{"id":3791,"date":"2026-04-14T17:57:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T17:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/?p=3791"},"modified":"2026-04-17T05:08:33","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T05:08:33","slug":"ghana-declares-its-first-marine-protected-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/?p=3791","title":{"rendered":"Ghana declares its first marine protected area"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ghana has declared its first marine protected area after more than 15 years of efforts to bolster marine conservation and safeguard its depleting fish stocks.<\/p>\n

Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang announced the creation of the MPA on April 14. It marks a \u201chistoric moment,\u201d according to Ghana\u2019s fisheries commission, Benjamin Campion.<\/p>\n

The designated area covers 703 square kilometers (271 square miles) in the greater Cape Three Points area, at the southernmost tip of the country. A key spawning and nursery ground for small pelagic fisheries, targeting fish near the water\u2019s surface, the area has been identified as having the potential to restore critical fish populations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The<\/span> <\/span>protected<\/span> <\/span>area<\/span> <\/span>will<\/span> <\/span>consist<\/span> <\/span>of<\/span> <\/span>a<\/span> <\/span>core<\/span> <\/span>zone<\/span> <\/span>where<\/span> <\/span>no<\/span> <\/span>fishing<\/span> <\/span>will<\/span> <\/span>be<\/span> <\/span>allowed<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>multiple-use<\/span> <\/span>zones<\/span> <\/span>where<\/span> <\/span>fishing<\/span> <\/span>and<\/span> <\/span>other<\/span> <\/span>activities<\/span> <\/span>will<\/span> <\/span>be<\/span> <\/span>still<\/span> <\/span>be<\/span> <\/span>permitted<\/span>,<\/span> <\/span>but<\/span> <\/span>strictly<\/span> <\/span>regulated<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe MPA forms part of a broader national strategy to rebuild Ghana\u2019s fisheries sector, complementing existing interventions,\u201d Campion told Mongabay via email.<\/p>\n

Ghana\u2019s small pelagic fishery is at risk of collapse<\/span><\/a> due to years of overfishing by a growing artisanal sector, the use of destructive gear and fishing methods by industrial trawlers, and the effects of climate change. These pressures increasingly threaten the country\u2019s food security, as a <\/span>majority of the population\u2019s animal protein<\/a><\/span> intake comes from small pelagics.<\/span><\/p>\n

In response, Ghana has implemented <\/span>multiple conservation<\/span><\/a> measures to ease pressure on populations of sardinella <\/span>(Sardinella<\/em>\u00a0spp.), anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus<\/em>) and mackerel (Scomber japonicus<\/em>). These include seasonal fisheries closures, a three-year moratorium imposed in 2023 on new canoes entering the artisanal fishery, a trawl gear directive, and the reclassification and registration of all fishing vessels.<\/span><\/p>\n

The MPA aims to support the \u201clong-term protection of critical habitats, supporting the sustained recovery and resilience of marine fisheries resources over time,\u201d Campion said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The creation of the MPA suffered a setback<\/span><\/a> in 2025 when the U.S. government slashed funding for aid agency USAID. USAID was a key supporter of increased regulation of Ghana\u2019s fisheries sector, including the establishment of MPAs.<\/p>\n

Stephen Kankam, from Ghanaian NGO Hen Mpoano, which has been involved in the planning and design of the MPA, told Mongabay by email that the declaration is significant as a practical step toward rebuilding the country\u2019s fisheries, \u201cnot just in policy, but on the ground.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He added that communities have been at the heart of the designation process, contributing to the identification of fishing grounds and breeding areas. \u201cThat local knowledge has been built into the design of the MPA,\u201d Kankam said, adding that the site will be managed according to a co-management model.<\/span><\/p>\n

Twenty-one participating communities have representatives in community management groups, which serve as points of contact for higher-ranked decision-making committees.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Kankam, the next steps will be to finalize the MPA\u2019s zoning system \u2014 clarifying what activities are allowed where \u2014 and to ensure that monitoring, enforcement and compliance mechanisms are effective.<\/span><\/p>\n

Banner image<\/em><\/strong><\/span>: <\/em>Cape Three Points village, Ghana. Image by <\/em><\/span>Tini Maier via Flickr.<\/a> CC BY 2.0<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Ghana has declared its first marine protected area after more than 15 years of efforts to bolster marine conservation and safeguard its depleting fish stocks. Vice President Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang announced the creation of the MPA on April 14. It marks a \u201chistoric moment,\u201d according to Ghana\u2019s fisheries commission, Benjamin Campion. The designated area covers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nature-biodiversity"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3791"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3793,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3791\/revisions\/3793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatevdo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}