Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture — Ghana's government body overseeing sustainable fisheries, aquaculture development, enforcement against illegal fishing, and marine resource protection.
… She assured stakeholders that the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture remained committed to supporting responsible investments that advance fish production, create jobs, and contribute to Ghana’s Blue Economy aspirations. …
… Derek Wiredu, Principal Promotion Officer at the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry; and Miss Ophelia Amedor, Assistant Director at the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture. …
… The ongoing accountability exercise followed findings from a special audit led by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, as part of Government’s bid to reflect its Reset Agenda for key sectors. …
… The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture, in a statement issued to commemorate the day, underscored the importance of oceans in sustaining livelihoods, ensuring food security, and supporting economic growth. …
… The accountability exercise follows findings from a special audit led by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture as part of the government’s bid to reflect its Reset Agenda for key sectors. …
… The operation forms part of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture’s ongoing efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices and ensure compliance with fisheries laws and regulations. …
The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture is intensifying its efforts to safeguard Ghana’s premix fuel subsidy system and ensure that the benefits reach genuine fisherfolk nationwide. …
… She was speaking at a community dialogue organised by the Global Fisheries and Resilience Action (GFRA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture for women fish processors, traders, chief fishermen and stakeholders at Shama in the Western Region. …
… In 2025 and 2026, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture announced a closed season exemption for marine canoe artisanal fishers, asking that they comply with other traditional and statutory management measures, such as observing designated fishing holidays. …
The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture has exempted canoe fishing operators from the 2026 Marine Fisheries Closed Season while introducing strict measures to regulate their activities. …
Emelia Arthur, Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, has launched the Komfueku-Shama Aquaculture Project in the Shama Municipality to transform abandoned clay and quarry pits into fish farms in partnership with R&B Farms. The initiative aims to promote sustainable fisheries, boost food production, create jobs, and reduce Ghana's reliance on fish imports.
Why it matters
Government launches aquaculture initiative to repurpose abandoned mining pits, reducing fish import dependency while creating jobs.
Emelia Arthur, Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, has launched the Komfueku-Shama Aquaculture Project in the Shama Municipality to transform abandoned clay and quarry pits into fish farms in partnership with R&B Farms. The initiative aims to promote sustainable fisheries, boost food production, create jobs, and reduce Ghana's reliance on fish imports.
Titus Owusu Darko, National Union of Ghana Students Secretary for Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Skills Development, campaigned on empowering students to pursue agriculture and agribusiness as pathways to economic empowerment and job creation. He scored 73.85 percent before the 58th NUGS Vetting Panel on September 5, 2025, securing his place on the ballot.
The National Premix Fuel Secretariat has recovered GH₵4.6 million in unaccounted funds from an audit covering 2016 to 2024, with 167 Landing Beach Committees covered and 34 fully verified. The recovered margins are part of proceeds earmarked for development projects in Ghana's fishing communities.
Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to protecting marine resources and advancing sustainable fisheries governance on World Oceans Day 2026, with the Fisheries Ministry emphasizing the need to protect oceans from overexploitation, pollution, and climate change. The Minister highlighted Ghana's work with communities and partners to combat illegal fishing, strengthen aquaculture, and noted the declaration of a Marine Protected Area at Greater Cape Three Points in the Western Region as a major conservation milestone.
An ongoing Premix Fuel Accountability and Bookkeeping Exercise has accounted for GH¢4,676,011.14 in Community Development Funds held by Landing Beach Committees, following a special audit that uncovered financial irregularities and weak record-keeping in the management of premix fuel margins designated for fishing community development projects.
The Fisheries Enforcement Unit arrested two inshore fishing operators at Tema Fishing Harbour for operating without valid licenses and improper use of fishing gear. The arrests are part of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture's efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and ensure compliance with fisheries regulations.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture is intensifying safeguards for Ghana's premix fuel subsidy system to ensure benefits reach genuine fisherfolk. The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies met with the Minister to address concerns over diversion, hoarding, and misuse of subsidized fuel that was intended to support small-scale fishers and canoe operators.
Minister Emelia Arthur has stressed the need for greater inclusion and support for women in Ghana's fisheries sector, noting that 60 percent of the country's animal protein comes from fish and about three million Ghanaians depend on the fisheries value chain. She stated that the majority of people engaged in the fisheries value chain are women, making it imperative to design policies and interventions that support them.
An Environmental Justice Foundation assessment across eight coastal towns found that more than 80 percent of fishers understood the scientific benefits of Ghana's government-imposed fishing closed season. The three-year study, conducted since 2023, involved 120 fishers as citizen scientists in biological monitoring, with nearly half reporting greater trust in regulators and 85 percent expressing interest in future training.
Ghana's Fisheries Ministry has exempted canoe fishing operators from the 2026 Marine Fisheries Closed Season while introducing strict oversight measures, citing the sector's critical role in food security and its supply of approximately 80 per cent of locally consumed fish. Industrial and semi-industrial vessels will observe scheduled closures during specified periods in 2026.
Ghana's government will ban industrial trawlers from operating for two months starting July 1, 2026, and semi-industrial inshore vessels for one month, as part of the annual closed fishing season aimed at rebuilding fish stocks. Marine artisanal canoe fishers are exempted to protect coastal livelihoods, though they must comply with existing fisheries laws.