The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, has urged graduates of the National Aquaculture Center to make effective use of cutting-edge technologies like the Re-circulatory Aquaculture System (RAS) to stimulate innovation in the fisheries industry.
She said this at the graduation ceremony for the first batch of students admitted to the National Aquaculture Center in Amrahia on Tuesday.
She noted that aquaculture has become an essential option for augmenting worldwide fish supply and meeting rising seafood demand while also addressing concerns of sustainability.
Mrs Koomson asserted that there was a huge potential for aquaculture to strive in Ghana, adding that the dedication, hard work and innovative mindset of the graduates can harness this potential to improve job creation and national food security.
She advised the graduates to take advantage of the various supports under the Aquaculture for Food and Jobs (AFJ) initiative being implemented by the Ministry.
“The industry is faced with challenges such as the high cost of fish feed, the inadequate market for cultured fish and disease outbreaks. As products of this state-of-the-art Centre, you have been trained in areas such as fish anatomy, fish health, harvesting, processing and marketing, as well as, agribusiness and farm management to succeed in the industry,” she stressed.
The first batch of 24 students went through 13 weeks of extensive training in various aspects of aquaculture.
Irene Wirekoaa Osei, ISD
