3 men arrested over poisonous fishing chemical

Some three young fishermen, Ndoko Obassey Christopher, 32, Rafael Bassey Edet, 26, from Isangele and Gideon Edmus Ewok, from Ikang, Cross River of Nigeria, were in the night of June 21, 2016, arrested in Isangele Sub-division, Ndian Division of the South West Region.

They were picked up in the Bakassi Peninsular for allegedly using a poisonous substance, gamaline, to fish in the high sea.

They were arrested by the Divisional Officer, DO, for Isangele, Alfred Ngale Meende, who led a team of security forces after tipoff that the young men were already in action at the fishing port. The DO immediately took gendarmes to the scene for patrol.

According to the Divisional Officer, the three young fishermen were nabbed at a fishing port in Oriffiang Beach along the Isangele-Akwa Road.

They were using their wooden boat of 30 horse power to fish, and were found with a great quantity of poisoned fish. The three suspects from Massaka village are presently in the gendarmerie dragnet in Isangele, helping with the investigation.

The DO expressed gratitude to the vigilante group of the village whose members also serve as informants to the authorities and the security officials. He called on them to be more vigilant so as to eradicate such malpractices in their beaches.

Fishing with poisonous chemicals has been forbidden as it contaminates the caught fish and water and makes it difficult for fish and other aquatic species to survive.