By Laudia Sawer
Tema, Nov. 21, GNA – The Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG) is celebrating 2023 World Fisheries Day across the four coastal regions of Ghana to look at the Ghana Fisheries Co-Management Policy.
World Fisheries Day is celebrated across the world annually on November 21 since its inception in 1997, with this year’s global theme being “Celebrating the Fisheries and Aquaculture Wealth.”
CaFGOAG is, however, celebrating the day with the sub-theme “mobilising fishers’ support for Ghana’s fisheries co-management.
Nana Kweigyah, the President of CaFGOAG, told the Ghana News Agency in Tema that fishers in the Volta Region, Greater Accra Region, Central Region, and then Western Region were being brought together to discuss how they could contribute to the successful implementation of Ghana’s fisheries co-management policy.
He said a pilot programme of monthly co-management meetings at selected communities, Abutiakope, Teshie, Apam, and Shama, would also be launched at the celebration.
He said the initiative aimed at getting fishermen to know who represented them on the co-management committees and promoted regular fishers’ interactions with the Small Pelagic Co-management Committee (SPCC) members.
He said fisheries co-management was now widely recognized as the most suitable, equitable, and effective method of governance for small-scale fisheries, indicating that the collaborative agreement and co-management guarantee that both fishers and the government agency responsible for managing fisheries share responsibility and authority.
The CaFGOAG President added that with the formation of regional SPCCs in Ghana, and the subsequent ongoing capacity development programmes for members of the co-management committees, stakeholders could envision the process as one to reverse the declining artisanal fisheries and transform Ghana’s artisanal fisheries into an engine of inclusion, sustainability, and prosperity for fishing communities.
He commended the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, the Fisheries Commission, and their partners for playing diverse roles in bringing to fruition the implementation of Ghana’s Fisheries Co-Management Policy.
Nana Kweigyah said his outfit had identified some important things that must be looked at towards a successful implementation of the policy.
These, he said, were the responsibilities of creating strong awareness among fishers of the co-management process, improving fishers’ knowledge on co-management, and mobilising and organising fishers for collective actions.
He stated that they carefully chose the theme to highlight the significance of co-management and the need for fishers to embrace and own the process.
GNA