Stakeholders in the fisheries sector have called for marine police to be stationed in all coastal communities to help curb the illegalities at sea.

The stakeholders said the issues of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) practices still persist and are impacting the ocean resources negatively, which is why there must be a significant increase in the number of marine police in all coastal communities to safeguard the ocean and its fishery resources.

They also expressed worry that unbridled illegal mining activities were beginning to impact breeding spaces of aquatic life such as estuaries and called for more sustainable efforts towards the fight against illegal mining.

The stakeholders further called for logistical support for law enforcement agencies to ensure that all illegalities negatively impacting the marine resources were curtailed.

They also called for intensive efforts and renewed commitment from all stakeholders towards combating illegal, unreported and unregulated activities at sea to ensure the sustainable management of the fishery stocks.

These were part of measures put together in a road map that would guide the implementation of effective measures against illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries practices in the coastal communities.

The interface meeting of stakeholders in the fisheries sector in the Central Region last Tuesday brought together chiefs, district assembly officials, chief fishermen, fishermen and fish processors, media and officials of the Fisheries Commission, to help strengthen collaboration between regulatory bodies and local structures in fishery governance.

The meeting was organised by the Central and Western Fishmongers Improvement Association (CEWEFIA), the Environmental Justice Foundation and Hen Mpoano, with funding from the Norwegian government under its Sustainable Oceans Project.

Galvanise efforts

Among the measures, they called on all stakeholders to galvanise efforts towards effective enforcement of laws on illegalities that harm the ocean resources and impact negatively on the fishery stocks.

The stakeholders particularly expressed worry that selective justice continued to be a bane on the fight against IUU and called for the enforcement of all laws without fear or favour.

They further called for a dedicated source of funding for fisheries governance and a subcommittee exclusively on fisheries, to work with the landing beach committees to ensure the implementation of fisheries regulations and laws at the local level.

The Chief Fisherman for Moree, Ofarnyi Kweigya VII, urged stakeholders to be united in confronting perpetrators of IUU.

Stocks critically low

The Central Regional Director of the Fisheries Commission, Nettesheim Kwame Damoah, said illegalities had impacted the fishery stocks so much that they were at critically disturbing levels.

He indicated that canoes in the region continued to increase, with 4,661 canoes now in the region operating at 48 landing beaches, leading to overfishing, and this, coupled with illegalities, had led to some species being extinct.

He further stated that the estuaries, which remained safe havens and breeding grounds for marine stocks, were also being polluted due to the activities of illegal miners.

He urged all stakeholders, especially fishermen and fish processors, to adopt responsible fishing practices to help replenish the ocean and ensure Ghanaians had safe fish to consume.

A Programme Officer with CEWEFIA, Nicholas Smith, who read a speech on behalf of the Executive Director, Victoria Churchill Koomson, called for relentless efforts to sustain the ocean’s fishery resources for present and future generations.

A Monitoring and Evaluation Manager with CEWEFIA, Michael Takyi, urged the stakeholders to seek to be part of the solutions to replenish the fishery stocks.

Panellists at a discussion later re-emphasised collaboration to build a strong front to fight the IUU menace.