He said people who infringed on the laws should be prosecuted to serve as a deterrent to others, adding that their trial must not be interfered with by politicians.

Prof. Nyarko, who is the Head of the Department of Geography and Regional Planning at the University of Cape Coast, said the Navy, the Police and the courts should be well equipped to put into effect the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 2014 (Act 880), and the Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (LI 2217).

He was addressing journalists at a workshop on ocean governance in Accra yesterday.

The workshop was organised by Maritime Law and Security-Africa, in collaboration with the Department of Geography and Regional Planning of the University of Cape Coast, under an Ocean One Hub project.

It was attended by representatives of maritime law enforcement agencies in the country and some CSOs.

Prof. Nyarko attributed the decline in fish stock in the country, especially pelagics, to unsustainable fishing practices, including illegal fishing.

He said that the One Ocean Hub project was a collaborative research for development, funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) that puts research at the heart of efforts to tackle the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

He said the hub was led by the University of Strathclyde (Glasgow, UK), with partners in South Africa, Namibia and Ghana.

Prof. Nyarko said the hub brought together partners from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the University of Education, Winneba, the Fisheries Commission, the Ministry of Justice and Office of the Attorney-General, including some CSOs to promote fair and inclusive decision-making for a healthy ocean in the country.

He said that it was aimed at developing strategies to restore small pelagic stock to support sustainable artisanal fishing.

Prof. Nyarko said the project was also focused on legal reforms and enhancement of compliance to protect human rights and also consider alternative livelihoods to reduce the coastal communities’ dependence on the sea.

He said a web-based geo meta database system where the sources of data could be found would also be implemented.

Law of the sea 

The Executive Director of the Centre for Maritime, Law and Security-Africa, Dr Kamal-Deen Ali, also said that the workshop would build and strengthen the capacity of institutions to contribute to ocean governance.

Taking the participants through the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, he said it was a body of customs, treaties and international agreements where governments maintained order and peaceful relations on the sea.