Ghanaian civil society, small–scale fisher associations and the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) are calling on President John Dramani Mahama to sign Ghana’s new Fisheries and Aquaculture Act into law without amendments, warning that recent lobbying from industrial trawler interests threatens one of the most critical provisions: the expansion of the Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ) from 6 to 12 nautical miles.
ACCRA, Ghana, July 31, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The IEZ expansion, already approved by Parliament, is essential to the livelihoods of over 200,000 small–scale fishers, 500,000 fish processors and traders, their families, and wider communities. It is a science–based reform that pushes destructive industrial trawling, largely ultimately owned by foreign interests, further offshore, giving coastal communities the chance to rebuild their fisheries and food security.
But industrial fishing interests are now lobbying to strip the IEZ provision from the law. Investigations from EJF show why this cannot be allowed:
- 81% of industrial trawl crew reported witnessing illegal fishing inside the IEZ.
- Catches of small pelagics, such as sardinella – known in Ghana as ‘the people’s fish’ – have collapsed by over 90%, devastating local incomes and food security.
- Over 90% of small–scale fishers report declining catches, and more than 80% have seen their incomes fall.
- Trawlers have reportedly destroyed or damaged the fishing equipment of 70% of these fishers, often without compensation.
Madam Regina Solomon, President of the National Fish Processors and Traders Association, said: “We urgently ask the President to ensure that the IEZ extension to 12nm is firmly fixed in the law, to allow space for our local fishermen to fish without any conflicts with the industrial trawlers. When the trawlers come close to the area marked solely for our men, they tend to catch a lot of the fish meant for artisanal fishers, and we end up making huge losses.”
“If these fishes had been left for our men to catch, we would have made much more profits buying from them and selling, thereby securing the livelihoods of both our local fishermen and we the fish processors. The industrial trawlers can comfortably catch the export fish they are licensed for beyond the 12nm.”
The Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council secretariat added: “For years, we have gone to sea with fear in our hearts. We have watched the giant industrial trawlers come dangerously close, tearing the nets that feed our families and smashing the canoes that are our livelihood. We have mourned friends and lost property. So, for us, the news that Parliament has extended our safe fishing zone to twelve nautical miles is a prayer answered.”
“We want to thank the Minister and the Parliament of Ghana for giving us safety, a chance to rebuild, and hope that we can continue to fish with dignity to provide for our families and our nation.”
This is a question of fairness, food, and a sustainable future, according to the civil society organisations and fisher associations. They noted that expanding the IEZ will bring real benefits for all Ghanaians, and that they are the people who should be benefiting from the country’s rich marine resources, and who the trawling industry will directly harm if they get their way. They implore President Mahama to reject the industry pressure to weaken the Act and approve the law as it stands.
The small–scale fisher organisations and civil society organisations are:
- National Fish Processors and Traders Association
- Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council
- CERATH Development Organisation
- CEWEFIA
- Development Action Association (DAA)
- Environmental Justice Foundation
- GFRA
- Hen Mpoano
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