The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) participated in the launch of a new report, Taking Stock: Transparency Assessment Conducted on Ghana’s Fisheries Sector, on 26 April 2023, at the AH Hotel in Accra, Ghana.

The report was produced through a collaboration between the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI) and the Centre for Maritime Law and Security Africa (CEMLAWS Africa), financed by Bloomberg Philanthropies Ocean Initiative. It assesses the availability of Ghana’s online fisheries management information on the websites of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD) and Fisheries Commission (FC), analyzing the level of information that national authorities in Ghana publish regarding the country’s marine fisheries sector.

Key findings of the report are, that although Ghana is not data deficient, most of the information is not publicly accessible, and its quality can often be improved. Out of 39 transparency elements used in the assessment, 5 were not applicable to Ghana, 20 had no information published, and 9 had published information – with varying quality. The 9 elements spanned thematic areas including fisheries laws, regulations and official policy documents; fisheries tenure arrangements; large-scale fisheries; fisheries law enforcement; fisheries subsidies; official development assistance; and beneficial ownership.

The report’s recommendations to the national authorities of Ghana are to make currently unpublished information publicly available; to address information gaps; to provide a centralized portal for fisheries information; and to produce a comprehensive annual report on the management of the fisheries sector. Attendees at the launch event included representatives of Ghana’s Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs, Ghana’s Fisheries Commission, Ghana Navy, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), Ghana Maritime Police, Ghana Fisheries Recovery Activity (GFRA), and the University of St. Andrews.