By Elsie Appiah-Osei
Accra, Nov. 21, GNA- Dr Godfred Seidu Jasaw, the Chairman of the Committee of Food, Agriculture, and Cocoa Affairs in Parliament, has emphasised the need for a reset in Ghana’s fisheries sector.
He highlighted the decline in fish stocks, degraded marine ecosystems, and economic vulnerability among artisanal fishers and fishmongers.
“Mr Speaker, the fisheries sector is at a crossroads. If we do not act decisively, we risk not only the collapse of a vital industry but the erosion of a way of life,” he said on Friday on the Floor of Parliament.
Dr Jasaw, also the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Wa East, made the remarks when he read a statement commemorating World Fisheries Day 2025.
He stressed the importance of recognising traditional leaders and fishmongers as co-architects of sustainability, and called for the codification of their roles in fisheries legislation.
“Mr Speaker, chief fishermen are not relics of the past but vanguards of the future,” Dr Jasaw said, urging the government to restore and retool their role in fisheries management.
The MP also highlighted the need to empower fishmongers, predominantly women, who faced limited access to financing, credit, and markets adding that, “to reset fisheries, we must elevate fishmongers from the margins to the mainstream,”
Dr Jasaw further called for the establishment of cooperatives and revolving funds tailored to their needs.
He also urged the government to implement bold policy shifts and institutional reforms, including the operationalization of the new fisheries law, ACT 1146, which emphasized aquaculture to supplement reducing stocks from the oceans.
“Mr Speaker, we should lead by example by honouring our traditional leaders not just in ceremony, but in strategy and in action,” Dr Jasaw said and called for a multi-sectoral approach to transform the fisheries sector.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah