10 entities seek clarity on alleged request for permit by 2 industrial trawlers
Ten stakeholder organisations in fisheries have called on the Minister of Fisheries and AquacultureDevelopment, Mavis HawaKoomson, to clarify on the alleged potential authorisation of two industrial trawlers in the country.
Their concern follows the circulation of a letter purportedly detailing a request by Duma Farms and Fisheries Ltd that the vessels Shun Feng 906 and Shun Feng 907 were granted licences pending approval by the Fisheries Minister and the GhanaMaritime Authority (GMA).
This was contained in an open letter to the minister by the organisations and copied to the Ghanaian Times in Accra on Tuesday.
These organisations include the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), CERATH Development Organisation, Friends of the Nation (FoN), DAA Fisheries Training Centre and the National Union of Seamen, Ports and Allied Workers (NUSPAW).
Others are KASA Initiative Ghana, Hen Mpoano (HM), Development Action Association (DAA), Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG) and CEWEFIA.
These organisations said they were gravely concerned at the prospect of additional capacity being added to the trawl sector,given that populations of several vital species in the country’s waters were already on the brink of collapse.
“These include small pelagic such as sardinella and chub mackerel, which are the life blood of coastal communities across the country – providing vital food and livelihood security to millions nationwide,” they added.
The stakeholders noted that the worsening ecological and humanitarian crises across Ghana’s coastline were inextricably linked to the presence of poorly regulated foreign industrial trawlers, who have frequently been recorded capturing non-target species, making incursions into fishing zones reserved for canoes and using illegal gears to reduce the selectivity of catch.
For that reason, they indicated that granting two additional licences would be in direct contradiction to the approved draft of the Marine FisheriesManagement Plan 2022-2026 (MFMP), in which a three-year moratorium on new-entrants to the trawl sector had been proposed in recognition of the overfishing crisis that currently characterises fishery.
“A breach of the proposed moratorium would strike a considerable blow to the trust that is so vital in the design and implementation of effective fisheries governance,” they added.
The stakeholders urged the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, if she has not done so already, to undertake a thorough due diligence process – on issues of ownership, flagging behaviours and previous licence acquisitions.
“It is our belief that the nationality of the beneficial owners may fall outside of Ghana, which would constitute a breach of Section 47(1) of the Ghanaian Fisheries Act, 2002,” they added.
They implored the minister to abide by pledges made in the MFMP to prevent the continued exploitation of Ghana’s precious natural resources, in order to show the ministry’s determination in the fight to protect marine ecosystems and the coastal communities who rely so heavily on them.
BY TIMES REPORTER
