Ghana issued accreditation to inspect, certify fish products for export
Ghana has been issued with an international accreditation licence to inspect, verify and certify fish in all forms before it is sold on the international market. The licence, issued by the internationally recognised accreditation body, Deutsche Akkreditierungsstelle GmbH (DAKKS), was specifically issued to the Fish Inspection Department of the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA).

As such, DAKKS has attested that the Fish Inspection Department of the GSA is competent under the terms of internationally applicable standards as a Type A to carry out pre-shipment inspection of fish and fish products for exports. The certificate was issued on June 29, 2018 and is valid until 2023...read more

90% of fish stocks are used up – fisheries subsidies must stop
The name of our planet is misleading. We call it Earth. Yet, over 70% of its surface is covered by the ocean. Sometimes we forget how essential the ocean is for the water we drink, the air we breathe, for human activity and for life. Year after year, we have been pushing the boundaries of the ocean’s sustainability, and in so doing we have been challenging our own.

The list of ocean’s troubles is long, but there is one item that demands immediate attention: harmful fisheries subsidies.

It is sobering to consider that nearly 90% of the world’s marine fish stocks are now fully exploited, overexploited or depleted, and there is no doubt that fisheries subsidies play a big role. Without them, we could slow the overexploitation of fish stocks, deal with the overcapacity of fishing fleets, and tackle the scourge of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing....read more

Africa threatened by Asian fish imports
Evidence suggests that government policies to protect their borders from illegal fish imports are proving ineffective, while other governments have virtually endorsed foreign tilapia imports as a necessary evil.

Most African countries are implementing aquaculture development strategies to reverse the trend of sharply declining marine output, high fish import bills and low fish consumption figures. Most are consuming far more fish than they produce.
According to current figures Ghana consumes 1 million tonnes per annum but produces only 400,000; Nigeria produces 1.1 million tonnes out of an annual demand of 3.2 million; Kenya produces 200,000 tonnes annually but local demand is 1 million; Uganda produces 461 tonnes, leaving an annual supply gap of 300,000; Zambia produces 114,000 tonnes per year, leaving a supply gap of 87,000; Ivory Coast produces 72,000 tonnes, leaving a supply gap of between 250,000 and 300,000; Tanzania produces 336,000 tonnes out of national demand of 771,000; Zimbabwe 27,000, out of national demand of 60,000 tonnes.....read more
 

August 3, 2018 - Source: Fisheries in the News; A service of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and the Fisheries Commission. Compiled by the Sustainable Fisheries Management Project, USAID GHANA.