Second, ensuring adequate nutrition among the most vulnerable households along the coastline can ensure the stability and prosperity of this country. Fish remains an extremely important protein in Ghana. It makes up 60 percent of the animal food protein supply in the Ghanaian diet. We want to ensure that the fish we consume is healthy, free from contamination and good for consumption. Finally, I want to tell you a short story about an amazing young man named Kojo. At the age of twelve, Kojo was trafficked from Ghana’s Central Region to Liberia where he was forced to work long hours and endured an incredible amount of mental and physical abuse. Today, Kojo now serves as an advocate in his community. Our Feed the Future program trains former victims, like Kojo to combat child labor and trafficking in Ghana’s coastal communities through advocacy. It is absolutely crucial that we enforce appropriate labor and safety standards in the fish sector, so other children do not share his fate. It is my hope that our conversations today will serve a two-fold purpose: to inspire you and your counterparts to actively rebuilding Ghana’s fisheries and encourage everyone here today to help lead this transformation in your respective communities, like Kojo continues to do. I truly believe that if we all work together: fishers, processors, traders, government agencies and development partners, then we can avert a fishing collapse and achieve a healthy and profitable fishing industry in Ghana. The time is now. Thank you.
Second, ensuring adequate nutrition among the most vulnerable households along the coastline can ensure the stability and prosperity of this country. Fish remains an extremely important protein in Ghana. It makes up 60 percent of the animal food protein supply in the Ghanaian diet. We want to ensure that the fish we consume is healthy, free from contamination and good for consumption. Finally, I want to tell you a short story about an amazing young man named Kojo. At the age of twelve, Kojo was trafficked from Ghana’s Central Region to Liberia where he was forced to work long hours and endured an incredible amount of mental and physical abuse. Today, Kojo now serves as an advocate in his community. Our Feed the Future program trains former victims, like Kojo to combat child labor and trafficking in Ghana’s coastal communities through advocacy. It is absolutely crucial that we enforce appropriate labor and safety standards in the fish sector, so other children do not share his fate. It is my hope that our conversations today will serve a two-fold purpose: to inspire you and your counterparts to actively rebuilding Ghana’s fisheries and encourage everyone here today to help lead this transformation in your respective communities, like Kojo continues to do. I truly believe that if we all work together: fishers, processors, traders, government agencies and development partners, then we can avert a fishing collapse and achieve a healthy and profitable fishing industry in Ghana. The time is now. Thank you.
UCC_Fisheries_Conference_FINAL.27020151.docx