By Hafsa Obeng
Accra, July 27, GNA – The Ghana Aquaculture Association (GNAA) in collaboration with the CSIR Food Research Institute has organised the 2024 tilapia and catfish festival with the call on practitioners to ensure that their practices do not compromise the health of the ecosystem.
Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, in a speech read on her behalf, said the collective effort of industry players in advancing sustainable aquaculture practices were vital for the well-being of the environment, communities, economies and future generation.
She said aquaculture had become an indispensable part of efforts to enhance food security, generate employment, and boost the national economic development.
Mrs Koomson also said it contributed significantly to global and national efforts towards achieving food and nutrition security and the Sustainable Development Goals.
She said the festival would provide a platform to celebrate not only the rich aquatic resources of Ghana, but also the remarkable strides made in developing the aquaculture subsector, and provide an opportunity for regulators, industry, investors and consumers to interact and address emerging issues confronting aquaculture development.
“In Ghana, aquaculture presents a viable alternative with significant potential to increase fish production to meet national fish demand, create additional job opportunities along the value chain, sustain national food security, and reduce fish imports in the face of depleting capture fish stocks.”
Mrs Koomson said aquaculture production had shown significant improvement in recent years, recording the highest production figure of 132,652.39mt in 2022.
She said the Ministry’s initiative over the years had focused on creating a favourable environment for fisheries and aquaculture to thrive.
“Regulatory reforms are being undertaken to enhance industry standards and promote sustainable aquaculture practices.”
She noted that the festival aligned perfectly with the vision to promote the development of the aquaculture industry and provided the opportunity for all to witness a variety of activities that highlighted the vibrancy of the industry.
Prof. Charles Tortoe, Director CSIR-FRI, said aquaculture was one of the major contributors to offer sustainable food security in the country.
“It is a vital source of protein in the world at large, and for Ghana, in most communities where there is sustainability of fish, our protein needs are addressed. Therefore, a focus on catfish and tilapia is in order.”
Prof. Tortoe said the challenges of the industry included land allocation, financial resources to invest in the farms and value addition processes, and registering of value-added fish products.
He called for a concerted effort to address these challenges.
“We need the farmers who will concentrate on production, the processors who will add value so we can access local and international market, the policy makers who will make the environment conducive with policies, the financiers to invest in our facilities, and the researchers to contribute their research findings and technology for the growth of aquaculture.”
Mr Francis Deheer, National Organiser, GNAA, said the festival was to draw attention to the fish farming industry and promote the patronage of tilapia and cat fish among Ghanaians.
“There is a whole range of delicacies that can be enjoyed from tilapia and catfish, including sausages, fish crackers, fish powders which are all nutritious and can be used to address the imbalance or gab in the demand and supply of fish in Ghana.”
GNA