Ghana is likely to face another sanction and restriction from exporting fishery products to Europe by the European Commission.
According to the Commission, the warning is based on Ghana’s inability to comply with its duties under international law and in the area of fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices.
Other shortcomings the Commission outlined include; illegal transshipments at sea of large quantities of undersized juvenile pelagic species between industrial trawl vessels and canoes in Ghanaian waters, deficiencies in the monitoring, control and surveillance of the fleet and a legal framework that is not aligned with the relevant international obligations Ghana has signed up to.
EU believed that sanctions imposed by Ghana on vessels engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities are not effective and deterrent enough.
Making the disclosure, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the Commission, Virginijus Sinkevičius, said: “The Commission stands for zero tolerance for IUU fishing. Ghana plays an important role in fisheries governance in West Africa. Therefore, we stand ready to work with Ghana to address the threats IUU fishing poses to the sustainability of fish stocks, coastal communities, food security and the profits of those fishermen and women who follow the rules.”
He further noted that the warning offers Ghana the opportunity to react and take measures to rectify the situation within a reasonable time, adding that if the country should fail in implementing measures to rectify the situation, sanctions such as the prohibition of exports of fishery products from Ghana to the European market will be implemented.
“At this stage, the decision does not entail any measures affecting trade. However, in cases of prolonged and continued non-compliance countries can ultimately face a procedure of identification (red card), which entails sanctions such as the prohibition to export their fishery products to the EU market,” noted the Commission.
The country has therefore been advised to ensure effective monitoring and control of the activities of its fishing vessels and implement an adequate enforcement and sanctioning system.
Ghana in November 2013 received a yellow card which was then lifted in October 2015, after the country addressed its shortcomings.
