Ghana’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Blue Ventures Conservation, formalising a collaboration aimed at advancing sustainable fisheries management and protecting the country’s marine resources.
The partnership will focus on several key areas, including policy, legal and institutional support, fisheries law enforcement, capacity building and training, scientific research and data collection, community engagement and co-management, and marine conservation and ecosystem protection. The agreement also emphasises community livelihood empowerment and the development of stronger monitoring and evaluation systems to track outcomes.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Blue Ventures Conservation Chief Executive Officer Ebrima Saidy described the MoU as timely, noting that deeper collaboration with the Ministry would be essential to achieving their shared goals. He reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to delivering meaningful impact through direct stakeholder engagement and used the occasion to extend an invitation to Minister Emelia Arthur to speak at the 11th Our Ocean Conference, scheduled to take place in Kenya in June 2026, positioning Ghana within a broader global fisheries and ocean governance conversation.
Minister Arthur welcomed the partnership and highlighted a significant shift in the Ministry’s approach to fisheries enforcement. She emphasised the importance of prioritising compliance over punitive enforcement in addressing Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, arguing that this approach would yield more effective and lasting results. She added that the MoU aligns with Ghana’s national development priorities and contributes to global efforts to conserve fisheries at a time when marine resource sustainability remains under increasing pressure.
The agreement builds on prior engagement. Blue Ventures conducted a mission to Ghana from February 22 to March 2, 2026, reviewing partnership frameworks, engaging stakeholders, and conducting field visits to selected landing beaches to assess on-the-ground conditions.
The MoU is the latest in a series of international fisheries partnerships Ghana has pursued this year. The Ministry previously signed an agreement with Italy’s CIHEAM Bari in February 2026, and is currently advancing a national Blue Economy Policy framework. The Blue Ventures partnership is expected to deepen community-based approaches to resource management and reinforce Ghana’s broader push to balance economic activity in its fisheries value chain with long-term marine sustainability.
