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Ghana announced a modern fishing port project in the Shama district to enhance landing operations, boost local employment, and strengthen the Western region’s maritime infrastructure.<\/p>\n
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The project targets a 22.6% decline in national fish catches, which dropped from a 1999 peak of 496,770 tonnes to 384,370 tonnes in 2023 due to overfishing and illegal practices.<\/p>\n
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Artisanal vessels dominate Ghana’s maritime fleet, accounting for 97% of the nation’s 14,323 active vessels across 263 distinct coastal landing sites.<\/p>\n
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The Government of Ghana is advancing preparations to build a modern fishing port in the Shama district of the Western region to modernize its domestic seafood industry.<\/p>\n
The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Emelia Arthur, disclosed the infrastructure project on Wednesday, June 10, noting that preparations have reached an advanced stage. West Africa positions Ghana as a primary fishing hub alongside regional peers such as Nigeria, Mauritania, Senegal, and Guinea.<\/p>\n
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According to the minister, this facility will optimize fish landing and handling operations while generating jobs and stimulating local economic growth.<\/p>\n
Minister Arthur stated:<\/p>\n
“We are determined to develop employment opportunities in the fishing sector and improve living conditions in coastal communities.”<\/p>\n
Officials have not yet released the specific capital expenditure details or construction timelines for the development. However, the future Shama fishing port will reinforce the economic weight of the Western region, which already commands 33% of Ghana’s fish landing sites and 25% of its fisheries port infrastructure, according to the Fisheries Commission of Ghana.<\/p>\n
Consequently, this infrastructure expansion addresses critical operational inefficiencies in the domestic supply chain.<\/p>\n
A Key Tool for Promoting Sustainable Fisheries Management\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Shama port initiative coincides with a long-term contraction in Ghana’s commercial fish volumes. The country faces persistent challenges in reclaiming its historical peak catch of 496,770 tonnes recorded in 1999. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) data shows that national fish catches fell 22.6% over the subsequent decades to 384,370 tonnes in 2023.<\/p>\n
Industry analysts attribute this systemic decline primarily to chronic overfishing, driven by a surge in artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial vessels. Furthermore, persistent illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing compounding with climate change disrupts marine ecosystems, alters fish migration patterns, and reduces coastal water productivity.<\/p>\n
At the same time, the fragmented nature of the dominant artisanal sector complicates state regulation. Industry experts argue that the heavy reliance on scattered landing sites facilitates illegal fishing practices and weakens overall stock management.<\/p>\n
Therefore, the modern Shama port project demonstrates a clear intent by authorities to centralize and regulate the exploitation of marine resources amid rising stock pressures and sustainability mandates.<\/p>\n
The Fisheries Commission’s latest estimates show that Ghana’s total fishing fleet comprises nearly 14,323 vessels, with artisanal operators commanding 97% of these units. These operators currently distribute their catches across roughly 263 distinct landing sites spanning four coastal regions.<\/p>\n
This article was initially published in French by St\u00e9phanas Assocle<\/p>\n
Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Ghana announced a modern fishing port project in the Shama district to enhance landing operations, boost…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":280595,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[28],"tags":[10717,13878,3609,79,141355,16244,3969,11459],"class_list":["post-280594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ghana","tag-fish","tag-fisheries","tag-fishing","tag-ghana","tag-landing","tag-port","tag-shama","tag-sites"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@africa\/116736822272104787","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=280594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/280594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/280595"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=280594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=280594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=280594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}