MCS review held in Ghana
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) carried out a review of fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) in Ghana to take stock of current arrangements and assess the extent to which these enable the country to meet its obligations as a port, flag, coastal and market State.
Officers from the Fisheries Commission, the MCS Division, the Marine Police and the Navy participated. The mission took place between the 3 – 6 April 2023.
The review focused on eight thematic areas: a general description of the fisheries sector; the MCS and enforcement framework; the fisheries monitoring centre; human resources; training programmes and capacity building; information collecting mechanisms; MCS means and standard operating procedures. It resulted in an initial list of 16 recommendations, grouped by thematic areas which were discussed and agreed with the participants.
As part of the review process, a visit was also made to the port of Tema.
This Ghana mission was possible as a result of the European Union funded project GCP/GLO/447/EC, Fourth PSMA Global Capacity Development Programme Support Project, which supports capacity development initiatives in developing States to assist them to be in a better position to implement international instruments to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, including the provisions of the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA).
The MCS review was carried out in the context of this project to inform an ongoing legal review and support with regulatory improvement. The findings also provide the country with indicators of MCS elements which will require strengthening in order for Ghana to better meet its responsibilities as a port, flag, coastal and market State. Such indicators are useful in the context of potential future support by development partners, as well as internal planning.