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Third meeting of the Ports Task Force Ghana
As a result of Ghana’s ratification to the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), the Ports Task Force Ghana (PTFG) was established to take the lead in operationalizing the National Strategy and Action Plan for the implementation of the PSMA. The PTFG supports agencies to work together towards stopping illegal fishing and its associated crimes. It is coordinated by the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Division of Ghana’s Fisheries Commission, and supported by the Ports State Measures to Stop Illegal Fishing (PSM-SIF) initiative.
The one-day PTFG interagency meeting held on 16 September 2020 was coordinated by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD) bringing together agencies involved in or relevant to the Ports Task Force Ghana. The meeting served as a platform to consult with the involved national agencies on collaborative mechanisms that will allow for effective cooperation in stopping IUU fishing and its associated crimes in the country. The meeting mapped the way forward to continue PSM implementation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. The development and use of alternative means of support, such as online support mechanisms were explored.
The meeting brought together the Task Force members: MOFAD, Fisheries Enforcement Unit (FEU), Marine Police (MP), Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), West Africa Task Force (WATF), Ghana Navy (GN), Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority (GPHA), Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), Port Health Services (PHS), National Security (NS), Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Ghana Immigration Service (GIS), Food and Drug Authority (FDA), and the Attorney General’s Office.
Stop Illegal Fishing (SIF) supported the meeting technically and financially through their work to implement port state measures to stop illegal fishing (PSM-SIF) across Africa. Owing to regional travel restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak the SIF team could only join the meeting virtually.
The Ports Task Force Ghana is supported by Stop Illegal Fishing, through the PSM-SIF initiative with funding from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the Global Programme Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Special Initiative.