On Thursday, June 9, 2022, CERATH Development Organization (CDO), through its Power to the Fishers (PTF) project, hosted key stakeholders to deliberate on topical fisheries issues. The workshop brought together stakeholders from regulating institutions such as the Ministry of Fisheries & Aquaculture Development (MoFAD), Ministry of Finance (MoF), Fisheries Commission (FC), and the National Premix Fuel Secretariat (NPFS). Also, participating were civil society organizations (CSOs) and fisher groups.
Giving the welcome address at the workshop, the Country Director of CDO, Dr Lucille Abruquah, presented a brief background on the PTF project. She went on to state the successes of the project which include the construction of 6 communal fish processing centres and 30 units of improved fish smoking ovens; training of 3,215 fisherfolks on technology adoption, fish handling, and enterprise development; facilitation of social protection coverage for 2,864 community members.
In giving their opening remarks, the Deputy Director of FC, Mr Paul Bannnerman, and the EU Liason Officer, Mr Christopher Ackon, encouraged all industry players to work closely to rebuild fish stocks and improve the livelihoods of artisanal fisherfolk. The occasion saw presentations on the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) model in facilitating financial inclusion, the status of small pelagic stocks and efforts by the Ghana Fisheries Recovery Activity (GFRA) at rebuilding, an assessment of Ghana’s implementation of the closed fishing session, and subsidized premix access in Ghana.
Furthermore, a panel discussion was held on the theme ‘Demystifying premix fuel access: Finding 21st-century solutions to premix fuel delivery’. Serving as discussants on this theme were personnel from FC, NPFS, Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG), and Fisheries Alliance. The panel discussion brought out some concerns such as the difficulty in accessing premix fuel, as well as chief fishermen being denied their mandates as chairpersons of the landing beach committees (LBC). Recommendations made include a thorough investigation into the hoarding of premix fuel, enhancing records keeping on premix delivery, fast-tracking the digitalization of premix fuel supply, and exploring the sale of the fuel at traditional fuel stations.
The workshop was held at the Mensvic Grand Hotel in Accra under the Power to the Fishers project. The project is funded by the European Union and implemented by CERATH Development Organization.
