Canoe fishermen council registers 16,000 fisherfolk
The Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council (GNCFC) has registered over 16,000 fisherfolk in its first-ever national register to provide up-to-date information on the operations of artisanal fisherfolk in the four coastal regions of the country.
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So far, the data of the over 16,000 fisherfolk have been placed on the register as efforts are underway to capture more small-scale fishers to help bring sanity into the industry. The first of its kind in the fishing industry, the council received support from the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) under the Sustainable Oceans Project to register its members on a large scale.
Consequently, 10,000 identification cards and membership dues books have been distributed to the regional executive of the council for onward distribution to members at the grass-roots level.
The membership identification cards were handed over on the sidelines of an advocacy training workshop organised by EJF in Accra last Thursday.
Satisfaction
Speaking to the Daily Graphic after the handover ceremony, the Programmes Officer of EJF, Osei-Akoto Nyantakyi, expressed his satisfaction with the level of efforts put in by the council to collect data on its members within the four coastal regions, namely Greater Accra, Central, Western and Volta.
“And so, after a successful capturing of members we are here today to basically hand over some membership cards and dues books to the council. It is the first time the council has been able to undertake a registration exercise on a large scale.
“As of now, we have registered over 16,000 members, and out of that, 10,000 of the membership cards are ready and have been successfully handed over to the council and its regional executives for onward distribution to members at the grass-roots level,” he said.
He said the idea behind building the national register was to help formalise the artisanal fishing industry and offer the GNCFC a clear picture of its membership and strength. That, he said, would help the GNCFC to appropriately organise themselves to engage with decision-makers and institutions such as the Environmental Justice Foundation, implementing the Sustainable Oceans Project.
Sustainable Oceans Project
Mr Nyantakyi noted that the Sustainable Oceans Project was a three-year project funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Corporation (Norad) that sought to build grass-roots capacity for a sustainable ocean economy in Ghana.
He said the three-year project was aimed at achieving a resilient and sustainable ocean economy in Ghana through inclusive, strong and effective capacity, planning and management of coastal ecosystems.
He added that the advocacy training workshop sought to enhance the council’s impact by equipping the executives with the requisite skills to lead advocacy and engagement with decision-makers on issues affecting their livelihoods.
The President of GNCFC, Nana Jojo Solomon, commended the Environmental Justice Foundation for supporting the council to formalise the artisanal fishing industry in Ghana. With the advent of outboard motors, he said the fishing industry had remained without any formalisation or injection of technology since the days of Peter in the Holy Scriptures.
“After the introduction of outboard motors, there has not been any additional technology in fishing and so the industry is always in the dark, so we want to formalise the industry.
“And so, what we have done is to register almost all of our members to provide them with the needed identity and also offer a sense of belonging and social connection,” he said.
He added that the national register would serve as a platform to determine the contribution of artisanal fisherfolk to the country’s economy.