The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea has launched a regional monitoring, control and surveillance center in Tema.
The facility is to address major challenges in combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in the West African sub-region through enhanced regional cooperation.
Speaking at the launch, the minister for fisheries, Mavis Hawa Koomson lamented the incidence of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing which she said has a negative impact on fisheries resources and the loss of revenue to the country estimated at millions of US dollars.
“This loss of revenue could be used to improve the livelihoods of coastal communities and reduce poverty. I have been briefed that IUU fishing is on the rise in our sub-region due to the economic benefits gained by those involved in the act.