Fishermen 'catch' cow at sea

When fishermen at Chorkor, a fishing community in Accra, cast their net for a catch Wednesday morning and experienced some heaviness in the net, their joy was that they had a bumper catch, only for it to turn out that the heavy thing in the net was a bull.

That incident caused a stir in the community, as children, market women and people from all walks of life trooped to the beach to catch a glimpse of the mysterious bull caught at sea.

The huge brown bull with large horns appeared healthy when it was caught and occasionally ‘mooed,’ much to the surprise of onlookers who could not keep their distance away from the ‘wonder bull’. 

That brings to two the number of animals with land habitation caught at sea by fishermen this year. 

The first one, a deer, was trapped in the fishing net of fishermen at Ekon in the Central Region.

According to eyewitnesses, the fishermen had cast the net around 3 a.m. Wednesday and returned to pull out their catch around 6.30 a.m.

Overjoyed by the prospect of a heavy catch, they pulled the net amidst singing, but their excitement turned into astonishment when they discovered a bull in the net, instead of a shoal of fish. 

The mysterious bull was subsequently drawn to the sea shore.

Eyewitness 

Narrating the incident to the Daily Graphic, Mr Samuel Quaye of the Kaka Fishing Group, the group whose net caught the animal, said the group set off for fishing and cast the net around 3 a.m.

According to him, around 6 a.m., the members realised that the net was shaking, a sign of bumper catch, and decided to pull their catch.

Interestingly, when the net arrived ashore, it did not contain any fish but rather a bull. 

“Even though we witnessed a similar incident many years ago, this is really surprising,” Mr Quaye added.

Onlookers

Some onlookers who could not hide their feelings told the Daily Graphic that the incident was wonderful.

“I”m happy and excited to see this during my day,” Nii Kwei Kuma told the Daily Graphic.

However, the Chorkor Wulomo Chief Fisherman, Nii Kukurudu, said it was never a surprise, since that was not the first time an incident like that had happened.

“I am not too surprised because this thing can easily happen,” he said.

Interesting twist 

The catch has attracted rather interesting tales, with claims coming from chiefs in Winneba in the Central Region that the animal escaped while it was being sacrificed to their god.

“Another group from Sukula in Accra has also claimed ownership of the animal,” Nii Kukurudu told the Daily Graphic. 

“We are going to Winneba to enquire from the chiefs as to how true what we heard was, so that we can take the next step from there. We will also speak with the Wulomo for advice or spiritual interpretation,” he added.

That notwithstanding, Mr Quaye had earlier told the Daily Graphic that the group would slaughter the animal and share it among themselves if nobody claimed ownership.

Officials from the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development who arrived on the scene said they had come there to find out about the incident. 

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