Parliament has passed the Fisheries and Aquaculture Bill, 2025, to enhance effective regulation of Ghana’s fisheries and aquaculture sector.
The purpose of the bill is to establish a modern legal framework to enhance the governance, development and sustainability of the nation’s fisheries and aquaculture sector, which is pivotal to the economy.
The bill specifically seeks to review and consolidate the laws relating to the sustainable exploitation of fisheries resources and the implementation of an electronic monitoring system to meet EU and US market requirements for legally sourced seafood.
Fisheries Commission
If the President assents to the bill, a Fisheries Commission will be established to ensure the long-term conservation, development, management and utilisation of fisheries and aquaculture resources in the country.
It will also provide stricter penalties for illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The bill was presented to the House by the Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Emelia Arthur, on June 3, 2025, and was referred to the Committee on Food, Agriculture and Cocoa Affairs for consideration and report.
Current framework
Currently, the country’s legal framework, the Fisheries Act 2002 (Act 625), is outdated and lacks provisions that address IUU fishing activities and insufficient penalties for offenders.
Ghana was issued a “yellow card” by the European Commission (EC) in 2021 for failing to adequately tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
And any failure to act swiftly to change the legal regime could result in the issuance of a red card by the EU.
A red card would result in a complete ban in the exportation of fish and fishery products to the EU market, leading to an estimated loss of $425,969,296.
Per the report of the committee, signed by its chairman, Dr Godfred Seidu Jasaw, the fisheries and aquaculture sectors contribute significantly to national development, particularly in the areas of job and wealth creation, poverty reduction, gross domestic product contribution and foreign exchange, and would remain so provided the resources were managed sustainably.
It said sustainable management, utilisation and exploitation of fisheries and aquaculture resources required the existence of a robust legal framework that governs fishing activities, regulates resource extraction and ensures compliance with international and national environmental standards.
