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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recently delivered a two-week training course in Ghana aimed at strengthening national capacity to implement the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) and combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The training, held from 18 to 29 August 2025, was delivered to fisheries law enforcement officers from across Ghana.

It was structured in two modules: a first week dedicated to port inspection training, followed by a second week focused on enforcement.

The course enhanced participants’ knowledge of the international fisheries legal framework, including the Law of the Sea, the PSMA, and other relevant instruments, while also providing practical skills in conducting inspections, managing evidence, ensuring chain of custody, and undertaking diligent prosecution of fisheries cases.

Through skills transfer and interactive exercises, including moot case presentations, participants strengthened their appreciation of the role of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) in the progress of achieving effective enforcement.

Discussions during the training highlighted the importance of national interagency coordination.

This training was delivered under the Seventh PSMA Global Capacity Development Programme Support Project, funded by the European Union.

As a follow-up, FAO will continue to support Ghana in operationalizing the new Fisheries Act as the country drafts implementing regulations, develops a national MCS plan and inspection plan, adopts an operations manual, and plans further interagency workshops and observer training activities.