According to Dr. Mahamudu Bawumi, Vice President, several foreign fishing vessels have been denied licences to operate in Ghana.

The decision, he noted, is part of measures to defend the country’s territorial seas.

The NPP’s newly elected presidential candidate, the second gentleman of the land, stated that the government is strictly monitoring the operations of the fisheries industry.

He made the statements while speaking at the 3rd Biennial Conference on Fisheries and Coastal Environment in Accra.

“The government has begun various activities to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in our waters. We are seriously regulating the licensing of foreign fishing vessels, especially their fishing gear, where they fish, and whether they have licenses or not. Some of these foreign vessels have already been denied licenses,” he said.

He also promised to make the blue economy a key component of the New Patriotic Party’s (NPP) manifesto for next year’s general election.

He said the government has approved a $150 million World Bank loan to help fight coastal degradation.

“The government has approved a loan of $150 million from the World Bank for the West Africa coastal area program to stem the tide of coastal degradation occurring in our coastal areas.”

He said the loan would be used to finance several projects, including the development of sustainable fishing and aquaculture practices and the promotion of blue tourism and other blue economic activities.

Dr. Bawumia said the government is also committed to working with the private sector to develop the blue economy.

He stated that the government has developed a number of incentives to encourage private investment in the blue economy, such as tax reductions and access to finance.

According to the Vice President, the blue economy has the potential to create millions of employment and produce billions of dollars in revenue for Ghana.

He also stated that the administration is committed to building the blue economy sustainably and inclusively.