Minister calls for global cooperation to protect fisheries
The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Emelia Kobiaba Arthur, has called for urgent international cooperation to protect fisheries from growing threats and to secure their role as a vital foundation for peace, livelihoods and global food security.
Speaking at a conference hosted by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) under the theme “Fisheries and Stability: A Global Issue?”, the Minister warned that fisheries, long considered a lifeline for millions, are increasingly under siege from illegal exploitation, overfishing, pollution and climate change.
“Fisheries are a lifeline. They feed the world, employ millions and anchor cultures and communities. In Ghana alone, nearly three million people depend directly on fisheries for their livelihood,” she said.
The Minister expressed appreciation to the Serene Maritime Academy, the French Embassy in Accra and other partners for their support, stressing that their cooperation was a reminder that “when nations and peoples come together in solidarity, we can confront even the most pressing global challenges.”
Quoting the FAO’s 2024 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture Report, the Minister revealed that 35 per cent of fish stocks are now overfished, up from just 10 per cent in 1974, with West Africa at the frontline of the crisis.
The region, she said, is being stripped of over USD2.3 billion annually due to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.
“When fisheries collapse, communities fracture. Young people are driven into desperation and instability festers,” she warned.
The Minist further cautioned that mounting ecological stress, including rising sea temperatures, floods and coastal erosion, is rapidly evolving into social and political instability.
“Fishing vessels that once carried food,” she added: “are increasingly being turned into vehicles for transnational crimes, from smuggling to trafficking.”
The Minister outlined key steps Ghana has taken to strengthen marine governance including the passage of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, 2025 (Act 1146) to modernise governance, ensure equity and protect common resources and the extension of Ghana’s Inshore Exclusive Zone (IEZ) for artisanal fishers to 12 nautical miles; the enactment of the Fisheries Port State Measures Regulations, 2024 (L.I. 2490).
The ratification of the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies; the suspension of four industrial vessels’ licences for infractions; strengthened enforcement through the Ministry’s Fisheries Enforcement Unit, now led by a senior naval officer; ongoing improvements in electronic vessel monitoring and inter-agency coordination with the Navy and Marine Police and finally, a renewed emphasis on inclusive partnerships to ensure long-term sustainability.
“We are not just talking, we are acting. But legislation alone is not enough,” she remarked.
Emphasising that true sustainability rests on social partnerships, the Minister urged industrial fleets, artisanal fishers, processors and coastal communities to see themselves not as competitors, but as stewards of a shared resource.
