Help improve skills in tuna fishing — Farmer

The Ghana Tuna Association (GTA) has advocated the need for a tuna faculty at the Regional Maritime  University (RMU) at Nungua to train Ghanaian personnel to acquire requisite skills in tuna fishing.

According to the association, lack of the requisite skills had placed the local personnel at a disadvantage, while expatriates held on to key positions on tuna vessels.

The newly elected President of the GTA, Mr John Augustus Farmer, the Managing Director of Agnesspark Fisheries, made the call after a keenly contested election to elect new executive for the association in Tema.

Tuna industry

The association, which is the only body which controls the tuna industry in Ghana, also elected Mr Nichol Elizabeth, the General Manager of PFC \ TTV as its Vice  Chairman.

Other officers elected were  Secretary - Mr Samuel Boye Ayertey, Managing Director of  Trust Allied  Fishing;  Treasurer -  Mr John Davidson, Managing Director of BSK Marine  and  Executive  Member, Mr John Okai, Managing Director of  Rico Fisheries.

Mr Farmer said the association made the request to the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture some eight years ago for the establishment of a faculty to train local personnel in tuna fishing.

He said the Japanese Agency for International Cooperation (JICA), in consultation with the ministry, laid the foundation for the takeoff of the project but the initiative became still born.

Mr Farmer, therefore, appealed to the ministry to consider the request to help strengthen the tuna industry.