University of Cape Coast

Centre for Coastal Management

A three-day work planning workshop was held by the USAID/UCC Fisheries and Coastal Management Capacity Building Support Project last week, from 25 to 27 July 2017, to set project activities for the fourth year of its implementation as well as map out strategies for their execution. This year's session, which was held at the City Escape Hotels in Prampram, Accra, brought together key stakeholders from Ghana's fisheries sector. Notable among the participants were Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Prof. Joseph Ghartey Ampiah, the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD), Hon. Elizabeth Afoley Quaye, and representative of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Mr. Justice Odoi. Others present were the Deputy Minister MoFAD, Hon Francis Kingsley Ato Cudjoe, Chief Director at MoFAD, Mr. Yaw Atobrah and the USAID's Government-to-Government Specialist, Michael Fiadzigbey, and the out-going Dean of the School of Biological Sciences (UCC), Prof. Johnson Nelson Buah.

In her keynote address at the event, Minster for Fsheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) Hon. Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye stressed on the need for the Ministry to strengthen collaboration with academia and other ministries in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the country. Stocks of important fish species have been declining and this has led to several interventions by government in a bid to revamp the collapsing stocks. The Minister further committed to assisting the Project on their boat registration challenges and help Centre for Coastal Management (CCM) to acquire a national monument within the coastal area in the Central Region of Ghana, intended for use as office space and community outreach centre; both of which could be benefitial to the MoFAD and Tourism Ministry respectively.

The work planning workshop looked at achievements in the third year, challenges, and the way forward entering year four of the Project. The Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (DFAS) at UCC is implementing the Project, which is a collaboration between USAID and the University. As part of the project outputs, DFAS seeks to fully operationalise CCM independent of the Department. As such in planning for year four, issues concerning staffing at the Centre were discussed. In addition, an important approach into the fourth year of the Project is the segregation of oversight responsibility of project activities into two under DFAS and CCM for a much more efficient management of the USAID/UCC funded project.