Accra, Ghana//-The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) says Ghana must invest more in the governance of its fisheries sector from the sea to the plate of the consumer.
All along the value chain, there are a lot of things to do. Ghana is doing what it is doing because it is a developing country facing many challenges not only in the fisheries sector but in many other sectors, according to FAO.
The FAO Representative to Ghana (OiC), Ndiaga Gueye who said this in an exclusive interview with the African Eye Report at the just-ended seventh meeting of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Ministers in charge of Fisheries and Aquaculture in Accra.
Ghana is doing good but…
He said: “If I compare Ghana with some other countries, I think that Ghana is doing good but there is a lot to be done”.
To this end, Mr Gueye urged Ghana to invest in research and capacity development of players in the country’s fisheries sector.
“Ghana must invest more in monitoring, surveillance and control of its economic exclusive zone. Ghana must invest more in the working conditions of artisanal fishermen and also women fish processors.
This is because this is the area where they are smoking the fish or sometimes drying them. When you visit the smoking or drying area of the fishes sometimes, it is really very bad. So, Ghana must invest more in this area”, he added.
Importance of fish to diet
Recently speaking at the launch of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022) in Accra, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, noted that fish plays a major component in the diet of Ghanaians.
She said: “The average Ghanaian consumes about 24kg of fish annually, which is higher than the world’s average of 16kg, making it evident that fish is the principal source of low cost protein in Ghana”.
Despite the risk and labour intensive nature of their work, our gallant fishers work tirelessly to ensure availability of fish all year round, hence the high consumption pattern of fish in Ghana”, she added.
Currently, Ghana’s fisheries resources are over exploited. However Mrs Koomson said her ministry is pursuing long term measures to protect the fisheries resources, ensure recovery of the over exploited fish stocks and accelerate growth in the aquaculture subsector.
African Eye Report
