Government gearing up to stem illegalities in territorial waters

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Mrs Mary Chinery-Hesse, Chief Adviser to President John Agyekum Kufuor, on Wednesday announced that the government was in the process of acquiring six patrol boats for the security agencies and Ministry of Fisheries to combat illegalities perpetrated within the country's territorial waters.

She noted that in addition to the drug menace which had reared its ugly head in the West Africa sub-region, there was also the problem of illegal unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing which was on the increase.

Mrs Chinery-Hesse was speaking at the opening of the Seventh Bureau Meeting of African Ministers of Fisheries Bordering the Atlantic Ocean (ATLAFCO).

Ghana is the first English-speaking country to host the conference, which is being attended by about 100 participants drawn from African states and ATLAFCO partner organizations outside of Africa.

Mrs Chinery-Hesse noted that in addition to the drug menace which had reared its ugly head in the West Africa sub-region, there was also the problem of illegal unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing which was on the increase.

"Foreign vessels are not only poaching our fish but also using our waters as transit for their trade in hard drugs," she said.

Mrs Chinery-Hesse noted that Ghana had since 2005 executed the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS), which required every vessel to have working transponders, a device that enabled vessels at sea to be monitored from offshore, before being registered.

She, however, noted that the VMS had neither proved to be enough in deterring the high incidence of poaching nor had it broken the back of the drug menace in the territorial waters.

Mrs Chinery-Hesse said whereas government was committed to fighting the insanity in the sub-regional territorial waters, there was the need for cooperation among neighbouring states to effectively combat the two menaces.

"Let us join hands through our regional bodies to mount effective surveillance and patrol to deal with this IUU fishing and drug trade taking place in our waters."