{"id":96740,"date":"2025-10-02T14:48:12","date_gmt":"2025-10-02T14:48:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=96740"},"modified":"2025-10-02T14:48:12","modified_gmt":"2025-10-02T14:48:12","slug":"fisheries-must-be-pillars-of-peace-not-points-of-conflict-fisheries-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=96740","title":{"rendered":"Fisheries must be pillars of peace, not points of conflict \u2013 Fisheries Minister"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>3 Minute, 12 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>
\n
\n

Fisheries Minister calls for global cooperation to protect oceans and livelihoods<\/p>\n

The Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Emelia Kobiaba Arthur, has called for urgent international cooperation to protect fisheries from growing threats and to secure their role as a vital foundation for peace, livelihoods, and global food security.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a conference hosted by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) under the theme \u201cFisheries and Stability: A Global Issue?\u201d, the Minister warned that fisheries\u2014long considered a lifeline for millions\u2014are increasingly under siege from illegal exploitation, overfishing, pollution, and climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cFisheries are a lifeline,\u201d she said. \u201cThey feed the world, employ millions, and anchor cultures and communities. In Ghana alone, nearly three million people depend directly on fisheries for their livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fisheries<\/figure>\n<\/blockquote>\n

She expressed deep appreciation to the Serene Maritime Academy, the French Embassy in Accra, and other partners for their support, stressing that their cooperation was a reminder that \u201cwhen nations and peoples come together in solidarity, we can confront even the most pressing global challenges.\u201d<\/p>\n

Quoting the FAO\u2019s 2024 State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture Report, the Minister revealed that 35 per cent of fish stocks are now overfished, up from just 10 per cent in 1974, with West Africa at the frontline of the crisis. The region, she said, is being \u201cstripped of over $2.3 billion annually\u201d due to Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen fisheries collapse, communities fracture,\u201d she warned. \u201cYoung people are driven into desperation, and instability festers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fisheries<\/figure>\n

She further cautioned that mounting ecological stress\u2014including rising sea temperatures, floods, and coastal erosion\u2014is rapidly evolving into social and political instability.<\/p>\n

\u201cFishing vessels that once carried food,\u201d she added, \u201care increasingly being turned into vehicles for transnational crimes, from smuggling to trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Fisheries<\/figure>\n

Legislative and enforcement measures<\/p>\n

Minister Arthur outlined key steps Ghana has taken to strengthen marine governance:<\/p>\n