Over $3b worth of fish harvested, mostly illegally from West African waters
It is estimated that over $3 billion worth of fish is harvested each year in West Africa, however two-thirds of that is lost to Illegal Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing.
The ECOWAS Coastal and Marine Resource Management Centre of the University of Ghana, on Sunday, therefore, reminded government on the need to protect the country’s water bodies against over-exploitation and ensure that future generations inherit a well-managed resource.
A statement issued and signed by Dr George Wiafe, Executive Director of the Centre to commemorate World Oceans Day on June 8, 2015 said the current rate of exploitation if not checked would deplete the coastal waters of the West-Africa sub region of fishes.
World Oceans Day is celebrated to remind the world that oceans are part of everyday life while drawing attention to the impact of the human actions on the Ocean as well as support a plan to develop a worldwide movement of citizen, towards the Ocean.
Ghana joins the rest of the world to celebrate this year’s Oceans Day on the theme: “Healthy Oceans, Healthy Planet”
The statement said over $3 billion worth of fish is harvested each year in West Africa, however two-thirds of that is lost to Illegal Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing, the centre therefore called on governments within the sub-region not to limit vessel monitoring to industrial fleet alone but include the smaller fishing fleet in order to ensure effective management of the resource
It said the ECOWAS Commission has established a Centre at the University of Ghana which also does Monitoring for Environment and Security in Africa to provide fisheries managers and decision makers in the region with satellite-derived products and services to enable them manage the oceans more effectively
The statement said the Centre’s information to fishers will contribute immensely to a healthier ocean and an environmentally sound planet
Dr. Wiafe expressed confident that prudent management against IUU fishing and effective monitoring of vessel fleet will reverse the decline in fishery resources and enable sustainable exploitation.
By Hannah Awadzi