Fish farmer calls for importation ban on fish to cushion local fisherfolk

Mrs Lydia Gyebi Asare, Eastern Regional best Fish Farmer and Chief Executive Officer of YaaMansah Farms, has appealed to the government to ban importation of fish.

She said the importation of large metric tons of fish was throwing many fish farmers out of business, especially catfish farmers, in the system.

Speaking in an interview with the GNA, she said Fish farmers spent huge sums of money on purchasing feed, other logistics and salary for employees, leading to losses due to the impact of importation on the prices.

She indicated that formerly, a kilogramme of catfish was sold for GH¢20 but currently, the same unit was being sold for GH¢18.

To address the issue of excess fish produced and keep fish farmers in business, she proposed to the government to set up fish processing industries, where fish produced locally could be processed for both consumption and exportation.

Mr Francis Barnes, Eastern Regional Director of Fisheries Commission said Ghana imported 165,829.34 metric tons of fish and exported 105,927.48 metric tons of fish last year representing 36 per cent less than the importation of fish.

However, in 2021, Mr Barnes noted that 273,382.32 metric tons of fish were imported into the country while 121,285.87 metric tons of fish were exported translating to 55 percent less than importation.

He said the percentages indicated a reduction in the importation of fish and urged fish farmers not to be discouraged as fish farming had brilliant potential.