Supporting the Fisheries Commission’s Community Fisheries Watchdog Committees: Review of the Ghanaian Legal Context
There is no express provision of Ghanaian law that prescribes the establishment of the FWCs by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MOFAD). However, the combined effect of articles 35(6)(d); 36(9); 41(k); 240(2) of the 1992 Constitution and sections 2(2)(o) and 94(4) of the Fisheries Act, 2002 (Act 625) is that the FWCs can be lawfully established by the Minister of Fisheries and piloted immediately. However, for FWC volunteers to place a more robust role in fisheries enforcement, including engaging in arrests or seizures, it is appropriate to operate with an express backing of the law, in light of the serious nature of the involvement of citizens in fisheries law enforcement activities. This would require an amendment to the existing Fisheries Act.
Read full report http://www.crc.uri.edu/download/GH2014_POL050_SSG_508.pdf