More than 3,000 fisherfolks trained on technology adoption, fish handling and enterprise development 

Accra, June 15, GNA- CERATH Development Organisation, implementers of the Power to the Fishers Project (PTF), has trained 3,215 fisherfolks on technology adoption, fish handling, and enterprise development.

The Organization has, also through the project, facilitated social protection coverage for 2,864 community members.

Dr Lucille Abruquah, the Country Director for CERATH Development Organization, said the project was also supporting five graduate students of the Centre for Coastal Management at the University of Cape Coast towards research in project thematic areas.

Dr Abruquah made this known during the Year three Learning Workshop in Accra.

The workshop aims to raise awareness of the PTF project among strategic sector partners, as well as to provide a forum for the dissemination of findings from research on premix administration and delivery.

It is also to serve as a platform for the project team to share accomplishments made with the Village Savings and Loans Association (VSLA).

The project is a four-year fisheries management intervention, which commenced in 2019 and funded by the European Union.

The overall objective of the project is to enhance the socio-economic livelihoods of fishing communities within selected districts of the coastal savannah zones of Ghana. 

The project areas are Effutu Municipal,  Awutu Senya East, Ekumfi,  Gomoa West, Shama districts with beneficiaries being fish processors and fishermen 

She said within three years of its implementation, the project had achieved great successes in line with objectives.

These successes include multi-party advocacy on Saiko, which has led to the cessation of illegal transhipment of fish on Ghanaian waters.

“Six communal fish processing centres and 30 units of ovens were constructed under the ‘stove host’ model,” she added.

The Country Director said 2,864 community members subscribed unto to the protection schemes, where they raised over GHc264, 000.

She said before these was achieved, the team had a two-day in-house training to build the PTF project team’s capacity on VSLA. 

Dr Abruquah said they strive to be catalysts of change in the fisheries sector and therefore the project aimed to promote development in the sector, one intervention at a time. 

Mr Paul Bannerman, Deputy Executive Director of the Fisheries Commission said the small scale fisheries had a mirage of issues that needed to be addressed like the illegal Unregulated Unreported fisheries.

He said there was the need for all stakeholders to collaborate with the Commission to address these challenges that confront the sector.

“We can learn from each other to improve upon the country’s fish governance,” he added. 

He said there was also the need to strengthen research and develop schemes to improve monitoring and evaluation of the fish stocks.

The Deputy Executive Director said, “we can strengthen and improve institutional capacity to enforce co-management, while involving the private sector in participating in the governance to improve on extension services along the value chain.”

GNA