Tema-Ghana, April 29 GNA – The University of Cape Coast’s Centre for Maritime Law and Security (CEMLAW) and Centre for Coastal Management (CMM) have organised a day of training for journalists on the actions and consequences of Distant Water Fishing Vessels (DWFV).
The training was part of a two-year project supported by the US Embassy in Accra, titled “Promoting Local Capacity to Address the Destabilising Impacts of Foreign Fishing Vessels in the Gulf of Guinea and Mauritania.”
According to Dr. Kamal-Deen Ali, Executive Director of CEMLAW Africa, his organisation and the CCM are the project’s implementers, which is also being carried out in six other African countries.
Dr. Ali stated that the programme was designed to prepare journalists and build on their existing industry knowledge to assist them become champions for the call to address the activities and consequences of DWFV.
He said it was also intended to promote dynamic media that could keep policymakers accountable while assuring transparent decision-making processes in DWFVs and enabling effective issue reporting.
He stated that fishing was the sole resource that people socially and culturally associated to, and that most people relied on it as a source of food, as Ghana was among the top ten countries in the world that consumed fish.
He emphasised that the fish resource might also fully collapse as a result of stock depletion, stating that “this can get to the point where we will be importing fish completely for our consumption.”
The good news, he said, was that the resource could be restored and replenished.
Dr. Isaac Okyere, Academic Coordinator, Centre for Coastal Management, UCC, provided an overview of Ghana’s Fisheries Sector, dividing it into two categories: catch and culture.
Dr. Okyere noted that artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial fishing is done for subsistence and commercial objectives within the capture category.
He stated that whereas inland fishing and aquaculture both contribute 10 percent to Ghana’s fishing sector, marine contributes 80 percent.
Mr. Sven Biermann, Executive Director of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI), urged the government and relevant fisheries organisations to provide the sector with the necessary information.
According to Mr. Biermann, despite the fact that there existed significant data and information, it was inaccessible to the media and the public.
According to Mr. Kyei Kwadwo Yamoah, Convener of the Fisheries Alliance, a survey by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) suggested that Ghana was losing between 14.4 and 23.7 US dollars per year in fishing licence fees and fines.
Mr. Yamoah added that while Ghana’s taxes and fines are maintained low for local vessels, 90 percent of the country’s trawl fleet is owned by Chinese enterprises that utilise local ‘front companies’ to register as Ghanaians and avoid the law.
