Minister of Fisheries, Mrs. Gladys Asmah, informed the Ghanaian Parliament that between January 2005, to December 2007, only three vessels were licensed to fish in Ghana’s territorial waters. According to her their operations have brought about a rise in the work of the canneries directly and contributed an amount of 162,265.00 Ghana cedis to the Ministry’s internally generated funds earnings.
Commenting on how many foreign fishing vessels have been licensed by the Ministry between January 2005, to December 2007, to fish in Ghana’s territorial waters and how much was realized from their license fees. Asmah told that the Ministry and the fisheries Act do not license foreign vessels to fish in the country’s waters. She said after due consideration of a request by the canneries, the Pioneer Food Company, a Ghanaian registered company in Tema, which is owned by EU-based MW Brands, was given permit to import three tuna fishing vessels to augment the supply of raw materials to their canneries with the option of providing quantities of fresh tuna to a company, Myroc Limited.
Last year the demand for processed canned tuna and tuna products got to its peak and so the tuna canneries decided to increase their fresh tuna processing facilities in order to meet the market demand for processed canned tuna for both the domestic and export markets, explained Asmah. She told that since the supply of fresh tuna from “our water was not sufficient to satisfy the demand of the canneries, they approached the Ministry with a request for license to import tuna vessels to enable them fish for fresh tuna to feed their canneries to increase the supply for fresh tuna and ensure regular supply to their canneries.
