The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development has implemented an Electronic Monitoring System (EMS) in trawl vessels to track operations of vessels at sea.
The EMS uses onboard video cameras, Global Positioning System (GPS) and sensors to automatically track and verify fishing activities on board fishing vessels.
The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson disclosed this in an address at a press conference on Wednesday in Accra.
She stated that the EMS data can be used to monitor and improve compliance with regard to gear deployment, transshipment at sea, verification of catch and bycatch, including endangered species such as marine turtles and mammals, as well as collect biological data for stock assessment and fisheries management.
“The EMS cameras record videos 24 hours a day and would capture, among other things, trawlers discarding fish at sea,” she added.
The Electronic Monitoring System would be piloted for a year with the results to license industrial trawlers and tuna boats operating in Ghana’s EEZ by December 2025.
Irene Wirekoaa Osei, ISD
