Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture Emelia Arthur on Wednesday officially launched the Inshore Exclusion Zone Enforcement and Transparency (IEZET) project in Accra, calling on industry players, fishing communities, and civil society to unite behind ongoing reforms designed to rebuild Ghana’s declining fish stocks and protect coastal livelihoods.
The launch, held at the La Palm Royal Beach Hotel, marks the start of a new initiative to strengthen enforcement of the Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ), which was expanded from six to twelve nautical miles under the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, 2025 (Act 1146). The landmark legislation introduced sweeping changes to Ghana’s fisheries governance framework, including the establishment of an independent Fisheries Commission and stricter penalties against illegal fishing, aiming to protect over $425 million in annual seafood exports while sustaining livelihoods for approximately 2.7 million artisanal fishers.
The IEZET project is being implemented by a consortium led by the Ghana Fisheries and Global Action (GFRA), working alongside Hen Mpoano and the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). The minister appealed for voluntary compliance from all stakeholders to ensure the project’s smooth rollout.
“The success of this project is inseparable from the full implementation of the new fisheries legislation. Together, they represent our commitment to restore our fisheries, protect livelihoods, and secure the future of our ocean,” Arthur said.
The minister moved to address concerns within fishing communities, assuring stakeholders that conservation measures would not be pursued at the expense of people’s survival. “Conservation cannot and will not come at the cost of people’s survival; sustainability must go hand in hand with livelihoods,” she said, adding that the ministry would continue pursuing diversified livelihood support, access to finance, and social protection, particularly for women and youth.
Board Chair of GFRA, Dr Jessica Nkansah, said the project’s success would hinge on active collaboration across all stakeholder groups. “Our complementary strengths, our synergies, position us well for great success. We are equally aware that the success of this project will depend on the active collaboration of all stakeholders,” she said, pledging to operate with transparency, diligence, and integrity throughout implementation.
The IEZET launch comes against a backdrop of mounting pressure on Ghana’s inshore waters, with recent investigations showing that industrial trawlers continue to operate illegally within the exclusion zone, with artisanal fishers reporting sharp declines in catches and incomes as fish stocks collapse.
Ghana’s small-scale fisheries sector employs more than 200,000 people and operates approximately 12,000 canoes, making effective enforcement of the exclusion zone a critical priority for sustaining coastal communities.
