Ghana’s fishing industry faces imminent collapse - Report

There are fears that Ghana’s fishing industry could face imminent collapse if the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and the Fisheries Commission fail to come up with a clear policy to deal with the reported dwindling of fish catch.

This could have consequential losses in livelihoods of fishing families in coastal communities in the Western Region, in the light of the emerging oil and gas industry.

These were contained in a report on the extent to which transparency, accountability and equity exist in the use of public resources in some selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

The report, which was titled: “Our Money, Our Share, Our Say: The Extractive Industry in Perspective Report” was put together by SEND-GHANA and its partners in Tarkwa Municipal, Jomoro and Tolon-Kumbugu District Assemblies.

The study restricted itself to the use of internally generated fund, with special emphasis on royalties that are generated from minerals exploitation, including oil and gas.

The study recommends efficient investment in smallholder agriculture and direct support for alternative livelihood ventures, to improve the incomes and livelihood security of the larger proportion of the population engaged in agricultural production, including fishing.

The report urged the government to establish structures and processes for the optimum use of available resources so that livelihood strategies could be well developed in order to produce outcomes that benefits citizens and take them out of poverty.

“Fishmongers and fishermen among others in the fish value chain in the Jomoro District for instance need livelihood assets including capacity building, physical assets and strong social networks.

“To improve citizens’ demand for accountability and transparency in natural resource rich communities, it is recommended that national level Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) and other organisations working in natural resource extraction communities improve their visibility in the communities and work to improve the capacity of local citizens groups to be part of the advocacy processes”.

The report further identified the unimpeded participation of citizens in the processes of planning for development, public budgeting and financial management, as essential for promoting transparency and accountability in the use of local government revenue.

This it noted, will help in ensuring public resources are distributed equitably to ensure that interests and needs of the poor and marginalized groups in society, are adequately addressed.