The Environmental Justice Foundation in its latest investigations has partly blamed Ghana’s Parliament for the incessant human rights abuses in the fishing sector.

The year-long report argued that Parliament’s failure to ratify “the International Labour Organization (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention” as well as the “2012 IMO Cape Town Agreement” to ensure minimum standards of vessel safety is a contributing factor.

The report highlighted a Chinese-densely populated sector where crew members and fish observers live under poor hygienic conditions stating that: “Whilst the Ghanaians are forced to either bring their own water, or drink polluted water from the tank, Chinese crew have an ample supply of drinking water which they keep locked away”.

It further stated that, “Water for both drinking and washing is scarce. Fishers reported that they would drink from an on-board polytank, which would have rust on the inside. Over the course of a trip it would discolour the drinking water, making them ill”.

The report revealed, “three forms of IUU fishing by the industrial trawl fleet were identified as particularly prevalent: fishing within the IEZ reserved for canoe fishers; and the use of illegal gears.”

The EJF further explained that “Since 2017, EJF has sent 30 vessel alerts relating to 24 different vessels suspected of trawling within the IEZ, however in most cases, they have gone unanswered.”

Read the full report here