With heightened concerns over matters like global warming and destruction of aquatic life and culture, nations and international bodies have been developing major policies to counter the damage been done. The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) also, is looking to implement an annual closed season across West African coast lines. The policy is looking to start with implementation in Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo in 2023 and subsequently, across all West African Coastal states. The FCWC is the ECOWAS body responsible for marine and aquaculture policy implementation.
Aquatic life conservation has been of major importance to Ghana’s Fisheries Ministry. It has sought to implement a closed season across Ghana’s coastal lines for nearly half a decade now. This has, however, largely failed because most industrial vessels just migrate to fish in the seas of Ghana’s neighbours, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire. And since we also share our coastal lines with them, damage done in those waters affect ours just as much. The FCWC’s plan to implement a uniform Closed Season across these coastal lines is an attempt to curb this problem of migration of the industrial fishing vessels Ghana has faced over the years.
Outside of preserving the aquatic life of the West African oceans, should the project succeed across all west African coastal lines, it will also save West African economies tons of cash. Nigerian Professor of Marine Studies, at University of Lagos, Aderonke Omolara Lawal-Are, pubished an article in 2022 highlighting how illegal fishing costs West African economies some $2.3billion annually. Successfully implementing a uniform closed season each year across these coastal lines could be a step towards ending illegal fishing by industrial vessels and the financial loss it brings.
The policy is being implemented in partnership with Ghana’s Ministry of Fisheries led by Hon. Haha Koomson, and the responsible bodies in Togo and Ivory Coast. The Secretary-General of the FCWC, Seraphin Dedi Nadje, hopes a collaborative effort between the West African nations will be the key to preserving the coastal lines and its aquatic life.
