Hen Mpoano, an NGO in coastal and marine ecosystem governance, has launched two complementary projects to restore Ghana’s declining fisheries and promote gender-equitable marine conservation.
The first project, dubbed, “With Fishers, For Fishers: Sustaining Ghana’s Fisheries Recovery,” funded by the Hans Wilsdorf Foundation, seeks to strengthen fisheries co-management systems, rebuild depleted fish stocks, and enhance community resilience across 21 coastal communities in the Western and Central Regions.
The other, “Gender-Responsive Conservation: Integrating GBV Considerations into the Proposed Marine Protected Area of the Greater Cape Three Points Area,” was being implemented from 2025 to 2027, in partnership with The Ark Foundation and CEWEFIA.
The project funded by the Norwegian Government, would ensure that Ghana’s first Marine Protected Area initiative, which would restrict fishing activities in some protected marine space, was sustainable and gender-inclusive.
Mr Kofi Agbogah, Director, Hen Mpoano, said through these projects, engagements between fishers and state actors would be deepened to ensure adequate participation in decision-making within the sector.
“These projects reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that conservation and fisheries recovery go hand in hand with gender equality, social protection, and community empowerment,” he added.
Mr Agbogah said the projects would help prepare fishers and costal communities towards the rollout of Ghana’s Marine Protected Area initiative.
This would ensure that the livelihoods of fishers, especially women, were protected during the rollout.
Mrs Emelia Arthur, Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, commended Hen Mpoano for implementing initiatives over the years to promote sustainability and empowerment in the country’s fisheries sector.
“What Hen Mpoano is achieving locally reflects the direction we are taking nationally. As a government, we are determined to ensure that the gains from every sector, including agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing, and services, are inclusive, equitable, and sustainable.
“This is the future we will build, together, in partnership, with integrity, accountability, and care for our shared waters and our shared destiny,” she added.
The Minister said her ministry would continue to strengthen its partnership with Civil Society Organisations in resetting the country’s fisheries sector.
She said they were seeking renewed and improved partnerships for transformation, one that was community-driven, inclusive and gender-responsive.
Mr John Mikal Kvistad, Norwegian Ambassador to Ghana, said Norway’s engagement reflected their long-standing belief that sustainable ocean management and gender equality go hand in hand.
He said healthy oceans depended not only on sound science and effective institutions, but also on communities where women and men participate equally, free from violence, discrimination and fear.
GNA
