The Acting Executive Director of the Fisheries Commission, Professor Kwadwo Berchie Asiedu, has announced that Ghana will this year declare its first Marine Protected Area (MPA), starting with the Greater Cape Three Points in the Western Region.

According to adomonline.com, he made the remarks on March 3, 2026, during the launch of the 'Save Our Sea' (SOS) campaign, organized by the Ghana Agricultural and Rural Development Journalists Association (GARDJA) in partnership with the Earth Journalism Network.

“We are starting this one by implementing the first Marine Protected Area (MPA). The MPA declaration is going to happen this year, maybe this month the President will go and declare the first Marine Protected Area at the Greater Cape Three Points,” he said.

According to Berchie Asiedu, the move forms part of Ghana’s commitment to the global ‘30×30’ target an international agreement under the Global Biodiversity Framework that seeks to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s land and ocean areas by 2030.

More than 190 countries have signed onto the initiative, although global progress remains slow, with only about 2.9 percent of the world’s oceans currently fully or highly protected.

Government targets Ghana's first marine protected area by 2026

Ghana is expected to declare twenty-one coastal communities as Marine Protected Areas, a step aimed at conserving marine biodiversity and improving fisheries management.

Once designated, fishing activities within these zones will be restricted to allow fish populations to recover.

Explaining the benefits of the initiative, Berchie Asiedu said the protected areas would create safe spaces for fish to reproduce and mature, ultimately benefiting local fishing communities.

“The MPA has so many benefits. It’s for the fish to lay their eggs and also for the fish to rest. In that sense it would increase our catch per unit effort,” he noted.

The training programme, themed “Effective Media Coverage of Marine Issues in Ghana,” equipped journalists with knowledge on the global 30×30 marine conservation target and other complex marine issues.

The event brought together policymakers and stakeholders committed to promoting ocean conservation, sustainable fisheries management and Ghana’s progress toward meeting its international biodiversity commitments.

SO/VPO

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