In a Press Release issued on Human Rights Day, the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG) has called on the government to institute quarterly meetings with representatives of small-scale fishers and fishworkers as a platform to engage regularly towards addressing human-rights violations and the numerous concerns of artisanal fishers and fishworkers.
The Release, signed by Nana Kweigyah, National President of CaFGOAG, draws attention to the perilous state of Ghana’s small pelagic fishery, which has serious implications for the economic and social rights of small-scale fishing communities.
The Release continues:
The right to an adequate standard of living including right to food, and the right to decent working conditions are recognized in Articles 25, and 23, respectively of the Universal Declaration on Human Right (UDHR). According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), state parties under article 11 (1) recognize the right of everyone to an adequate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. Under article 11 (2) of ICESCR, state parties recognize the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger.
Unfortunately, these rights of small scale fishers have been violated over the years through Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) fishing practices which are widespread across all sectors of Ghana’s fisheries, rendering fishing communities poorer and more vulnerable.
The steep decline in fish catch by artisanal fishers means decline in income and deterioration of standard of living of fishers and fish workers.
It is urgently required of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) and the Fisheries Commission (FC) to address the widespread IUU fishing in all sectors of Ghana’s fisheries, including the artisanal subsector, and more urgently activities of industrial trawlers that deprives artisanal fishers of meaningful fish catch].
The recent declaration of Zero Tolerance for IUU fishing practices, by Hon Mavis Hawa Koomson, at the opening of the 37th Farmers Day and Trade Exhibition, in Cape Coast, is a timely one that has to be supported by all stakeholders towards its realization.
According to the Minister, MoFAD had intensified Fisheries Enforcement Operations including Sea and Land Patrols, Deployment of Observers on fishing vessels, effective operations of the Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) and the Automatic Information Systems (AIS) to promote voluntary compliance. This is a welcome news because duty bearers, have a duty to respect, fulfil and protect the human rights of the right holders, and must be seen at all times to be doing so.
It must be emphasized that addressing human rights abuses begins with participation of rights holders in decision-making processes in a non-discriminatory and transparent manner. This must be ensured by all duty bearers, including the States and its Agencies, the Private Sector, Inter-Governmental Organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society Organizations.