The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye, has assured the National Fish Processors and Traders Association (NAFPTA) that they will soon receive their long-awaited soft loans.
The loan, which is being funded through the West African Regional Fisheries Project (WARFP), under the World Bank, is expected to help to boost the businesses of NAFPTA.
Mrs Quaye also announced that apart from the loan support, her ministry would procure more equipment including insulated containers and that type of oven that would remove unwanted chemicals from the fish during processing to ensure quality fish that met the standard of the export market to help them generate foreign exchange and reduce post-harvest losses.
She was speaking at a stakeholders meeting with NAFPTA to interact with and educate them on the do’s and don’ts of fisheries as well as teach them how to do sustainable fisheries.
The minister appealed to members of NAFPTA to help them put an end to illegal fishing by educating the fishermen to desist from such acts that posed danger to the human body and to reject fishes illegally caught.
She warned that anyone arrested for engaging in illegal fishing would face the full rigours of the law.
For their part, members expressed gratitude for the ministry’s initiative to educate them and engage them in addressing the challenges in their trade.
They pledged their commitment to providing the nutritional needs of the country.
