PILOT PROJECT TO REGISTER CANOES TAKES OFF IN TEMA (PAGE 19, JAN 23, 2010)

A pilot project to register all canoes at the Tema Canoe Beach for easy identification and compilation of data was yesterday launched in Tema.
The successful execution of the pilot project will pave the way for the registration and embossment of registration numbers on all canoes in the country.
The Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture in charge of Fisheries, Nii Amasa Namoale, who launched the project, said the fishing vessel register and the identification numbers would become useful instruments to assist the Fisheries Commission (FC) in compiling data on canoes and fishing landings, among others.
The launch, which was the first ever in the country, attracted chief fishermen, fishermen, district directors of the Ministry of Agriculture and officials of the FC.
Nii Namoale said the Fisheries Act, Act 625 of 2002, required all fishing vessels to be registered, noting that the present system of identifying canoes in the form of symbols and names such as ‘Sea never dry’, ‘God dey’, ‘Mankind’, among others, did not make canoe identification quick and accurate.
He stated that the new system would form the basis for extending support to artisanal fishermen and would provide good records of fish caught within a particular period to ascertain the level of catch in the country.
He said 1,000 canoes were expected to be registered to start the project and provide an improved fisheries monitoring system for the industry.
A representative from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Dr Brahim Kembe, in an address read on his behalf, said it was the FAO’s major concern to put in place management measures in artisanal fishing for food security in Ghana.
He said Ghana’s domestic fisheries production of 440,000 metric tonnes could generate revenue of $1 billion annually.
Dr Kembe said the FAO considered the launch of the embossment project as one critical step in the management process and urged all stakeholders to give it the necessary support.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashietey, commended the FAO and other development partners and donors for the special support they had given to the fishing sub-sector and the embossment exercise in particular.
The Tema Mantse, Nii Adjei Kraku, called on the government to assist in dredging the landing sites which were currently choked.
There was a demonstration of the embossment process on some of the canoes at the beach.