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FISHIRIES: CFCE 2019 pushes for urgent policy on co-management

Participants at the 2019 Second Conference on Fisheries and Coastal Environment in Accra have recommended the urgent adoption of Co-management practices as a policy to enhance the quest to sustainable fisheries management and achieving a reversal of the fast dwindling fish stock in the sea.

Date Created : 8/22/2019 7:52:27 AM : Story Author : Dominic Shirimori/Ghanadistricts.com

The conference in its communique called on government to adopt and provide resources for a new National Co-management Strategies for fisheries and coastal areas.

The 2019 CFCE on the theme: Fisheries and Coastal Governance in Contemporary Times also recommends that community-based fisheries management plans should be developed by communities with technical assistants from the Fisheries Commission, adding, policy must have allocated budget to provide funds for co-management implementations.

Stakeholders at the conference who had the benefit of experiencing the success story of co-management praised the USAID/Sustainable Fisheries Management Programme (SFMP) for exposing them to such laudable initiative, and added that, the results have been tremendous particularly in managing natural resources that play significant role in boosting the fishing sector such as the mangrove restoration programme.

They however expressed fear of retrogression if government does not step in to sustain the gains made so far as USAID/SFMP are scheduled to leave early next year.

They are also convinced that by co-management practices, the issues of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices would be curtailed especially when it is rolled out as a policy and implement nationwide.

The call for the adoption of the co-management practices as a policy is only one of twelve recommendations that CFCE 2019wants government to implement to improve the sector.

The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Elizabeth Afoley Quaye assured that because it is their mandate to sanitize the fishing industry, they will support any laudable initiative like the co-management practices.

However, she believes the various beaches or communities should take that lead role in instituting the co-management practices to bring their people to check on illegal fishing practices that the ministry has been working to address.