Tema: Mr Richster Nii Amarh Amarfio, the Vice-Chairman of the National Fisheries Association of Ghana (NAFAG), says the industrial fishing sector should not be blamed for Ghana's fish stock depletion as they are compliant with all regulations governing the sector. Mr Amarfio stated that activities such as illegal transfer of fish between vessels, or transshipment known locally as 'saiko,' no longer existed in Ghana's waters, therefore, trawlers cannot be said to be taking excess fish and not reporting. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview, he said there is something fundamentally wrong with the country's fisheries management, which cannot be entirely attributed to excess capacity. According to him, attributing illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing to the activities of trawlers must be re-looked at, explaining that they were complying with all three pillars of IUU. He noted that trawlers were fishing within their zone, therefore not engaging in illegal fishing, reporting, an d logging their catch, which takes care of the unreported pillar of IUU, while they carry observers on their vessels as well as have electronic monitoring systems (EMS) installed, dealing with unregulated issues. The NAFAG vice chairman revealed that from July 1 to date, no trawler had gone fishing in Ghana due to issues with the EMS, yet still the fish stock had not improved. 'If the trawlers are not fishing for three months and you are still not getting fish, then what's the problem? He questioned, adding that 'hitherto everybody has been blaming trawlers now that you put in all the regulations and are still not replenishing the stock.' He stressed that 'regulators of the fisheries sector must stop overemphasising IUU fishing as the cause of Ghana's fish stock depletion, as the issue has moved beyond that. Let's look at the other factors, such as environmental issues.' Mr Amarfio emphasised that it was important for the regulatory bodies to look at those environmental factors, such as galamsey, and fix its challenges due to its effect on the fisheries sector, as there is a relationship between the inland water bodies and the ocean. He added that it was significantly contributing to the fish stock depletion, stressing that when a country loses its essential habitat, they would lose their fisheries. 'In the first place, the inland water bodies themselves are habitats for fish; they contribute to our fisheries demand, so when we destroy our inland water bodies, it puts unnecessary pressure on marine fisheries,' the NAFAG vice chairman stated. He explained that galamsey and other bad environmental practices destroy the coastline, which serves as spawning places for fish, emphasising that destroying mangroves, brackish water, and estuaries meant destroying hatcheries and spawning grounds. Source: Ghana News Agency