During the time period of the Sustainable Fisheries Management Project, (2014-2021) The Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and its Fisheries Commission was in the process of considering revisions of the Fisheries Act of 2002 and its Amendments. This activity description replicates a public web site that provided a repository of documents on Ghana’s existing fisheries laws and regulations, as well as related documents that can aide individuals involved in drafting new fisheries legislation. Documents can be viewed and downloaded by clicking on the links in the various pages (Existing Legislation, International Treaties and Agreements & Related Documents).
Legislation and Regulations
This page provided links to the existing Fisheries Act, its amendment, related Legislative Instruments and Ministerial Directives and other past fisheries laws. It also contains other related legislation such as the Local Governance Act which contains provisions related to fisheries. A copy of Ghana’s Constitution which contains provisions establishing the Fisheries Commission is also provided below.
Fisheries Legislation
- Ghana Fisheries Act of 2002 (No. 625)
- Ghana Fisheries (Amendment) Act of 2014 (No. 880)
- Ghana Fisheries Law of 1991 (PNDCL 256) This law has now been replaced by the 2002 Fisheries Act and 2014 Amendment but may be useful from a historical perspective.
- Ghana Wholesale Fish Marketing Act of 1963 (No. 156)
Regulations
- Ghana Fisheries Regulations 2010 (L.I. 1968)
- Ghana Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations 2015 (L.I. 2217)
- Fisheries Regulations of 1979
- Fishing Boats (Certificate of Competency First Class and Second-Class Engineers) Regulations of 1974
- Fishing Boats (Certificate of Competency as Skippers and Second Hands) Regulations of 1972
Ministerial Directives
- Ministerial Directive Trawler Closed Season (2016-17) 15-06-2016
- Ministerial Directive on Minimum Sanitary Requirements 31-5-2016
Related Legislation
- Ghana Local Governance Act of 2016 (No. 936) Ghana Local Government Act of 1993 (No. 462) which replaced Act 462.
- Ghana Local Government Act of 1993 (No. 462) replaced by Act 936.
- Ghana Shipping Act 2003 (Act 645) look to Section 13 in particular.
- Ghana Maritime Authority Act 2002 (Act 630) look to Sections 4 and 13 in particular.
- Maritime Zones Delimitation Law 1986 (P.N.D.C.L. 159)
- Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority Act of 1986 look to Section 24 in particular.
- Oil in Navigable Waters Act of 1964 (Act 235)
Ghana’s Constitution
- Ghana’s Constitution of 1992 Part V: Protecting Natural Resources, Section 269.1 provides for the establishment of a Fisheries Commission. Section 268 pertains to agreements granting rights or concessions to natural resources. Section 269.2. allows Parliament on the recommendation of the Commission to authorise another agency of government to grant rights with respect to exploitation of natural resources.
Related Documents
This page provides links to documents that may have bearing on the contents of the bill for a new Fisheries Act that is being drafted by MOFAD/FC. It includes fisheries and aquaculture, as well as other relevant policies, plans and strategies that have been formally adopted by the Government of Ghana.
MOFAD Policies and Plans
- MOFAD Sector Medium Term Development Plan (2014-2017)
- Ghana Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector Development Plan 2011-2016
- Coastal and Marine Sector Action Plans MOFAD 2015
- Fisheries Management Plan of Ghana – Marine Sector (2015-2019)
- Ghana National Aquaculture Development Plan MOFAD-FC 2013
- Ghana National Plan of Action on IUU Fishing 2014
- National Gender Mainstreaming Strategy for the Fisheries Sector MOFAD 2016
- Strategy on Anti-Child Labour and Trafficking in Fisheries
Other Related Government of Ghana Polices and Strategies
- Ghana Food and Agriculture Sector Development Policy 2007, Section 4.8.4 Fisheries Policy, starts on page 38.
- Ghana Medium Term Agricultural Sector Investment Plan (METASIP) 2011-2015 See outputs 1.1.3, 2.1.3 , 2.4.2, 2.5.3 in particular.
- Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA), 2010-2013 See Sections 2.2.1, 4.1.7, and 4.2.3 in particular.
- National Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Security Action Plan of Ghana (2016-2020) See Sections 3.4, 3.6, 3.9 in particular.
- National Nutrition Policy for Ghana 2013-2017 See Sections 2.2.1 and 5.3.
MOFAD Reports and Related Documents
- Guidelines for Acquiring a Fishing Licence in Ghana 2013
- Ghana Marine Canoe Frame Survey 2016
- Ghana Marine Canoe Frame Survey 2013
Other Background Documents on Ghana’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector
- The Fishing Sub-Sector and Ghana’s Economy-Bank of Ghana report 2008
- Guidelines for the Re-organization of Premix Fuel (http://mofa.gov.gh/site/?page_id=8910)
Other Resource Documents of Interest
- US Fishery Conservation and Management Act as amended through 2007
- EJF and Hen Mpoano Report on Transparency in Ghana’s Fisheries Sector 2019
- EJF Report on Vessel Ownership in Ghana’s Industrial Trawl Sector 2018
- Legal Opinion on Transshipment in Ghana, TaylorCrabbe, 2018
- Report of Roundtable on Implementation of the VGGT and SSF Guidelines 2018
- Assessment of Ghana’s Fisheries Laws for Alignment with the VGGT and SSF Guidelines, TaylorCrabbe and EJF, 2019
- Issue Brief on the Principles of the VGG
Treaties, Intl. Agreements & Guidelines
This page contains copies of international treaties and agreements that have been signed or ratified by The Government of Ghana.
Compulsory
- Agreement on Port State Measures to Deter IUU Fishing and Communication on Ghana Ratification of Agreement on Port State Measures on IUU Ghana Ratification on 29 November 2016
- UN Agreement for the implementation of UNCLOS relating to the conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks (1994); Ghana ratification on 27 January 2017
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982; Ghana ratification on 7 June 1983
- Agreement relating to the implementation of Part XI of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982; (regarding the seabed and ocean floor and subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction) Ghana ratification on 23 September 2016
- Agreement to Promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas 1993
- International Convention-Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas of 1966 and updated through 2017; Ghana ratification on 17 April 1968, Paris Protocal ratified 12 December 1988, Madrid Protocol ratified 23 November 2001
Voluntary
- FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries 2011
- Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication 2015, FAO
- Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, 2012, FAO
- Voluntary Guidelines on Flag State Performance (VGFSP), FAO, 2015