The Deputy Minister for Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Hon. Moses Anim has disclosed that, the Ministry is pursuing short, medium, and long-term measures to address challenges such as overfishing, marine pollution, impact of climate change, Illegal Unreported, Unregulated (TUU) fishing, post-harvest losses, low-value addition, high cost of fish feed, as well as, low technology and diversification of farmed species facing the aquaculture industry.
This came to light during the official launch of the 39th National Farmers’ Day celebration held in Accra.
The 39th National Farmers’ Day celebration is scheduled for 7th December, 2023 in the Western Region on the theme, “Delivering Smart, Solutions for Sustainable Food Security and Resilience”.
Among the measures taken according to the Deputy Minister by the Ministry include: The formulation of a new National Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy for the sector.
The development of the Marine Fisheries Management Plan (2023-2026) to restore depleted fish stocks and improve governance in the sector.
The development of the Ghana National Aquaculture Development Plan (2024-2028) to help improve the practice, management and sustainable development of aquaculture as a viable business.
Construction of the National Aquaculture Centre and Commercial Farms to provide skills training in various aspects of aquaculture including production, farm management, fish health, feed formulation, and processing for the youth to take up aquaculture as a viable enterprise.
Moratorium on new marine artisanal canoe entrants as a fishing effort reduction strategy to reduce the excessive pressure on the marine fisheries resources.
The deployment of Electronic Monitoring System (EMS) on industrial trawlers as pilot from April 2023 and to be extended to cover tuna vessels by 2025.
“The EMS uses onboard video cameras, Global Positioning System (GPS) and Sensors to automatically track and verify fishing activities on board fishing vessels” .
The EMS data he mentioned would be used to monitor and improve compliance with regard to gear deployment, transshipment at sea, verification of catch and bycatch, provide evidence for prosecution, as well as, collect biological data for stock assessment and fisheries management.
He added that, there is going to be an implementation of a Ministerial Directive on trawl gear selectivity to help reduce the catch of juvenile fish and address the issue of excessive bi-catch and fish stock depletion.
Fish Hon. Moses Anim hinted, provides high-quality essential amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, and minerals. “As such, fish is widely recognized as “nature’s superfood. In Ghana, fish constitute about 60% of the animal protein intake of Ghanaians with annual per capita fish consumption over the last decade ranging between 20 and 25kg, which is much higher than the average of 14kg for the ECOWAS region. The fisheries and aquaculture sector is therefore key to the effort of Government to achieve national food and nutrition security”.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development he assured, would continue to collaborate with relevant stakeholders and development partners in the sustainable management of the fisheries resources for current and future generations. “It is our fervent hope that we shall together garner solutions for the fisheries and aquaculture sector towards sustaining national food security”.
