The meeting was to present to stakeholders the results of the survey organised in the EEZ of Ghana by the EAF Nansen program. Held on 7th July 2016 in Accra, the meeting was attended by various stakeholders in the industry.
The main objective of the survey was to map the distribution and estimate the abundance of the main pelagic and demersal species /groups on the shelf of Ghana and also provide information on zooplankton samples for distribution and abundance estimation in addition to mapping the general hydrographic regime of the Ghanaian waters.
The essence of this meeting was to provide information for an effective management of the fisheries resources and also to assist Ghana in the successful implementation of its Fisheries Management Plan.
Summary of Main Results
Pelagic Fish
Anchovy and Sardinella
The result of the survey yielded 26,000t of fish which was half the result obtained (57,000t) in previous surveys organised in 1999, 2005 and 2006.
Carangids (Horse mackerel)
The survey revealed that there was a very high quantity (107,000t) against 44,000t as result obtained in the surveys organised in 1999, 2005 and 2006.
For the pelagic stocks, it was recommended that there was the need for time series data to be obtained on them and also for more survey to be done to draw conclusion. In addition to this, since they are transboundary stocks, there is also the need for survey to be conducted on them at the regional level for any meaningful conclusion to be drawn so as to obtain concrete information on the stock level for management decision making.
Demersal Fish
The results of the survey were more or less equal to those of the survey in 2007. It goes to show that the results for the demersal fish stocks in Ghana was more reliable since it shows consistency with time series data. The team therefore encouraged management to keep current regulations when the fisheries resources are stable.
