By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development has rolled out Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) to combat illegal fishing in Ghanaian waters.
“As part of efforts to combat illegal fishing, the Ministry has deployed Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and Automatic Identification System (AIS) to detect in real-time vessels that engage in illegal fishing activities especially, vessels without license to fish in Ghanaian waters”, the Sector Minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson said this when she appeared in Parliament on Thursday, 10th March 2022 to answer questions related to her Ministry.
According to Madam Hawa Koomson, the only foreign-flagged vessels that fish in Ghana are those that come through an access arrangement in accordance to the fisheries law, and “it is only the Tuna Sub-sector that allows for joint ventures between Ghanaians and foreigners”.
In a related development on what role the Ministry is playing towards cross order collaboration to ensure the enforcement and adherence to closed sewn for fishing at sea, Madam Hawa Koomson said, discussions are underway with member states of Fishery Committee of the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) to ensure a joint Closed Fishing Season in the near future.
According to her, The Ministry has relied on International and Regional Fisheries Management Organizations such as the Fishery Committee of the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) to address these cross-border challenges as she recognizes the fact that, “fish is trans-boundary, therefore managing fisheries requires a cross-border approach”.
The FCWC is a regional body that consists of Liberia, Cote d’ Ivoire, Togo, Benin, Ghana and Nigeria.
Still, on the fishing industry, the Sector Minister stressed that “plans are also far advanced to roll out the automated fuel dispensing units at landing beaches to make the product available for fishermen at all times”.
She said the tracking system currently in place allows regulators to monitor the transportation of product from the loading depot to designated locations to ensure the availability of the Product at the Landing Beaches.
She answered the questions from MPs from Adaklu, Keta and Ledzokuku, Kwame Governs Agbodza, Kwame Dzudzorli Gakpey and Benjamin Narteh Ayiku respectively.
