By Atuna
The government of Ghana, with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has recently announced the requirement that all fishing vessels are properly registered and identified. This has become an occurring action since January 1st 2010, when the European Union demands for stricter catch certificates were put into effect.
“While industrial and semi-industrial fleets have been overall compliant, until now artisanal canoes have notâ€, stated a FAO report.
The artisanal sub-sector is the most important in terms of fish outputs in Ghana’s marine sector; it in fact contributed 60-70% of the marine fish output.
Yellowfin, skipjack and bigeye tuna are considered the main commercial species in Ghanaian waters.
In a pilot project funded by the Organization, some 1000 canoes - out of a total of 12.000 - fishing along the marine coast of Ghana will bear number plates with identification numbers.
This information is expected to contribute in building a national Fishing Vessel Register and help the national fisheries commission compile statistics and data on fish landings, gear and number of canoes operating.
“This can in turn lead to improved and more efficient management and monitoring schemesâ€, stated FAO.
Even though artisanal, many large canoes are motorized with 40HP outboard engines. Smaller craft use sail power. Commonly used fishing gears are purse seines, beach seiners, set nets, draft gill nets and hook and line.
Also worth mentioning are the “lagas canoesâ€. These are a fleet of motorized canoes which specialize in hook and line, use ice to preserve high value fish insulated containers with some using electronic fish finding devices such as echo-sounders.