PRESS RELEASE

RESPONSES BY NATIONAL FISHERIES ASSOCIATION OF GHANA ON SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY PRESIDENT NANA ADDO DANKWA AKUFO-ADDO AT THE ONE OCEAN SUMMIT IN BREST, FRANCE. 11TH FEBRUARY 2022

On behalf of the National Fisheries Association of Ghana (NAFAG) I wish to release this statement which is in response to the speech made by His Excellency, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the One Ocean Summit held in Brest, France on 11th February 2022.

As many of you are aware, NAFAG is the umbrella fisheries association that coordinates activities of the five (5) underlisted fisheries associations in Ghana:

(i) Ghana Tuna Association
(ii) Ghana Industrial Trawlers Association
(iii) Ghana Inshore Fisheries Association
(iv) Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council; and
(v) National Inland Canoe Fishermen Council

This response is therefore the collective one of all the above-mentioned fisheries associations.

NAFAG shares the concern of the President that “Ghana spends US$200 million annually to import fish to shore up its fish requirements due to Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities which have contributed significantly to a decline in fish stocks”.

The negative impact of IUU fishing activities globally, cannot be underestimated. That Ghana is also at the receiving end of IUU fishing is to be expected but to the extent that the phenomenon has contributed significantly to a decline in fish stocks which has also compelled Government to spend US$200m annually to import fish to shore up its fish requirement is a cause for grave concern at our current developmental stage when we need to optimize our natural resources to the benefit of Ghana.

As producers in the fishing industry, we are gravely affected by the current situation and therefore pledge our support to the President in his bid to curb the IUU menace through our active involvement in the implementation of the provisions in the National Plan of Action.

This, we intend to do mainly, through sensitization and education of our own fishermen to elicit self-compliance to the provisions in the National Plan of Action as well as all legal provisions that govern the fisheries sector.
Inter-association engagements would be another strategy to engage members of all fisheries associations engaged in IUU fishing activities by discouraging them from such negative practices while encouraging them to engage in laid down anti-IUU fishing activities.

We, therefore, pledge our active involvement in the implementation of all components of the Plan by ensuring that individual sectors in the fishing industry comply with all the requirements, including fish catch certificate, reactivation and installation of vessel monitoring system (VMS), automatic identification system (AIS) on vessels and cooperate with the regulators in the areas of sea beach inspecting and sea patrols.

In addition to the foregoing is our pledge to fully participate in the implementation of the 2022-2026 Marine Fisheries Management Plan aimed at restoring the polluted ecosystem and recovering declining fish stock.
While producers are engaged in the foregoing, it is important to stress that there is the need for shared responsibility between producers and managers/regulators of the industry in the spirit of the co-management approach.

It is in this regard that producers wish to appeal to the President to ensure a speedy acquisition of a research vessel to provide solid scientific basis for policy formulation and implementation strategies for activities, such as stock assessments of the various specie, declaration of Closed Seasons, Closed Areas,

Marine Protected Areas, etc.
We pledge our active support to the President of the Republic, not only as a national duty but indeed, to our own benefit as producers since a reversal of the current negative trend to a more positive one would enhance our livelihood and businesses.

Yours Sincerely,
Simon Agah
(Ag. President)