The Deputy Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mr Moses Anim, has called on stakeholders to find innovative ways to deal with challenges facing the sector.
Speaking at the 2023 National Fish Festival in Accra on Tuesday, he underscored the place of the sector in the country’s economic development, saying that the fisheries and aquaculture sector have for centuries formed part of the economic backbone of the country.
He said, “An estimated three million of the country’s population is directly and indirectly employed within the fisheries and aquaculture value chain.”
Mr Anim further stated that the sector has also been very supportive in achieving nutrition and food security, adding that fish alone constitutes 60% of the animal protein intake of Ghanaians.
He, however, stated that the blue economy is currently beset with challenges like marine pollution, illegal fishing, trafficking, piracy, marine insecurity, coastal erosion, climate change and natural disasters.
Mr Anim said these challenges undermine the health of the ocean and negatively impact the livelihoods of the people whose lives depend on fishing.
“In the fisheries sector, it is worrying to note that, capture fish production has been declining and experiencing overcapacity and declining profits,” he lamented.
He attributed this phenomenon to overexploitation of the fisheries resources which is often done through Illegal Unreported Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Bala Ali, ISD
