Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fisheries and for a world without hunger Aquaculture Department Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profiles The Republic of Ghana Part I Overview and main indicators 1. Country brief 2. General geographic and economic indicators 3. FAO Fisheries statistics Part II Narrative (2016) 4. Production sector Marine sub-sector Inland sub-sector Aquaculture sub-sector - NASO Recreational sub-sector Source of information United Nations Geospatial Information Section http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/htmain.htm 5. Post-harvest sector Imagery for continents and oceans reproduced from GEBCO, www.gebco.net Fish utilization Fish markets 6. Socio-economic contribution of the fishery sector Role of fisheries in the national economy Trade Food security Employment Rural development 7. Trends, issues and development Constraints and opportunities Government and non-government sector policies and development strategies Research, education and training Foreign aid 8. Institutional framework 9. Legal framework Regional and international legal framework 10. Annexes 11. References Additional information 12. FAO Thematic data bases 13. Publications 14. Meetings & News archive FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Part I Overview and main indicators Part I of the Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profile is compiled using the most up-to-date information available from the FAO Country briefs and Statistics programmes at the time of publication. The Country Brief and the FAO Fisheries Statistics provided in Part I may, however, have been prepared at different times, which would explain any inconsistencies. Country brief Prepared: February 2016 The fishing industry in Ghana is based on resources from the marine and inland (freshwater) sectors and coastal lagoons. Total capture fisheries production was about 298 000 tonnes in 2013; around 24 percent of this production (90 000 tonnes) came from inland fisheries mostly based on Lake Volta, the largest man-made lake in Africa. Production from marine fisheries has been declining since 1999, from almost 420 000 tonnes to 202 000 tonnes in 2014. Total fish exports showed a peak in 2003 with the value at USD 120 million but declined sharply to USD 44 million, while the peak of total fish export in quantity was at about 60 000 tonnes (product weight) in 2001. In order to sustain the per capita annual consumption of fish (estimated at around 24.2 kg in 2010), imports have increased substantially in the most recent years, reaching USD 373 million in 2013. As a result, the seafood trade balance moved from a USD 33 million surplus in 1997 to a USD 319 million deficit in 2013. It is estimated that the fisheries, mostly artisanal, employ over 29 300 fishing vessels, more than half without engine, and involve over 250 000 fishers. Fish farming has grown rapidly from 1 200 tonnes in 2005 to 38 500 tonnes in 2014, spurred by high prices of tilapia, the quickly expanding cage farming in the Volta Basin and the high level of government interest and commitment. Tilapias constituted over 90 percent of the total aquaculture harvest. The Government has placed aquaculture as one of the top priorities in the country’s development agenda and substantial support is being given to fish farmers in various aspects of the industry. Aquaculture is also being promoted through restocking programs in Lake Volta, reservoirs and other water bodies and the rehabilitation of hatcheries and aquaculture demonstration centers. The Government is actively seeking international cooperation to assist the country in further aquaculture development. The Government’s efforts are also targeted at modernizing the fisheries sector. The Fisheries sector in Ghana is limited by a number of factors including: Sizable catches occur only for a period of three months (usually July-September) because of seasonal fluctuations in abundance of small pelagic fish species (especially sardinellas); implying that monthly incomes from fishing can be minimal during the rest of the year. Marine stocks are overexploited by the industrial fleet, leading to decline of harvests from marine fisheries. Poor landing sites, post-harvest losses, poor equipment base and a lack of refrigeration facilities. Ghana is Party to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea since June 1983 and to the FAO Compliance Agreement since May 2003. Ghana is a member of the: INFOPECHE (Intergovernmental Organization for Marketing Information and Cooperation Services for Fishery Products in Africa); Membership in Regional Fishery Bodies Committee on Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture of Africa (CIFAA) Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) Fishery Committee of the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) International Whaling Commission (IWC) Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation Among African States Bordering the Atlantic (COMHAFAT-ATLAFCO) General geographic and economic indicators Table 1 - Ghana -General Geographic and Economic Data Source Marine water area 225 000 Nunoo F.K.E, Asiedu B, Amador K, Belhabib D. & Pauly D (2014). Reconstruction of Marine Fisheries Catches for Ghana, 1950-2010, (including the km2 Fisheries Centre, The University of British Columbia. http://www.seaaroundus.org/doc/publications/wp/2014/Nunoo-et-al-Ghana.pdf P. 2 EEZ) 24 300 Shelf area Bank of Ghana (2008). The Fishing Subsector and Ghana’s Economy. https://www.bog.gov.gh/privatecontent/Research/Sector Studies. P. 4. km2 Length of continental 550 km Bank of Ghana (2008). The Fishing Subsector and Ghana’s Economy. https://www.bog.gov.gh/privatecontent/Research/Sector Studies. P. 4. coastline GHS 113 billion GDP at purchaser's Ghana Statistical Service http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/gdp_revised.html value (2014) USD 35.4 billion* GDP per capita USD 1 http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD (2014) 442 GHS 23.3 billion Agricultural GDP Ghana Statistical Service http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/gdp_revised.html (2014) USD 7.3 billion* GHS 1.3 million Fisheries GDP FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Fisheries GDP Ghana Statistical Service http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/gdp_revised.html (2014) USD 400 million* *Value converted by FAO as per UN currency exchange rate*Value converted by FAO as per UN currency exchange rate **Per capita calculated by FAO and converted as per UN currency exchange rate Source Country area 238 540 km2 FAOSTAT. 2013 Land area 227 540 km2 FAOSTAT. 2013 Inland water area 11 000 km2 Computed. 2013 Population - Est. & Proj. 29.113 millions FAOSTAT. 2018 Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) area 228 509 km2 VLIZ GDP (current US$) 65 556 millions World Bank. 2018 GDP per capita (current US$) 2 202 US$ World Bank. 2018 Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 18.27 % of GDP World Bank. 2018 FAO Fisheries statistics FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Part II Narrative Updated 2016 Part II of the Fishery and Aquaculture Country Profile provides supplementary information that is based on national and other sources and that is valid at the time of compilation (see update year above). References to these sources are provided as far as possible. Production sector The fisheries sector plays a significant role in the socioeconomic development of Ghana. Bordered on the south by the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana, spanning an area of 238 500 km2, has a narrow continental shelf with a total area of about 24 300 km2. Ghana has a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles (nm) a contiguous zone of 24 nm and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 200 nm, covering an area of 225 000 km2. With this combination of valuable attributes, and a 550-kilometre coastline which stretches from Aflao in the East to Half Assini in the West, Ghana’s fisheries sector contributes significantly towards sustainable livelihoods, food security and poverty reduction. Ghana’s fishing industry started in the 1700sas an artisanal fishery with very simple and inefficient gear, craft and methods, operating close to coastal waters, lagoons, estuaries and rivers. Currently, the sector is based on fishery resources from the sea and, to a lesser extent, inland fisheries and aquaculture. While marine species are fished in the abundant territorial marine waters, freshwater fish are sourced from Lake Volta, rivers, reservoirs and inland aquaculture systems. Ghana’s fisheries sector consists of a varied and vigorous spectrum of fishing activities, ranging in scope from subsistence to semi-industrial, to industrial fisheries. Within this broad range, fish stocks are harvested from rivers, lakes, coastal lagoons and shallow seas and offshore waters in the Atlantic Ocean. Six different sources of domestic fish supply, including the marine fishery, lagoon fishery, Lake Volta, other inland fisheries, aquaculture and imports, can be obtained in Ghana. The fishing operations in Ghana consist of three subsectors: industrial, semi industrial and artisanal subsectors. The artisanal subsector is responsible for over 70 percent of the total fish production and employs over 60 percent of the women involved in the fishery value chain.Ghana’s waters host a wide variety of fish species. Both pelagic and demersal fisheries resources are exploited in Ghana and contribute almost equally to the national catch. The marine catch profile includes cape hake, grunt, sea bream, tilapia, herring, mackerel, barracuda and tuna. Ghana’s current fish production stands in the neighborhood of 400 000 metric tonnes a year from its marine fisheries, inland waters and aquaculture. As many as 2.6 million Ghanaians, representing 10 percent of the population, are dependent on the fisheries sector for their livelihoods. Lake Volta is Ghana’s single most important source of inland fish catch. It hosts about 140 fish species and provides livelihood for about 300 000 Ghanaians who live around the lake. The predominant fishing gear used in the artisanal fishery includes seines, set nets, draft gill nets and hook and line. However, most of Ghana’s fishery resources are heavily overexploited, and Ghana only produces a fraction of its annual fish requirements, with the sector recording a decline in production over the past couple of years.