The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will grant USD 5.5 million to boost fisheries and coastal management in Ghana.
According to media sources consulted by FIS.com, despite the sector’s growth in the African country in the last ten years, it has not been able to achieve its full potential. This economic contribution is intended to the implementation of a five-year capacity building programme as part of a project, which has been carried out by the University of Cape Coast’s Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences since October 2014, and will end in October 2019.
The project developers explained that it is aimed to improve the infrastructure for training and research on fisheries and coastal management, increase scientific knowledge for policy and technical advisory services, increase marine and coastal research and resource management, and to establish a centre for coastal management, among others, SpyGhana informed.
During the programme launching ceremony in Cape Coast, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Sherry Ayittey explained that despite the significant contribution of the fisheries sector in revenue and employment to Ghana’s socio-economic development, it is considered the sector has not achieved its full potential due to the poverty rate in many fishing communities.
According to Minister Ayittey, the sector generates more than GHS 1 billion (USD 234.5 million) in revenue annually, and accounts for at least 4.5 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while 210,000 people work directly in the sector.
Some of the issues faced by the fisheries sector are related to the growing challenges the country needs to overcome in managing its coastal and marine resources, particularly, with the continuous decline in fish stock and production in the last few decades, as well as the degradation of the coastal environment, Ghana Business News reported.
In addition, Minister Ayittey pointed out the over-capitalization of the fishing industry, the use of unsustainable fishing methods and pollution of coastal ecosystems, coupled with pollution, deforestation, mining, damming and irrigation threatened biodiversity across the country.
Ayittey considers the situation is due to a deficiency in monitoring and enforcement of laws and regulations, lack of education, training, research, data gathering and analysis; as well as low investments in capacity building for effective natural resource management.
The minister also highlighted that the Government, in collaboration with the West Africa Regional Fisheries Programme, was rolling out programmes to cover areas such as improving fisheries governance, and sustainable fisheries management, reducing illegal fishing activities, developing a sustainable aquaculture industry and improving value addition.
Meanwhile, Professor Paul Nelson Buah, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of UCC, who was also present at the project launching ceremony, stressed that to further advance the goals of the project, the UCC recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University Of Rhode Island to collaborate in areas bordering on fisheries and coastal management.
The launching ceremony was also attended by Peter Trenchard, the Director of Economic Growth at the USAID Office in Ghana, who asked students to conduct research that would reverse the decline of the fish stocks and marine resources, and develop pragmatic programmes that would enhance coastal management.
The occasion was used to inaugurate an ultra-modern Fisheries and Coastal Research Laboratory at the UCC.
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