The Fisheries Commission fears an imminent European Commission ban on the exportation of Ghana’s fish again, if the fisheries laws are not enforced to the letter.
About eight months ago, the Commission, which is the executive of the European Union and promotes its general interest, lifted an export ban on Ghana, citing significant reforms in Ghana’s fisheries governance.
But recent illegal activities are getting the Commission worried again. The Director in-charge of the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Division at the Commission, Godfrey Baidoo Tsibu says some politicians prevent them from enforcing the laws by sometimes, freeing offenders.
“We need a lot of support because these things they consume a lot of fuel… Sometimes we arrest them. We are meeting with net importers but they are not the only solution. We need to communicate, we need to sensitize so that they know that this is something that we need to do otherwise we can be blacklisted.”
European Commission warned that any incident of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by a Ghana-flagged vessel will result in a total ban on fish products exported from Ghana to EU markets.
Consequently, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) threatened to sanction any local vessel found to be engaged in IUU fishing. The EU issued the warning in May this year (2016).
