Establish a Working Committee to Address Ocean Governance Issues – NAFAG

The National Fisheries Association of Ghana (NAFAG) has called for the establishment of a working committee to address ocean governance issues in Ghanaian waters, such as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and other fishing practices.

The working committee should include representatives from the fishing industry, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Fisheries Commission, Parliament, US Embassy in Ghana, partners development, civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations.

Mr. Simon Agah, Chairman of NAFAG, made the call during a meeting between representatives of NAFAG, the Embassy of the United States of America in Ghana, and the leadership of the Parliamentary Committee on Food , agriculture and cocoa, aimed at establishing collaboration between stakeholders. .

Mr Agah said the need for a concerted effort to reverse current trends in ocean governance issues cannot be overstated, given the importance of the ocean according to the facts and figures provided as part of the Goal 14 of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) “Life Below Water”. .

He said unsustainable ocean governance practices do not just affect fisheries, but the whole blue economy that encompasses transport, oil and gas, tourism, among others.

He added that according to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, prior to COVID-19, ocean acidification continued to threaten marine environments and ecosystem services, noting that a 100-150% increase in ocean acidity was predicted by 2100, affecting all marine life.

Up to 40 percent of the ocean is heavily affected by pollution, depleted fisheries, loss of coastal habitats and other human activities.

“Information from SDG Goal 14 indicates that increasing levels of debris in the world’s oceans are having a major environmental and economic impact,” he said.

He added that “marine debris impacts biodiversity through the entanglement or ingestion of debris by organisms, which can kill them or prevent them from reproducing.”

The NAFAG Chairman added that as far as the world’s coral reefs are concerned, around 20% of them have actually been destroyed and show no prospect of recovery.

“About 24% of the remaining reefs are at risk of imminent collapse due to human pressures, and a further 26% are at risk of longer-term collapse,” he said.

Mr. Agah said that improper marine management leads to overfishing, indicating that the lost economic benefits of the fishing sector were estimated at around $50 billion per year.

The United Nations Environment Programme, he said, estimated the cumulative economic impact of poor ocean management practices to be at least US$200 billion a year, observing that in l Without mitigation, climate change would increase the cost of ocean damage by an additional US. $322 billion per year by 2050.

Addressing other issues, he noted that the pollution of the ocean by plastic waste and the dumping of fish caught by any vessel, which were fit for human consumption, should therefore be reduced to their lowest level. low or completely eradicated.

In particular, NAFAG recommended that there be some capacity development of its associated fisheries associations and members of the Parliamentary Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa in the short to medium term.

“NAFAG further requests that these activities include study tours to the United States of America by industry players and members of said select committee, to learn about best practices in sustainable fisheries management. .”