Ghana is on the brink of losing US$1billion annual revenue from the market of the European Union (EU) if it does not strengthen its existing laws regulating the fishing industry.
It has up to December 31, 2014, to address the anomaly and show its commitment to producing quality and wholesome fish for consumption.
The corrective actions include; (i) enhancing fisheries legislative framework; (ii) adoption of a National Plan of Action against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing;
(iii) adoption of a system of dissuasive sanctions; (iv) adoption of a fisheries management plan; and (v) improving weaknesses in the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance system.
The country has since November 2013 been shown a yellow card by the European Commission (EC) after the body expressed concerns about increased incidents of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing by Ghanaian flagged fishing vessels.
The yellow card was pursuant to the Council Regulation No 1005/2008 establishing a Community system to prevent IUU fishing. The card represents a warning to the affected country to take corrective actions to avoid progressing to the red card zone.
Because of the yellow card, export of fish products from Ghana go through rigid and unnecessary scrutiny which ends up affecting the shelf-life and price of the products.
Due to the seriousness and urgency of the matter, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Sherry Ayittey, on November 5, 2014, moved the Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2014.
The bill was subsequently referred to the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs for consideration and report to the House after it had been read the First time.
Chairman of the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs and MP for Shama, Gabriel Kodwo Essilfie, presenting the report of the committee on the floor of the House yesterday noted that due to the duty free and unlimited quota provided for, under the Cotonou Agreement (June 2000), the country exports more than 90% of her fish to the EU market.
He said placing a ban Ghana would mean that about US$1billion annual revenue from the country�s fishing trade relations with the EU would be lost.
According to him, the fishing industry contributes about 4.5% of the country�s GDP accounts for about 60% of animal protein consumed in the country and provides employment to about 10% of the population.
He said the relevance of the bill was, therefore, not limited to meeting international obligations but also making Ghana�s fishing industry more vibrant and sustainable.
�Given the socio-economic importance of the fisheries industry to Ghana, in particular, food and nutrition security, employment generation and export earning, the Committee is of the view that failure to remove the EU �yellow card� before the deadline will have untold economic and social impact on Ghana�, he argued.
He, however, recommended to the House to take the Fisheries (Amendment) Bill, 2014, through all the stages in one day in accordance with Order 119 of the Standing Orders of the House due to the urgency of the matter.
After thorough deliberations on the proposed amendment to several clauses, the bill was subsequently passed into a law.
This means the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development would now have more powers to deal with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing practices in the country.
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