Editorial: MoFAD must publish register of fishing vessels for greater transparency!

Government is being urged to fully implement principles of the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency, particularly on vessel information in the country’s marine space.

The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), an environmental and fisheries governance civil society organisation, believes it is imperative for authorities like our own Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MoFAD) to publish the register of fishing vessels on the ministry’s website and submit this information for inclusion in the FAO Global Record of Fishing Vessels.

Equally, EJF says it is important for updated data on fisheries-related infringements and sanctions to be published and made publicly available at least once per year. It should include the date of infraction; name, IMO number and owner of the vessel; nature of the offence; and the settlement procedure and sanction applied.

However, authorities must ensure that vessels controlled by foreign entities are not eligible for registration under the Ghanaian flag and instead required to operate in the framework of robust and transparent access arrangements, in line with all Charter principles.

The recently adopted Fisheries and Aquaculture Act has set out the legal basis and requirements for routine publication of key information including lists of licences and details of out-of-court settlements reached for fisheries offences, as well as provisions for mandatory automatic identification system (AIS).

While the existing Fisheries Regulations remain in force, EJF identifies gaps which include details of the fish product traceability system and consistent application of the legal framework.

The organisation underscores that swift and robust implementation of the Act will be fundamental to achieving greater transparency. At the 2025 Our Oceans Conference, MoFAD endorsed the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency – committing strongly to beneficial ownership transparency at the United Nations Ocean Conference in June last year.

The Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency is a set of 10 policy principles designed to be adopted by governments globally, in law and in practice. These principles address lack of transparency in three critical areas: vessel information, fishing activity and governance and management.

Illegal fishing and overfishing threaten to collapse Ghana’s fish populations, directly undermine the most basic human rights of coastal communities and may be costing the country millions of dollars every year in unpaid fisheries fines from foreign trawlers.

Transparency is a critical tool for combatting IUU fishing.

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