CSOs, fishers petition Mahama to halt reported 10,000sq km offshore gold exploration

A coalition of fishers’ associations, fishing communities and civil society organisations has called on President John Dramani Mahama to immediately halt the reported offshore gold exploration activities involving GoldCoast Resource Corp and order a comprehensive independent review of the project.

In an open letter dated October 3, 2026, the groups expressed concern over the reported granting of 10 contiguous Offshore Reconnaissance Licenses to GoldCoast Resource Corp., covering approximately 10,000 square kilometres of Ghana’s western offshore area and extending about 300 kilometres from Half Assini towards Winneba.

The groups said their concern was not with mineral exploration itself but with what they described as the extraordinary scale of the licensed area and its location within a productive marine environment that supports thousands of artisanal fishers, fishing communities, fish processors, traders and other coastal businesses.

They warned that the marine area also contains fish habitats, spawning and nursery grounds and other ecological systems that are critical to food security and the livelihoods of coastal populations.

While acknowledging that a reconnaissance licence is different from a mining lease or an authorisation for commercial extraction, the groups said the reported exploration programme includes geophysical surveys, bathymetric and seismic investigations, coring and sediment sampling.

They also raised concerns about the potential progression of the project into prospecting and future shallow-water dredging, arguing that activities involving seabed disturbance could have implications for water quality, fisheries and marine biodiversity.

The groups cited the potential for sediment resuspension, increased turbidity and disturbance of benthic habitats, particularly where adequate safeguards and baseline information are not available.

They are therefore demanding an immediate suspension of further implementation or progression of the project until a transparent and independent review has been completed and its findings made public.

According to the groups, the review should establish how the 10 licences were granted and examine their precise coordinates and boundaries, technical and economic justification, proposed work programme, consultations undertaken, relationship with fishing grounds and fisheries management areas, environmental and social risks, as well as the adequacy of Ghana’s existing legal and institutional framework.

They further called for a halt to prospecting, bulk sampling, dredging, substantial seabed disturbance or other higher-impact activities until the review is completed.

Another major demand is for an independent environmental, fisheries and livelihood impact assessment covering the entire licensed area and the possible development pathway of the project.

The assessment, they said, should establish reliable information on fishing grounds, fishing seasons, catches, fishing effort, fish spawning and nursery areas, seabed and benthic habitats, sediment movement, water quality, marine biodiversity, navigation and the livelihoods of coastal communities.

The groups also want the assessment to consider the potential effects of seismic surveys, coring, sediment sampling, bulk sampling and possible future shallow-water dredging.

They stressed that the process should not be controlled solely by the project proponent, insisting on independent scientific review, participation by fishers, community consultations and public disclosure of the findings.

The groups are also calling for a formal multi-sector and community review mechanism involving the Minerals Commission, Fisheries Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ghana Maritime Authority, research institutions, fishing associations, coastal communities, traditional authorities and civil society organisations.

They want Government to publicly disclose the licences, maps and coordinates, work programmes, environmental requirements, regulatory approvals and conditions, consultations undertaken and the proposed pathway from reconnaissance to any future prospecting or extraction.

The groups further insist that fishing communities should have a meaningful role in decisions that could affect their fishing grounds, safety, livelihoods and future.

They are also asking Government to establish clear safeguards before any commercial offshore gold extraction is permitted, including environmental, fisheries and livelihood assessments, cumulative-impact assessments, environmental performance standards, sediment and turbidity controls, independent monitoring, public reporting and effective grievance and redress mechanisms.

The groups said any future commercial extraction or substantial seabed disturbance should only proceed if independent evidence demonstrates that the activity can be undertaken without unacceptable harm to marine ecosystems, fisheries, food security and coastal livelihoods.

Describing the reported 10,000-square-kilometre offshore mineral licence as a national marine-resource governance issue, the groups said Ghana’s ocean should be regarded as a productive economic, ecological and social system rather than an empty space for exploitation.

They said Ghana could pursue its mineral potential while protecting fisheries and coastal livelihoods, but this would require transparency, credible science, coordinated regulation and meaningful participation by communities that depend on the sea.

The coalition has consequently appealed to President Mahama to halt further progression of the offshore gold project and convene an urgent meeting involving Government, affected fishing communities, fishers’ associations and civil society organisations to consider the concerns raised.

The open letter was signed on behalf of 51 civil society organisations, fishers’ associations and fishing communities, including the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG), Fisheries Alliance, Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI), ISODEC, Ghana Water Justice Network, Keta Ramsar Centre NGO and Wisdom Fish Processing Association.

Read full petition below:
OPEN LETTER TO H.E. THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA

H.E. John Dramani Mahama
President of the Republic of Ghana
Jubilee House
Accra, Ghana
3^rd October 2026
Urgent request for a halt and comprehensive review of offshore gold exploration in Ghana

Your Excellency,
We, representatives of fishers’ associations, fishing communities and civil society organizations working on fisheries, coastal livelihoods, environmental protection, natural-resource governance and human rights, write to express concerns about the reported granting of ten contiguous Offshore Reconnaissance Licenses to GoldCoast Resource Corp., covering approximately

10,000 square kilometers of Ghana’s western offshore area and extending for about 300 kilometers from Half Assini towards Winneba.

We recognise Ghana’s legitimate interest in developing its mineral resources. Our concern is not with mineral exploration itself, but with the extraordinary scale of the licensed area, its location within a productive marine environment, the potential implications for artisanal fisheries and coastal livelihoods, and the possibility that reconnaissance could progressively lead to seabed sampling, dredging and commercial offshore gold extraction. This is particularly important because the same marine space supports thousands of artisanal fishers, fishing communities, fish processors, traders and other coastal businesses. It also contains fish habitats, spawning and nursery areas and other ecological systems that underpin food security and the livelihoods of coastal populations.

A reconnaissance license should not be confused with a mining lease or an authorization for commercial extraction. However, the reported programme includes geophysical surveys, bathymetric and seismic investigations, coring and sediment sampling, while the company has publicly discussed prospecting and the potential for future shallow-water dredging. These activities could have substantially greater implications for the seabed, water quality, fisheries and coastal communities. The experience of offshore and coastal mineral extraction in other countries demonstrates that seabed disturbance, sediment resuspension, turbidity, changes to benthic habitats can have significant negative impacts on fisheries and marine biodiversity where appropriate safeguards and baseline information are absent.

We therefore believe Ghana must pause and critically examine this development now, before the project advances further and before potentially serious or irreversible environmental, fisheries and livelihood impacts occur.

OUR FOUR KEY DEMANDS

IMMEDIATE HALT TO THE OFFSHORE GOLD EXPLORATION PENDING A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW

We respectfully call on the Government to immediately suspend further implementation and progression of the GoldCoast offshore gold exploration, pending a transparent and independent review. The review should examine how the ten licenses were granted; their precise coordinates and boundaries; the technical and economic justification; the proposed work programme; consultations undertaken; their relationship with fishing grounds and fisheries management areas; environmental and social risks; and the adequacy of the existing legal and institutional framework. We advise that until this review is completed and its findings made public, there should be no progression to prospecting, bulk sampling, dredging, substantial seabed disturbance or other higher-impact activities, and no new approval or authorization that would advance the project toward commercial extraction.

COMMISSION AN INDEPENDENT ENVIRONMENTAL, FISHERIES AND LIVELIHOOD IMPACT ASSESSMENT

Government should commission a credible, independent and publicly accessible assessment covering the entire licensed area and the potential development pathway. This must establish reliable baselines for fishing grounds, fishing seasons, catches and fishing effort; fish spawning, nursery and feeding areas; seabed and benthic habitats; sediment characteristics and movement; water quality and turbidity; marine biodiversity; navigation; and the livelihoods of fishing communities, processors, traders and other coastal businesses.

The assessment must examine the potential impacts of seismic surveys, coring, sediment sampling, bulk sampling and, importantly, possible future shallow-water dredging, including sediment plumes, seabed disturbance, impacts on fish habitats and potential changes in access to fishing grounds.

The assessment must not be treated as a technical exercise controlled solely by the project proponent. Independent scientific review, fisher participation, community consultation and public disclosure of the findings must be integral to the process.

ESTABLISH A TRANSPARENT MULTI-SECTOR AND COMMUNITY REVIEW MECHANISM

We call for a formal review mechanism bringing together the Minerals Commission, Fisheries

Commission, Environmental Protection Authority, Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Ghana Maritime Authority, relevant research institutions, fishing associations, coastal communities, traditional authorities and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

Government should publicly disclose the licenses, maps and coordinates, work programmes, applicable environmental requirements, regulatory approvals and conditions, consultations undertaken and the proposed pathway from reconnaissance to any future prospecting or extraction. Most importantly, fishing communities must not be treated merely as stakeholders to be informed after decisions have been taken. They must have a meaningful voice in decisions that could affect their fishing grounds, safety, livelihoods and future.

The review should also determine whether Ghana has an adequate marine spatial-planning and regulatory framework for managing possible conflicts between mineral exploration, fisheries, conservation, petroleum activities, shipping and other uses of the ocean.

4. NO OFFSHORE GOLD EXTRACTION WITHOUT PROVEN ENVIRONMENTAL AND LIVELIHOOD SAFEGUARDS

We urge Government to make it clear that commercial offshore gold extraction or substantial seabed disturbance will not proceed unless independent evidence demonstrates that the activity can be undertaken without unacceptable harm to marine ecosystems, fisheries, food security and coastal livelihoods.

Before any such activity is authorized, Ghana should require appropriate environmental assessment, fisheries and livelihood assessments, cumulative-impact assessment, clearly defined environmental performance standards, sediment and turbidity controls, independent monitoring, public reporting, effective grievance and redress mechanisms, and appropriate mitigation and compensation where legitimate losses occur. Ghana should also establish a clear national policy and regulatory framework for offshore mineral development before commercial extraction is permitted.

CONCLUSION
Your Excellency, we believe that a 10,000-square-kilometre offshore mineral license should not be treated simply as another mining matter, but a national marine-resource governance issue.

Ghana's ocean should not be seen as an empty space waiting to be exploited, it rightfully, a productive economic, ecological and social system that supports food security, employment and the survival of coastal communities.

We believe Ghana can explore its mineral potential while protecting fisheries and coastal livelihoods. But this requires transparency, credible science, coordinated regulation and meaningful participation of the people whose livelihoods depend on the sea.

We therefore respectfully request an immediate halt to further progression of the offshore gold project and an urgent meeting between Government, the affected fishing communities, fishers’ associations and civil society organizations to discuss the concerns raised in this letter.

We remain available to contribute evidence, community perspectives and technical expertise to a transparent national review process.

Yours faithfully,
Kwadwo Kyei Yamoah
Tel: [Protected].
Email: [email protected].

For and on behalf of the undersigned Civil Society Organizations, Fishers’ Associations and Fishing Communities: