the recommended 40kg by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
This is a devastating development as Ghana is on the verge of losing its fish stock to China, a Natural Resources Economist, Prof. Wisdom Akpalu has warned.
Prof. Akpalu who is also the President of the African Association of Environmental and Natural Resource Economists has said on Accra based radio station that, “When we have foreign vessels fishing in our waters, they don’t care about the sustainability of the resource. Every renewable resource is supposed to be extracted in a way that, the rate at which the resource is extracted does not exceed the rate at which the resource is replenished. It is in the interest of these foreigners to extract as much as possible which will lead to a decline in the stock. In addition to this, they engage in illegal activities such as landing species and [other aquatic life] that they are not supposed to catch.”
However, he attributed the challenge to the interference of some corrupt political actors and regulatory bodies whose activities have crippled efforts to put an end to the menace.
“This situation is difficult to stop because when you talk to people in the industry, it emerges that there are political forces behind these vessels and the illegal acts that the foreigners engage in. So these powerful forces make it difficult for the regulatory institutions to act. “
When asked how the age-old problem could be solved, the natural resource economist called for a strict law enforcement regime to sustain the country’s fish stock and prevent what could lead to massive job losses.
“This is a serious and very worrying situation. It appears not much has been done over the years but I think it is about time some form of serious action is taken. We need to enforce the law and make things happen so that those who are behind this feel ashamed of themselves. If we lose the stock, so many people will lose their jobs,” he stressed.
Section 134 of the Fisheries ACT 2002 (ACT 625) talks about the prohibition of licensed fishing vessels to land fish outside Ghana. According to the act; (1) Unless otherwise authorized, the owner, master or operator of a fishing vessel registered in Ghana and licensed to fish in the fishery waters shall not land, tranship or discharge any fish outside Ghana, including the high seas.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than $10,000 and not more than $2 million in respect of a foreign fishing vessel or a local industrial or semi-industrial fishing vessel, or a fine exceeding 1,000 penalty units in the case of any other vessel, or three times the value of the catch, whichever is greater, and in addition the licence may be suspended or cancelled.
(3) Any person who aids and abets another person in the contravention of subsection (1) shall be deemed to have contravened that subsection.
