The Fisheries Commission of Ghana, an implementing agency of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, has conducted a simulation exercise on Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in the country’s territorial waters.
The exercise, performed in a commercial vessel, was to highlight the impact of illegal activities in the fishing sector and collectively find solutions.
As part of the IUU compliance simulation exercise conducted over the weekend, a Fisheries team in collaboration with the Ghana Navy checked the Fishing License, Captain’s Certificate, Chief Engineer’s Certificate, Crew List, Life Jackets, Fishing Nets, and other requisite documents.
It was identified that the vessel was fishing within the Inshore Exclusive Zone, engaging in pair-trawling, and using an unprescribed net, among others.
Mr. Richard Klutse, Fisheries Manager at the Ministry of Fisheries, said the exercise was to inject sanity into the maritime space as well as ensure that all industry players adhered to the laws governing the sector.
He said illegalities in the sector had undermined the contribution of the maritime sector to national development hence the need to regularly conduct checks to put other stakeholders on their toes.
Mr. Klutse told the fishing crew that they had violated the Fisheries Act 2002 (625) by fishing in the Inshore Exclusive Zone and using illegal fishing nets.
He said it was against the law to use a monofilament fishing net in marine waters by industrial vessels saying that the Ministry would not relent on dealing with illegalities in the sector.