The minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Emelia Arthur, has warned fish processors to stop using illegal and unsafe fish processing methods that endanger public health.
She said the ministry would not hesitate to crack down on any method of fish processing that poses health risk to consumers, compromises fish quality and endangers public health.
The move, she said, would reduce post-harvest losses, cut contamination and food poisoning, and ensure fish processed in Ghana meets international best practices and certified standards.
Madam Arthur made this known when she delivered the keynote address at the 2026 Central Regional Fish Fair on Friday October 9, 2026, which was aimed at building grassroots capacity for a sustainable ocean economy in Ghana.
Speaking on the theme: “Securing the Food Chain: Safe Fish, Certified Processors and Informed Consumers for a Healthy Nation“, she said, “Let me be equally clear, we must put an end to illegal, unsafe, and unauthorized fish processing methods.”
According to her, the need for processors to use best methods to process fish has become imperative because Ghana continued to lose valuable fish through poor handling, inadequate storage and inefficient processing.
She said “Every fish lost is income lost. Every unsafe fish sold puts lives at risk” and described this as a challenging situation with negative impact on livelihoods, especially women who dominated fish processing and trade.
She further assured that “The Ministry is prioritizing improved fish processing technologies, hygienic fish handling, better storage and cold chain infrastructure and support for processes to obtain food safety certification”.
Compliance
To ensure compliance, she explained that the ministry would work with the Ghana Standards Authority, Food and Drugs Authority, Environmental Health Authorities and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to establish, promote and enforce standards throughout the fish value chain.
She urged the various MMDAs to maintain their oversight responsibilities to make hygiene and sanitation at landing beaches, processing centres and fish markets a local development priority.
“We will support compliance through education, partner with organizations like CEWEFIA, Hen, Mpoano and others…. I commend CEWEFIA, the organizers and partners for this initiative, and I invite you all to join us in Accra on 21st November for World Fisheries Day.” She stated.
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