Minister meets Chinese fishing investors

Accra, Nov. 25, GNA - The Ministry of Fisheries has started negotiations with Chinese fishing investors for possible collaboration, expansion and development of Ghana's fishery industry through fish farming.

Consequently, the Sector Minister, Mrs Gladys Asmah on Friday met with a delegation led by the President of China National Fisheries Corporation, Mr Liu Shenli, who owns 600 vessels in China, to foster necessary cooperation and concretise programmes to lift the industry. Briefing the Ghana News Agency after the meeting with the 10-member delegation led by the Chinese Ambassador, Mr Zhang Kenyuan, Mrs Asmah said the desire to develop the industry with Chinese collaboration was because China had a high rate of fish production and one of the most experienced in the industry.

"With so much water in Ghana - rivers, mangroves and lakes - I feel so disappointed that we cannot put in fish so that we can have much fish to eat and export the rest," Mrs Asmah said. She called for Chinese assistance to help to train Ghanaian technical advisers in fish farming who would in turn train fishermen particularly, in the right ways of handling fingerlings. Mr Shenli, who is already partnering with a Ghanaian firm, Legon Fishing Company, in building a fish processing plant at Elmina in the Central Region, expressed interest in investing in fingerlings production and storage facilities.

He said the team was in the country to study the climate and later do feasibility studies on where to actually invest in the industry. At the end of the meeting, a six-member team, three each from the Ministry and the Chinese delegation, was put together to discuss actions on immediate possible actions to help the fishing industry.