June 11, 2015 — The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has committed 5.5 million dollars to the implementation of a five-year capacity building programme for fisheries and coastal management project in Ghana.
The project, which is being implemented by the University of Cape Coast’s (UCC) Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (DFAS) started in October 2014, and would end in October 2019.
It is to improve upon the infrastructure for training and research on fisheries and coastal management, increase scientific knowledge for policy and technical advisory services, increase marine and coastal research and resource management, and to establish a centre for coastal management, among others.
Launching the project, in Cape Coast, on Tuesday, Madam Sherry Ayittey, the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, stated that fishing was a major economic activity in Ghana, therefore, fish capture, processing, marketing and associated services constituted a significant source of livelihood.
She said the fisheries sector generated more than one billion in revenue annually, and accounted for at least 4.5 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while 210,000 people worked directly with the sector.
The Minister pointed out that in spite of the contribution of the fisheries sector to Ghana’s socio –economic development, the sector had not been able to achieve its full potential, with poverty still high in many fishing communities.
She noted that the country was faced with growing challenges in managing its coastal and marine resources, particularly, with the continuous decline in fish stock and production in the last few decades, as well as the degradation of the coastal environment.