The Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson has chaired the meeting of the National Planning Committee for the 7th Meeting of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Ministers in Fisheries and Aquaculture
The 7th meeting of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) ministers in Fisheries and Aquaculture will be held in Ghana next year under the theme: OACPS Blue Economy Agenda 2030 – Catalyzing the Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Development for the Future.
The Ministerial-level meeting is expected to contribute to the high-level political commitment to catalyzing actions to accelerate and improve the ocean-governance and ensure the sustainable development of fisheries and Aquaculture.
The participants for the event will also consider, for adoption, the OACPS Strategic Plan of Action for Fisheries and Aquaculture, which is a ten-year Plan (2021-2030) to support the goals and ambitions of OACPS regions and member countries for the sustainable development of their fisheries and Aquaculture sector.
The Fisheries and Aquaculture sector plays a crucial role in providing much-needed employment and export revenues for many African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) the Member States. The sector also plays an irreplaceable role in the food and nutritional security and indeed the lifeline of many dependent communities particularly from ACP Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Fish also continues to be one of the most-traded food commodities with more than 60 of the ACP States engaged in the export of fishery and aquaculture products. For some ACP states, fisheries exports account for half the total value of their traded commodities.
The ACP Fisheries Mechanism was formed in 2009 to reinforce the key role that fisheries and aquaculture play in the socio-economic development of member states and continues to play a catalytic role to contribute to the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture. The priority areas of focus include actions to ensure effective management of fisheries, obtain optimal returns from fisheries trade, support the development of aquaculture, enhance food security and preserve the environment.
Five high-level ministerial meetings have been held to determine policy and strategic options for the implementation of actions for the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture for ACP countries.
The sixth meeting that was held in 2019 was aimed to advance the foremost goal of sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture by providing an opportunity to consider a range of policy options for the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture in ACP Countries.
The Ministers reviewed the implementation of earlier decisions and made decisions to give momentum to Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, Small scale fisheries for food security and livelihoods, Post-harvest losses reduction, enhanced value addition and market access, Climate change and fisheries, Inland fisheries for economic transformation, Sustainable blue growth and Aquaculture Development