Richster Nii Amarh Amarfio, GTA Secretary
The Ghana Tuna Association has urged the government to investigate the possibility of constructing artificial reefs to protect the country’s diminishing fish population.
The move will also help rescue the fishing sector, according to the organisation, because “it is one of many methods employed by marine conservationists to protect the fish resource.”
The artificial reefs can be created from a range of natural or synthetic materials to give a steady growth area and habitat for fishes to travel, lay their eggs, and replenish, according to Mr Richster Nii Amarh Amarfio, Secretary of the Ghana Tuna Association (GTA), who made the call.
Another measure, he claimed, is to lower the large number of canoes and trawlers on Ghana’s seas, claiming that having over 4,000 canoes chasing the declining stock was unacceptable.
He also claimed that, despite the fact that the sea “does not dry,” the number of fish in the sea was reducing, and that if precautions were not taken, the industry would fail.
This was revealed by Mr Amarfio, who is also the Director of Operations for Laif Fisheries, during the Ghana News Agency Boardroom Dialogue, an avenue for commercial and business operators to engage with the rest of the globe.
Development in industry
Mr. Amarfio, speaking on recent advances in the fishing business, urged fisheries officials to include all stakeholders in their deliberations, stating that “the old notion that players in the industry are uneducated, so others must make decisions for them is long gone.”
“We now have people with high professional qualifications, but chose to work in the fishing industry, now we have people with doctorates who are fishermen, we must, therefore, invite them to the table for discussion for the development of the industry,” Mr Amarfio stated.
He claimed that the only way to regain control of the fishing business was to implement regulations pragmatically and to train fishermen and other key actors in the industry.
Mr. Amarfio noted that the fishing business had systems in place around the world to monitor, control, and monitor compliance with fishery management protocols.
As a result, he urged the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development to step up its monitoring efforts in order to acquire data on the sector and aid in the development and evaluation of suitable management measures.
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