Fisheries Transparency

Civil society in Ghana asks new Fisheries Minister to tackle illegal fishing with greater transparency

The Coalition for Fisheries Transparency (CFT), together with local environmental organizations, congratulates Hon. Emelia Arthur on her appointment as Ghana’s new Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD).

In her first week in office, Hon. Arthur presented a bold vision for sustainable growth of the fisheries and aquaculture sector. Among plans, the minister announced: accelerating efforts to lift a second “yellow card” issued by the European Union over the country’s failure to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing; establishing a Blue Economy Initiative; implementing improvements in aquaculture and empowering stakeholders – especially women -, by offering loans so they improve their work.

Hon. Arthur also admitted pressing challenges such as overfishing, illegal fishing, limited funding or insufficient data collection that she committed to addressing during her tenure.

The NGOs are expecting the newly appointed minister to deliver on important policies in the National Democratic Congress (NDC) manifesto on fisheries. Local advocacy groups asked Hon. Madam Arthur to protect coastal communities from the consequences of illegal fishing and associated abuses by adopting the 10 transparency policy principles of the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency during the 2025-2028 mandate.

For Ghana, relevant policy measures to advance fisheries transparency include: regular publication of comprehensive fishing vessel licenses, authorizations, subsidies, official access agreements and sanctions and supplying this information to the FAO Global Record (Principle 2) and making public the information of vessels’ beneficial ownership (Principle 3). By implementing these and other Global Charter principles into law and practice, the improvements will provide fisheries employment opportunities for Ghanaians and support fair and equitable access to fisheries information for coastal communities as well as a voice in decision-making processes.

“As the new Ghana’s Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Hon. Arthur is well positioned to provide strong leadership to ensure the sustainable future of Ghana’s coastal communities,” commented Maisie Pigeon, Director for the Coalition for Fisheries Transparency. “Her bold, clear, and transformative vision for the sector’s development builds on important commitments to the transparency made by the country in recent years. Through the adoption of the Global Charter principles, Hon. Arthur has the chance to leverage Ghana’s role in sustainable fisheries governance,” she concluded.

During her meeting with the Fisheries Commission – MoFAD’s implementing agency – last month, Hon. Arthur listed several priorities for the sector, including:

(Source: Republic Online)

Strengthening the regulation of fishing vessels
Reducing juvenile fish harvest through trawl sub-sector reform
Enhancing canoe safety standards
Monitoring illegal fishing practices with Electronic Monitoring Systems (EMS)
Establishing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) to conserve marine biodiversity.

Equipped with years of experience in government and development, and with a focus on stakeholder collaboration, Hon. Arthur has the chance to secure the long-term sustainability of Ghana’s fisheries and aquaculture industry.

“Collaboration, innovation, and dedication are key to building a fisheries sector that supports food security, economic empowerment, and environmental preservation,” she emphasized.

Cover image: © Maisie Pigeon

Addressing harm in distant water fishing: a case study from Liberia

Fisheries cannot exist without people. Most of us don’t think twice about the hands that worked hard to get fish onto our plates before we take a bite. For coastal small-scale fishing communities in Liberia, this connection is innate; they depend on healthy marine fish stocks for their livelihoods. However, their livelihoods are currently under threat.

Approximately 58% of Liberia’s four million people live within 60km of the coast. Fisheries in Liberia are a critical source of food and nutrition security, jobs for thousands of Liberians, and a key source of government revenues accounting for around 10% of GDP. However, Liberia’s valuable fishery resources are not just targeted by local small-scale fishers. Foreign fleets seeking access to Liberia’s waters pay fees to the government for the license to fish, a practice known as distant water fishing (DWF).

The first six nautical miles of Liberia’s coastal waters are reserved for exclusive use by small-scale fishers, an area called an inshore exclusive zone (IEZ), where DWF are not permitted. Though this policy has been in place since 2010, local fishing communities continue to struggle, and the full impact of DWF in Liberia is not well understood.

In partnership with the University of Liberia, in 2022 and 2023 Conservation International conducted targeted research on the social, economic and environmental impacts of foreign vessels fishing in Liberia’s waters, with a particular focus on a fleet of trawl vessels flagged to China. The policy brief based on this research provides key findings and recommendations to the Government of Liberia and other relevant actors to safeguard Liberia’s fishing communities and protect its valuable marine resources.

The results indicate that while spatial overlap between the trawlers and small-scale fleets may have been reduced thanks to the inshore exclusion zone (IEZ), the two fleets are still competing for the same resources, to the detriment of local livelihoods and food security. This means that while the IEZ is still a critical management tool for sustainable fisheries and safeguarding coastal livelihoods, on its own, it is insufficient.

The presence of the distant-water trawl fleet in Liberia has significant direct and indirect social, environmental and economic consequences. Governance and management frameworks that prioritize the long-term health of marine ecosystems and safeguard the livelihoods of thousands of Liberians are urgently needed.

To achieve these goals, we’ve outlines three key short-term recommendations:

1. Protect the IEZ: Codify the 6 nautical mile inshore exclusion zone (IEZ) for exclusive SSF access into legislation, rather than executive regulation. Permanent protection for the IEZ will help safeguard coastal community food and livelihood security, but additional government engagement with community members is needed to incorporate local voices into decision- making processes.

2. Invest in SSF sector: Following the FAO’s SSF Guidelines, focusing resources on capacity building for coastal community fisheries, rather than on licensing DWF, may serve to both safeguard the economic, social, and cultural rights of Liberian communities while also maximizing benefits for the government.

3. Increase transparency and equity in decision-making: In line with the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency by the Coalition for Fisheries Transparency, increase access to data and information to improve procedural, distributional, equity in governance. By providing access to data and information, and including coastal community representatives in decision-making processes, Liberia’s government can benefit from the research and analytical support from external groups, and ensure effective implementation of management decisions.

These findings are just one element that support CI Liberia’s Blue Oceans Programme continued efforts for coastal communities, women in fisheries, and local efforts to promote science-based and bottom-up policy reforms with decision-makers that center equity and sustainability over short-term profit.

To learn more, reach out to Katy Dalton, Senior Manager for Distant Water Fisheries (kdalton@conservation.org), or Mike Olendo, Director of Liberia’s Blue Oceans Programme (molendo@conservation.org).