President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says bold action must be taken to protect the ocean which produces 50% of the world’s oxygen and also makes it safe to enhance food security.
Speaking at the 7th Meeting of the Organization of African, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) at the Accra International Conference Centre, he noted that Ghana has enacted laws and regulations to deal with unregulated fishing.
The President added that climate change is also impacting negatively on the ocean, hence the need for OACPS members to tackle climate change head-on.
President Akufo-Addo stated that OACPS nations are also suffering from high sea levels with arable lands being washed away.
The meeting sought to address challenges facing aquaculture with regards to sea pollution, and piracy, among others.
The Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is an organization created by the George Town Agreement in 1975 comprising 79 States from three (3) Regional Blocs namely Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. The organization’s main objectives are sustainable development and poverty reduction within its member states, as well as their greater integration into the world’s economy.
The meeting of Ministers in Charge of Fisheries and Aquaculture started in 2009 and has since met six times every two years.
The theme for the Accra Meeting is OACPS Blue Economy Agenda 2030 – Catalyzing the Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Development for the Future.
The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Hawa Koomson, noted that unregulated fishing activities, pollution, and low investment pose danger to the sustainable fishing and aquaculture industry.
She further called for a renewed effort to combat illegal fishing.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Sherley Ayorkor Botchwey, was concerned about the increasing activity of pirates on the Gulf of Guinea and called on the conference to devise new ways to combat it.
