Ghana’s tuna industry in crisis as 20 hook-and-line vessels collapse  

Ghana’s tuna industry is facing mounting operational pressures that have already wiped out its entire hook-and-line fleet, with escalating costs and gaps in local expertise threatening the survival of a vital part of the sector.

The health of Ghana’s fishing fleet is therefore closely tied to the survival of the local processing industry, and the collapse of 20 hook-and-line vessels has brought that connection into sharp focus.“Restrictions on the use of light as an aggregating device made it harder for hook-and-line vessels to secure live bait, forcing some operators to spend up to two weeks searching for bait and another two weeks fishing, leaving little room to break even and contributing to the collapse of the entire fleet,” he said.