Fish Stock Threat … canoes, trawlers to be reduced

In an attempt to improve the fishing stock of the country

By Benson Afful

Government is planning to reduce the number of canoes and trawlers fishing on the countries coast in an attempt to save the country’s fast depleting fish stock, a Deputy Minister of fisheries and Aquaculture, Mr. Francis Ato Cudjoe, has disclosed. He said, canoes will be reduced from the current 14,000 to 9,000 while the trawlers reduced from 75 to 50.

The move, he said, is to ensure that the country avoids what experts have described as overfishing which is threatening the country’s fishing stock.

Speaking at this year’s National Conference on Fisheries and Coastal Environment on the need for the country to take immediate action to curb the worrying situation of the country’s fast depleting fish stock, Mr. Cudjoe said there is a growing awareness of the destruction of the coastal environment.

In an attempt to improve the fishing stock of the country, the government has made several efforts including the implementation of the recently closed season.

The objective of the closed season is to reduce the excessive pressure, overexploitation of marine fish stocks and to help replenish the declining stock. According to the Minister, the trawl sector is currently observing their two months closed season.

Compliance with the directives by the artisanal, and inshore fleet was very high, and there has also not been any report on non-compliance with the trawlers as well, the Deputy Minister, said.

Apart from fishing the coastal environment has lots of economic value. With proper management of the coastal environment, coastal livelihoods can be diversified from being over-reliance on fishing as a major economic activity, thereby, reducing overfishing and overexploitation.

Speaking on the same issue, Prof Wisdom Akpalu of the Institute of Natural Resources in Africa, said, Ghana can get about USD 200 million every year from the fishing sector if the country can regulate the number of boats and trawlers that fish on the sea. He urged the government as a matter of urgency to reduce the number of fishing boats and trawlers to enable the country to realize the potential in the fishing sector. The fishing sector plays a key role in the country' development. It helps improve food, and nutrition security as well provides income for fishing communities.

The sector is a major contributor to the national GDP. It is estimated 10 percent of Ghana’s population engaged the fisheries and aquaculture value chain.

Fish, is highly consumed in Ghana has per capita, consumption ranging between 0-25 kg.

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