Fourteen thousand canoe operators in Ghana have signed up with the Canoe Identification System (CIS), an initiative instituted by the government to streamline the operations of the fishing industry.
The digitisation system involves registration and embossment of canoes with unique identification numbers and collection of biometric information of the owners to assist the government to effectively regulate the sector and also help fishermen to access resources from the Fisheries Ministry.
Addressing the media at a Meet-the-Press series in Accra, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mrs Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, said the initiative would help the fishermen to easily access support from the government such as the supply of premix fuel.
She hinted that the CIS would be extended to the inland fishing to enable vehicles in the inland water bodies such as Volta Lake to enroll on the project to access its benefits.
To stop illegal activities in the sector, she said electronic gadgets such as Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) have been installed in all the vessels that operate in Ghana including foreign-flagged fishing vessels that operate in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in the Ghanaian waters.
“This is to help reduce, if not eliminate, the incidence of Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, including trans-shipment at sea, fishing on gas pipelines, oil installations and fishing without a license,” she added.
She disclosed that the Ministry increased observer missions on the sea from 335 in 2018 to 550 in 2019 to ensure that vessels operating in Ghana waters comply with the Fisheries Laws and Regulations of Ghana and International Conventions on fishing.
Touching on some of the achievements chocked, Mrs Quaye said the Ministry has trained 465 people on best aquaculture practices, pond construction, pond management and harvesting under the Aquaculture for Food and Jobs (AFJ) Programme.
She disclosed that the project was initiated in August 2018 but implementation started in January 2020, adding that beneficiaries were in the position to start fish farming on their own to reduce unemployment.
“Twenty-five institutions including James Camp Prisons in Greater Accra, Techiman Nobel Youth Association in the Bono East, Osei Tutu Senior High School in the Ashanti Region and Dormaa Senior High School in the Bono Region have all benefited from the AFJ”, she added.
On fisheries infrastructural development, she said the government had secured a US50 million Chinese Grant for the construction of Jamestown fishing harbour complex and that all preparatory works of the implementation agreement have been completed.
She added that the construction of the Anomabu Fisheries College, which aimed at sharping the skills of people working in the fishing sector in Ghana was gradually progressing.
Ishmael Batoma & Doreen Tekyi, ISD
