This, he believes, would reduce the country’s overreliance on co-ownership of businesses with foreigners.

He explained that vessels owned and managed solely by Ghanaians would improve the control and management of fisheries resources in a way that would benefit Ghanaians.

Mr. Anim was speaking at a media training workshop organized for media professionals from the West African sub-region as part of the Fisheries Governance Improvement Project in Accra on Wednesday, June 22, 2022.

The Improved Fisheries Governance (IFG) Project is implemented by Hen Mpoano, Friends of the Nation (FoN), Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), TM Tracking (TMT), Fisheries for Committee for Western and Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC). The IFG project implemented in Ghana and the wider sub-region is funded by Ocean 5 and Oak Foundation.

The three-year project aims to strengthen government and industry commitment to improving fisheries governance in the key policy areas of improving transparency, law enforcement, collaborative management and capacities of key stakeholders in Ghana and the West Africa region.

The research aimed to highlight the challenges that Ghanaian crew members of fishing vessels face in their work.

Train Ghanaians

The Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture expressed concern at the current situation where many trawlers, although co-owned by Ghanaians and foreigners, see their operations monopolized by foreigners often neglecting the interests of Ghana, claiming that this must change.

Mr. Annim further instructed the Maritime University of Ghana to train more Ghanaians in the technical areas of vessel operation so that Ghanaian nationals can take over the trawling business when foreign nationals leave for their country.

For him, Ghanaians by birth had an inherent right to licenses to operate in the trawling sector and should take advantage of the many opportunities in the region to maximize earnings.

He said the country’s fisheries resources have great potential to alleviate poverty, create jobs and also improve food security, hence the need for Ghanaian nationals to take advantage of the sector.

The media

The media training was organized by Hen Mpoano, a fisheries non-governmental organization with the support of the West Central Gulf of Guinea Fisheries Committee (FCWC) to equip participants with relevant information on fisheries governance in the West African sub-region. -Region.

The FCWC was established in 2007 to promote and facilitate cooperation in fisheries management among FCWC member countries—Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Liberia, Benin and Côte d’Ivoire.

The workshop brought together media professionals from Ghana, Benin, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire.

Purpose of the training

Addressing the essence of the workshop, the Executive Director of Hen Mpoano, Mr. Kofi Agbogah, said that fisheries issues in the West African sub-region had been pushed into the background and it was the media that had the ability to break the silence.

He said the media had a responsibility to demand good practices in fisheries governance, management and transparency from duty bearers and industry players.

For him, the workshop was organized with the aim of bringing media professionals from the West African sub-region to better understand the fisheries sector in the region.

Help fight IUU fishing

The FCWC Secretary General, Mr. Seraphin Dedi Nadje, has tasked media professionals from FCWC countries to help fight against IUU fishing, as this practice has a disastrous impact on the region’s fisheries resources.

He said the fishing sector in the region faces many IUU practices and needs the collaboration of the media and other state actors to be able to deal with the threat.