By Lydia Kukua Asamoah, GNA
Okyereko (C/R), Nov. 18, GNA - The Ghanaian is Africa’s number one fish consumer, according to Professor Denis Aheto, Director of Centre for Coastal Management, University of Cape Coast (CCM-UCC).
Nearly 30,000 kilogrammes of fish is eaten by the average Ghanaian in a year while three million Ghanaians, about 10 per cent of the population, are employed in the sector.
Prof Aheto was speaking at a training programme for journalists on fisheries management organised by the CCM-UCC in partnership with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture at Gomoa Okyereko, near Winneba in the Central Region.
According to him, fish was a cheap source of protein for many Ghanaians, adding that the country is “the sixth most fish consuming country in the world.”
He therefore reiterated the need to continue collaborative efforts at managing Ghana’s fisheries resources based on scientific evidence for sustainability.
He said Ghana’s coast was threatened by climate change and other human induced factors and so efforts were needed at protecting it.
There was also the need to tighten up the critical role the coast or marine plays in poverty reduction, providing livelihoods and income for fisher folks and supplementing protein need of families, according to him.
The Fisheries Scientist at the Centre for Coastal Management, University of Cape Coast (CCM-UCC), explained that currently, the fisheries resources were also being impacted by temperature, plastic waste, and oil production.
The Sustainable Development Goal 14 target Life Below Water, and it espouses the goal of conserving and sustainably use of the world’s oceans, seas and marine resources, he said.
Prof Aheto explained that the CCM-UCC in 2015 decided to partner the USAID to implement a five-year project aimed at helping manage the sector.
Under the project, a number of programmes and activities had been rolled out including, extensive researches in the sector as well as the training of more fisheries scientists and professionals in higher research degrees and other certificate programmes which would conduct extensive research and advise on effective management of the sector.
Professor Dora Francisca Edu-Buandoh, Pro-Vice Chancellor, UCC, said the location of the University along the coast made it mandatory for it to help in efforts at sustaining coastal livelihoods, especially, marine fishery.
She said the current state of the fisheries’ sector demanded concerted efforts at developing it so it could continue to play its food and nutritional security role in “our part of the world”.
Dr George Dapaah, a Senior lecturer, Centre for Coastal Management, University of Cape Coast, expressed regret that in spite of the many efforts being put in place to revamp the fisheries sector, there were still the issues of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing leading to a global loss of two billion dollars annually.
He emphasized the need for countries to pay attention to aquaculture development since it had a lot of potential, adding that in the whole of Africa, aquaculture contributed just one per cent to the fisheries’ sector.
He reiterated the call for Ghana to cut off the premix subsidy for fisher folks and rather use the funding to develop the landing beaches and the 330 fishing communities in the country.
“Elsewhere, the most beautiful places are along the coast but in Ghana, many of our coastal communities leave much to be desired,” he said.
He hinted that much of Ghana’s coastline was eroding and called for efforts to protect it.
GNA
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