Accra, July 25, GNA - Mr Daniel Dugan, Deputy Minister of Fisheries, on Wednesday bemoaned the continuous use of the country's beaches as waste dump sites, saying "the litter that collects on the beaches is an indication of what goes into the sea". He said the unacceptable gesture naturally either drove away the marine resources or gradually killed them, culminating in recent decline in marine resources.

Whatever waste, whether organic, inorganic or toxic should be of great concern to all who are interested in coastal zone management, he told participants at the commissioning of the Regional Centre of Marine Productivity and Biodiversity of the Interim Guinea Current Commission (IGCC) of the Guinea Current Large Marine Ecosystem (GCLME) at the University of Ghana, Legon.

The Regional Centre, which will research into marine productivity and biodiversity for the sub-region is one of the six centres of excellence established under the GCLME project to promote high level scientific activities for the protection and prudent management of marine resources of the GCLME.

The centre will serve 16 coastal nations from Guinea Bissau to Angola.

Mr Dugan said the continuous dumping of waste was creating a poor state of landing sites for artisanal fishermen, adding that some of the fishermen ran the risk of losing their canoes, catches and lives. "One important way of reversing the decline of the productivity of fisheries, both marine and freshwater, is through the promotion of aquaculture.

"With the assistance of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) the Ministry of Fisheries has mapped out areas in Ghana that are suitable for general aquaculture, including shrimp and prawn farming," he said.

Mr Abraham Odoom, Deputy Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, said the establishment of the Regional Marine Productivity and Biodiversity Centre in Ghana should be seen as Ghana's additional effort in helping to advance knowledge at the critical time of climate change.

He urged the University of Ghana to take advantage of the recognition accorded it as the host institution to work harder for the centre to rank among the world's centres of excellence. "As policy makers, we rely on you the experts to provide us with the necessary information for us to develop right policies," he said. Mr Odoom said the Region stood amongst the world's richest areas in terms of marine biodiversity, many of which were being threatened with extinction as a result of harmful and illegal practices. "The University of Ghana must be seen to be playing the leadership role in developing the necessary manpower as well as making relevant strides in areas that can impact on the economies of participating countries in the project," he said.

Mr A K Armah, Head of Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, said the Department was designing a new three-month practical programme in aquaculture and business skills to begin next year for all persons interested in aquaculture development. The programme would be opened to people from Junior Secondary School level to the highest level and would be undertaken during the long vacation, he said.

Professor Jacques Abe, Environment Scientist, GCLME, said the GCLME project was aimed at combating the depletion of living resources and coastal area degradation in the Guinea current coastal waters through ecosystem-based regional approach.

The Centre, he noted, was one of the cornerstones of the GCLME project, adding that the interim commission was looking forward to attaining a full Commission status by 2009. Prof F K Rodrigues, Dean of Faculty of Science, University of Ghana, said the GCLME was one of the 64 large marine ecosystems of the world.

"It is ranked among the most productive coastal and offshore waters in the world with rich resources, oil, gas, precious minerals, a high potential for tourism and an important reservoir of marine biological diversity of global significance," he said. 25 July 07