Emelia Arthur, Ghana’s new fisheries and aquaculture development minister, has pledged to address accusations of high-level corruption in the West African nation’s fisheries sector, a lack of transparency, and other concerns that were raised when the European Union issued the country a second yellow card in 2021.
The minister, who succeeds Hawa Koomson in the role, told a parliamentary vetting committee ahead of her late January ministerial appointment by new Ghanaian President John Mahama that the E.U. “has outlined a number of things that need to be sorted out so that the yellow card can be lifted.”
“I pledge to move quickly to address these issues and have the E.U. take off the yellow card from Ghana, because the status is affecting the industrial fishers who catch and export tuna that brings nearly USD 400 million [EUR 382 million] to Ghana,” she said.
Arthur said that Ghana’s fisheries sector is plagued by several challenges, such as overfishing, illegal fishing, limited funding, and inadequate data collection, but added she is committed to “do the right thing so that the trade goes on and foreign exchange can come in.”
Stakeholders in Ghana’s fisheries sector have previously claimed that the ownership of fishing vessels operating off of Ghana’s waters is unclear, and there is little transparency surrounding the issuance of fishing permits, especially for foreign nations like China and South Korea.
NGOs, meanwhile, have been pushing Ghanaian authorities to clearly publish the identity of people or businesses holding marine fishing permits, as well as the beneficial interests behind the licenses...
