yesterday, he said when they were attacked, they both dived into the sea, in fear of their lives but his brother never made it back.

Another eight fishermen from the Cape Town trawler survived the disaster, which happened Sunday south of Hangklip, Western Cape province, the National Sea Rescue Institute said. The Cape Town-based institute said in a statement that nine bodies were recovered from the water and another fishermen who had been rescued later died of injuries.