The maritime ecosystems around the globe are dogged with such problems as piracy, armed robbery, kidnapping of seafarers, illegal fishing, smuggling and trafficking, and transnational organised crime.
It is said that these problems have become a major threat to maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea, where Ghana belongs, and ultimately to the economic development of the entire region.
At the opening of a two-day Maritime Security Conference held at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) in Accra yesterday, a speech on illegal fishing under the broad topic Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing was delivered.
Simply put, IUU concerns all aspects and stages of the capture and utilisation of fish, which is done through organised crime.
Unfortunately, some of these illegal activities come to light but are not reported neither are they regulated.
According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), IUU fishing undermines national and regional efforts to conserve and manage fish stocks and, as a consequence, inhibits progress towards achieving the goals of long-term sustainability and responsibility.
Besides, the menace greatly disadvantages and discriminates against those fishers that act responsibly, honestly and in accordance with the terms of their fishing authorisations.
The FAO adds that if IUU fishers target vulnerable stocks that are subject to strict management controls or moratoria, efforts to rebuild those stocks to healthy levels will not be achieved, thereby threatening marine biodiversity, food security for communities who rely on fisheries resources for protein; and the livelihoods of those involved in the fish value chain.
The points raised in the speech delivered at the opening of the maritime security conference at the KAIPTC echoes the FAO concerns but made country-specific
IUU fishers target vulnerable stocks that are subject to strict management controls or moratoria, efforts to rebuild those stocks to healthy levels will not be achieved, thereby threatening marine biodiversity, food security for communities who rely on fisheries resources for protein; and the livelihoods of those involved in the fish value chain.
The points raised in the speech delivered at the opening of the maritime security conference at the KAIPTC echoes the FAO concerns but made country-specific.
In this country, due to lack of appreciable levels of educational and professional attainments, people depend heavily on what their immediate environments can provide them for a living.
Today, illegal mining (galamsey) and unregulated small-scale mining have combined to deprive some farming communities of their livelihoods – farming and related economic activities.
It has become difficult to deal with galamsey but it should be a bit easier to control IUU fishing to stop it from being another national nightmare.
The country’s territorial waters should be strictly policed by the Ghana Navy and the Marine Unit of the Ghana Police Service and offenders prosecuted and severely punished.
This is important because of the ills of IUU fishing, particularly its devastating impacts on the livelihoods of coastal communities, including women and the youth.
Experts are entertaining the fear that unemployment and desperation among fishermen and other people in the value chain may push them to a life of crime, particularly in the context of the current global economic challenges.
This must be avoided.
Another thing the country should do is to organise its West African neighbours, if such an arrangement is not in place already, to stop the annual loss of over $2 billion to illegal fishing in the sub-region.
That amount, if gained annually, can enhance development in these countries.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
