Net Making and Fishing-Gear Repair Level 3

Who it is for. People who have finished Net Making and Fishing-Gear Repair Level 2, or can show the same skills, and who want to lead a mending team, build nets to order, run a gear shop or start their own business. Ghana's TVET framework places National Proficiency II below National Certificate I. This module is written at an advanced level, comparable to National Certificate I; that comparison is the author's judgement, not a CTVET ruling.

Bridge from Level 2: what you already know

Level 2 gave you the skills. Level 3 asks harder questions: how do I quote and build a whole fleet of nets? How do I run a twenty-person seine repair? How do I keep my workers and my shop legal and safe? How do I register, keep books and grow?

How the module works

Each unit has learning outcomes, performance criteria, the range and the evidence your assessor needs. You are judged Competent or Not Yet Competent. About 60% of the time is practical. Every unit has homework, worked exercises and a Check yourself of three questions.

The hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2 teach general bookkeeping and venture basics. This book goes deeper and stays with nets and gear.

Competency standard

Range. One complete net or fleet of nets for a real or role-play client. Evidence. Client brief; net plan; materials list and quote; inspection and handover record.

Step 1. The client brief

Ask and write down:

1. Gear and use. Set net, drift net, beach seine or purse seine? Bottom or mid-water?
2. Target fish and their size. Measure some (Level 2 girth method).
3. Ground and conditions. Depth, current, rocks; calm or rough water.
4. Canoe and crew. How long a net the crew can handle. Usual gill-net length is between 15 and 200 m, and nets can be joined together.
5. Budget and date.
6. Licence and markings. Under Act 1146 a marine canoe licence shows the gear's identification. Ask the owner for the canoe's licence or identification card details.

Step 2. The net plan

Step 3. Estimate and quote

A written quote gives: the net plan, what the client supplies and what you supply, price, deposit (for example half before you buy materials), delivery date, what happens if the client changes the plan, and your "legal nets only" statement.

Step 4. Build and hand over

1. Buy materials only after the deposit. Keep receipts.
2. Check the netting on arrival: material, mesh (wet, stretched), meshes deep, knot type, length or weight.
3. Prepare lines: soak, stretch, mark.
4. Hang, rig floats and sinkers, splice ends (Level 2).
5. Inspect against the plan with the checklist below.
6. Water test with the client.
7. Hand over with a signed record: plan, what was built, measured mesh, date, warranty terms.

Warranty. Promise only what you control: knots, ties and splices for a stated time (for example one month of normal use). Do not promise against sharks, rocks, propellers or theft. Write it down.

Check yourself

1. Name four things you ask in a client brief.
2. How much stretched netting does a 75 m net need at E = 0.5?
3. Name three items on the handover checklist.

Competency standard

Range. One purse seine or beach seine repair; two compliance files. Evidence. Damage survey; work plan; inspection report; compliance file.

The big gears at Akwidaa

At the Akwidaa landing (named Akwadae in the survey), the 2016 count found 45 purse-net (poli/watsa) canoes out of 94. These large canoes, 12 to 19.5 m long, use 25 to 40 hp outboard motors. In 2016 a large watsa, drift gill net or beach seine sold for GH¢15,000 to GH¢40,000. Repairing one well saves the owner a great deal.

Surveying damage

1. Lay the net out section by section on clean sand or a mat, in the shade if possible.
2. Divide it into numbered sections (for example every 20 m along the floatline). Mark section numbers on the floatline with coloured thread.
3. For each hole write: section, distance from floatline, size in meshes (across × down), and type (tear, diagonal, V, big hole for patching).
4. Note worn areas, sun-weakened netting (brittle, faded), broken or missing floats, sinkers and rings, and damaged ropes.
5. Photograph big damage for the owner.

Planning a team repair

Estimate the time. Use each mender's own speed (minutes per mesh) from their time study (Level 2).

Divide the work. Give each mender sections, not single holes, so people do not crowd one place. Put your fastest mender on patches. For a big hole spreading in several directions, two or more menders work towards each other. Two menders can sew one patch from opposite corners.

Check the heavy parts. For a purse seine, FAO gives rules of thumb: the purse line should have a breaking strength more than 3 times the combined weight of netting, leadline, leads and purse rings, and is about 1.5 times the seine's length. Report worn purse lines and rings to the owner; do not guess their strength.

The gear inspection report

Act 1146 lists a gear inspection report among the documents needed for some vessel licences, and lets the Commission suspend a marine canoe licence if the gear does not meet the prescribed requirements. Even where it is not demanded, a clear report helps an owner. Include:

A compliance file for each owner

Offer owners a simple folder:

Gear you must refuse

Ghost gear and old nets

• Lost synthetic nets, especially monofilament, keep catching fish.
• Act 1146 makes it an offence to put harmful substances into fishery waters, and lists abandoned gear, including nets, as a kind of aquaculture waste.
• Run an old-net take-back: owners bring old netting to you; you keep good pieces for patches and ask the Assembly and EPA where to dispose of the rest. The Environmental Protection Act 2025 (Act 1124) is the current environmental law. Disposal routes for old nets at Akwidaa were not verified.

Gear damage complaints

Under Act 1146, damaging or destroying another person's fishing gear is an offence: for canoe gear, 250 to 1,000 penalty units or 1 to 2 years in prison, or both. One penalty unit is GH¢12. If an owner says another canoe cut his net, record the damage fairly in a report with photos. Do not take sides; send the parties to the chief fisherman, the landing-beach committee or the Fisheries Commission.

Check yourself

1. Name four things a damage survey records for each hole.
2. Why give menders sections rather than single holes?
3. What is the fine range under Act 1146 for damaging another person's canoe gear, in cedis?

Competency standard

Range. A team of at least two trainees or apprentices on a real job. Evidence. Teaching observation; quality log; work log; apprenticeship agreement draft.

A skills ladder with gates

Do not let an apprentice inspect nets for legality before step 7.

Teaching one task: show, do, check

1. Explain why the task matters (for example, why a sider knot must not be cut).
2. Show slowly, then at normal speed.
3. Do it together: the learner does it while you watch and talk.
4. Learner alone: you watch without speaking.
5. Check against the standard and praise what is right first, then correct one thing at a time.
6. Record it in the learner's logbook.

Quality control

• Check every first job a worker does on a new task.
• Sample check after that, for example one repair in every ten, plus every patch on a big seine.
• Use the Level 2 repair checklist: mesh size, knots, twists, twine type, floats and sinkers nearby, record filled in.
• Keep a quality log: date, worker, job, pass or fix, what was wrong. Look for patterns, then re-teach.
• Fix faults with the worker, not behind their back.

Productivity

Set targets from each worker's time study (Level 2), not from your own speed. A new mender is slower; a target that is too high leads to rushed, poor knots.

Safety leadership

Workers and the Labour Act

The Labour Act 2003 (Act 651) requires a written contract for work of six months or more (s.12), a written statement of terms within two months (s.13), 15 working days of paid leave a year (s.20) and 12 weeks of maternity leave (s.57); casual workers are paid the full daily minimum for each day worked (s.74). The 2026 minimum wage is GH¢21.77 a day, about GH¢587.79 a month at 27 days. Register workers with SSNIT when you hire.

An apprenticeship agreement

Write one page, signed by you, the apprentice and a parent or guardian if under 18:

The 2026 Budget set aside GH¢170 million for a National Apprenticeship Programme. Whether net making is covered was not verified; ask the Ghana Enterprises Agency or the Assembly.

Check yourself

1. What are the steps of "show, do, check"?
2. How often do you check a worker's repairs after their first job?
3. Name two Labour Act duties to a worker.

Competency standard

Range. A planned or real small gear shop. Evidence. Stock list; supplier comparison; stock cards; price list.

What you may stock, and what you must not

Monofilament fish nets were advertised online in Ghana in October 2026. Do not copy that. Sale of nets under 25 mm carries a fine of up to 500 penalty units or up to 3 years in prison.

Life jackets as stock. Adult life jackets were advertised in Ghana for about GH¢170 to GH¢350 in October 2026; the Ghana Maritime Authority sold subsidised jackets at GH¢250. Whether any national standard applies to life jackets sold for canoes was not verified; ask the Ghana Maritime Authority and the Ghana Standards Authority before you stock them, and buy from sellers who can show the product's standard.

Buying well

1. Get at least two quotes for each main item.
2. Compare price and quality: twine size and type, netting mesh, float lift, sinker weight.
3. Check goods on arrival: count, weigh sinkers, test float lift, measure netting mesh wet.
4. Store netting and rope out of the sun; the sun does the most damage to synthetic fibres.
5. Keep every receipt and invoice. They prove your stock is legal and support your books (Unit 6).

Stock cards

One card per item:

Reorder level. Decide the balance at which you reorder, for example when you are down to two weeks of normal sales.

Monthly count. Count everything on the last day. If the count differs from the card, find out why (theft, error, damage) and write it down.

Pricing: mark-up and margin

• Mark-up = profit ÷ cost. Margin = profit ÷ selling price.
• Example: an item costs GH¢100 and sells for GH¢145. Profit GH¢45. Mark-up 45%. Margin 45 ÷ 145 = 31%.
• Never confuse them. A 45% mark-up is only a 31% margin.

Check yourself

1. Name three things a legal gear shop must never stock.
2. What is the difference between mark-up and margin?
3. Why keep every supplier invoice?

Competency standard

Range. A one- to four-person net-making, mending and gear business at or near a landing beach in Ahanta West or Sekondi-Takoradi. Evidence. Registration checklist; start-up budget; one-page plan; oral pitch.

What you can sell

Choose a legal form

Annual returns for companies cost GH¢175 a year, with late fees of GH¢1,000 (1 to 4 years late) or GH¢2,000 (5 or more). A first mending business is often a sole proprietor. A group of menders, or menders with canoe owners, may suit a partnership or cooperative.

Registration, step by step

1. Register a business name at the Office of the Registrar of Companies (ORC).
2. Tax identity. Your Ghana Card PIN is your individual TIN; a company gets a GRA TIN after ORC registration.
3. Business operating permit from your Assembly. Akwidaa is in Ahanta West, so ask the Ahanta West Municipal Assembly; in Sekondi-Takoradi, the STMA has an online portal. The permit fee for a net-making business was not verified.
4. Fisheries Commission. Ask whether gear makers or sellers must register or hold a licence. Act 1146 lets the Minister make regulations for licensing or registering fishing gear and the types and sizes of gear. No such regulation for net makers was found; not verified.
5. Fire safety. Nylon netting and rope burn. Ask the Ghana National Fire Service what your shop or store needs.
6. Register workers with SSNIT when you hire.
7. Separate business account or MoMo wallet.
8. Registration folder with every certificate and receipt.

Tax: what applies

Modified Taxation Scheme (MTS). Residents with business income only, who are not VAT-registered, may use the MTS. Turnover up to GH¢20,000 pays fixed instalments; GH¢20,001 to GH¢750,000 pays 3% of turnover (or the Modified Cash Basis). The ceiling rose from GH¢500,000 to GH¢750,000 under the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2026 (Act 1178), assented on 26 August 2026, although GRA's own page still showed GH¢500,000 on 8 October 2026. Professionals, owners of several businesses or outlets, and partners are excluded. Companies pay corporate income tax, 25% standard.

VAT. VAT is 15% plus NHIL 2.5% plus GETFund 2.5%, an effective 20% from 1 January 2026. The registration threshold for goods is GH¢750,000; for services there is no turnover threshold, and a taxable person making taxable supplies of services registers within 30 days of starting. A VAT-registered business cannot use the MTS.

Withholding tax. When a company or institution pays you, it may withhold tax: goods 3%, works 5%, services 7.5% (over GH¢2,000 a year). Ask for a withholding-tax certificate.

Premises and location that give good returns

Start-up budget (example numbers)

All prices are examples; local prices were not verified. Get three quotes for each.

Financing the start

• Own savings, a susu or a village savings and loan association (VSLA).
• Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA): SME GO, Business-in-a-Box, SME High Growth and Kaizen, with Business Advisory Centres in Takoradi, Shama, Effia-Kwesimintsim, Mpohor and Ahanta West.
• 2026 Budget: GH¢401 million for a Women's Development Bank, GH¢170 million for the National Apprenticeship Programme, GH¢160 million for Adwumawura.
• Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund: Act 1146 sets up this fund. Whether it supports gear businesses was not verified.
• Support programmes: in 2026 Eni Ghana and partners gave nets, threads, buoys, lead weights and ropes and training to canoe owners in 14 districts. Such programmes buy gear and may need local menders and suppliers.
• Assemblies' disability fund: 5% from 2026, aimed at skills training, assistive devices and start-up capital.
• GIRSAL guarantees agricultural loans; whether it covers a gear business was not verified.

Borrow only when your records show you can repay.

Hire, pay and protect

• SSNIT: employee 5.5% plus employer 13% of basic salary, 18.5% in all. The employer pays 13.5% to SSNIT (Tier 1) within 14 days after the month ends and 5% to a private Tier 2 trustee; late payment costs 3% a month.
• PAYE 2026 monthly bands: first GH¢588 at 0%, next 80 at 5%, next 100 at 10%, next 2,900 at 17.5%, then higher bands. Take off the 5.5% SSNIT first. Pay by the 15th of the next month. Casual workers: 5%.
• Labour Act: see Unit 3.
• Insurance: use only insurers licensed by the National Insurance Commission. Consider fire and theft for stock and customers' nets, and injury cover for workers. Which covers are compulsory was not verified.

Market yourself

• WhatsApp Business with a catalogue of services and stock; a free Google Business Profile.
• A sign: "Nets built to order · Mending · Rope work · Legal gear only".
• Service plans for canoe groups (Level 2); inspection reports as a selling point.
• Referrals from the chief fisherman, canoe owners' groups and fish traders.
• A portfolio of nets built, with handover records.

Accessibility

The Persons with Disability Act 2006 (Act 715) protects the right of persons with disabilities to work. Our suggestions (not sourced; confirm with the learner and an occupational therapist):

Make the shop entrance step-free where you can, and keep paths clear of rope and netting.

One-page business plan and pitch

On one page: customers (how many canoes and gears nearby); services and prices; location; start-up cost and finance; monthly costs and break-even (Unit 6); permits still needed; marketing; legal and safety promises; 12-month cash forecast (Unit 7).

Check yourself

1. What does a sole-proprietor business name cost to register and renew?
2. Is there a VAT turnover threshold for services?
3. Name two finance sources for a new gear business near Akwidaa.

Competency standard

Range. One full month of example figures; then the trainee's own month. Evidence. Completed cash book, statements and month-end checklist.

The core rule

Assets = Liabilities + Equity. Debits increase assets and expenses; credits increase liabilities, capital and income. A trial balance checks the totals but cannot catch every error. Keep owner money and business money apart: pay yourself a fixed drawing and write it down.

The records a net business keeps

Depreciation

Straight-line depreciation = (cost − salvage value) ÷ useful life. Example: equipment costing GH¢5,400 with no salvage value and a 3-year life: 5,400 ÷ 36 months = GH¢150 a month.

A worked month: "Akwidaa Nets and Gear" (all figures are examples)

Position on 1 March: cash and MoMo GH¢4,000; shop stock and materials GH¢6,000 at cost; equipment GH¢5,400 (new); loan from a VSLA GH¢3,000; no debtors. Owner's capital = 4,000 + 6,000 + 5,400 − 3,000 = GH¢12,400.

What happened in March:

• Mending and hanging jobs paid in cash: GH¢3,100.
• Service plans: 8 canoes × GH¢150 = GH¢1,200; 6 paid (GH¢900), 2 owe (GH¢300).
• A purse seine repair invoiced at GH¢1,500; GH¢500 received, GH¢1,000 owed.
• Shop sales: GH¢2,900 cash; those goods cost GH¢2,000.
• Materials (twine, floats) taken from stock for jobs: GH¢400.
• Stock bought for cash: GH¢2,000.
• One mender, basic pay GH¢900. Employee SSNIT 5.5% = GH¢49.50. Taxable pay 850.50; PAYE: first 588 at 0%, next 80 at 5% = 4.00, next 100 at 10% = 10.00, last 82.50 at 17.5% = 14.44; total GH¢28.44. Net pay = 900 − 49.50 − 28.44 = GH¢822.06. Employer SSNIT 13% = GH¢117. SSNIT (49.50 + 117) and PAYE are paid in April.
• Apprentice allowance GH¢300; rent for shade and store GH¢250; transport GH¢200; phone and data GH¢100.
• Loan repayment GH¢500 plus interest GH¢60.
• Owner's drawings GH¢1,000.
• Depreciation GH¢150.
• MTS set aside at 3% of turnover (example only, see Unit 5).

Cash book summary, March

Stock: 6,000 + 2,000 bought − 2,000 sold − 400 used = GH¢5,600.

Income statement, March

Balance sheet at 31 March

It balances. If yours does not, check: every receipt and payment entered once; stock count; debtors; drawings not counted as an expense; depreciation in both the income statement and the equipment line.

Debtors

Canoe owners often pay after a good catch. Keep a debtors list with the date each amount became due. Chase politely at 30 days; stop new credit work for anyone over 60 days without a plan (general practice, not verified). In March, debtors were GH¢1,300: GH¢300 for two service plans and GH¢1,000 for the seine.

Break-even

Monthly fixed costs in the example: wages 900 + employer SSNIT 117 + apprentice 300 + rent 250 + transport 200 + phone 100 + interest 60 + depreciation 150 = GH¢2,077.

If each service plan brings GH¢150 and uses about GH¢20 of materials (example), each plan contributes GH¢130. Plans needed to cover fixed costs alone: 2,077 ÷ 130 = 15.98, so 16 plans. Everything above that is profit before tax.

Month-end routine

Filing calendar: SSNIT by the 14th; PAYE and withholding tax by the 15th; VAT by the last working day of the next month (if registered); annual return within four months of year-end; ORC annual return yearly.

Free tools: Excel or Google Sheets; Zoho Books free plan; Wave's free Starter plan. From 1 January 2027 the 2025 edition of IFRS for SMEs applies to companies that use it.

Check yourself

1. What is the accounting equation?
2. Are drawings an expense?
3. When must SSNIT be paid?

Competency standard

Range. The trainee's own business plan. Evidence. Quality system notes; service agreement; capstone plan and forecast; panel score.

Quality and customer care

• Inspection on every handover (Unit 1) and sample checks on repairs (Unit 3).
• A clear, written warranty.
• Complaints: listen, inspect with the owner, fix what is yours to fix, record what you changed.
• Ask satisfied owners for referrals and Google reviews.

Pricing strategy

• Know your cost per hour and per mesh from your records.
• Charge more for urgent work (for example, before a fishing day) and less for planned work on fishing holidays.
• Offer group plans with a fair discount.
• Review prices every six months against your records and other menders' prices.

Growing: when and how

Partnerships and contracts

A service agreement with a canoe owners' group sets out: canoes covered, services included, response time, price and payment day, what is extra, how complaints are handled, the "legal gear only" rule, and how either side can end it.

Tenders and programmes. Support programmes buy nets and gear in bulk, as in the 2026 Eni Ghana support. To bid, you need registration, a tax identity, clean records and the capacity to deliver. Withholding tax may be deducted.

Records for a loan. Banks and the GEA ask for registration documents, several months of cash books, statements and a plan.

Succession and ethics

• Train at least one person who can run the business if you are sick or away.
• Never cover for illegal gear, even for a big customer.
• Pay workers on time; keep SSNIT and PAYE current.
• Treat every owner the same in disputes; keep reports factual.

Capstone: your plan and 12-month cash-flow forecast

Your capstone has four parts:

1. One-page plan (Unit 5 format).
2. 12-month cash-flow forecast (below).
3. Quality and safety promises (Units 1–3).
4. A five-minute pitch to a panel.

Example forecast (all figures are examples; the busier months are assumed for practice, not verified; ask local fishers which months are busy at your beach). Opening cash GH¢3,000. December cash out includes permit renewal and new equipment.

Panel scoring (teacher sheet in the assessment section): clarity of the plan; realism of prices and costs; legal and safety compliance; forecast arithmetic; answers to questions.

Check yourself

1. Name three things a service agreement with a canoe group should include.
2. When does hiring a mender make sense?
3. What four parts make up the capstone?

1. Which law keeps L.I. 1968 in force?
2. What must a net plan check against the law for a sea set net?
3. A 120 m net hung at 0.5 needs how much stretched netting?
4. Name four sections of a gear inspection report.
5. Under Act 1146, what is the offence for holding banned gear near the shore?
6. Name three steps of "show, do, check".
7. An item costs GH¢80 and sells for GH¢100. What are the mark-up and margin?
8. What does a sole-proprietor business name cost to register?
9. What are the employee and employer SSNIT rates?
10. Equipment costs GH¢3,600 with no salvage and a 3-year life. What is the monthly depreciation?
11. Name three items on the month-end routine.
12. What are the four parts of the capstone?

Best next reads: Practical Twinework for Fishermen and Gear Technologists (University of Rhode Island); FAO's Fisherman's Workbook; Act 1146 and L.I. 1968; the hub's Money Skills Level 2 and Entrepreneurial Thinking Level 2; Fish Smoking and Processing, Fish Farming and Outboard Motor Repair.

What this module does not cover: canoe carving and the permit to build or alter canoes under Act 1146, outboard engines, industrial trawl gear, fish processing and fish farming (see the hub's other courses).

Every source used in this manual is listed, with links, in the Teacher Copy.