Takoradi, Nov 8, GNA - The boss of a non-governmental organization has praised women for their contribution towards the growth of the fishing industry over the years.

Mr Kwadwo Yamoah Kyei, the Programmes Coordinator of Friends of the Nation an Environmental, recounted how women had contributed to the sector in terms of pre-financing men to go to sea, buying and selling the product and this had kept most of the coastal cities alive. Mr Kyei said this in an interview with the GNA at the close of a one-day capacity workshop for journalists on governance issues and the right and responsibilities of stakeholders towards sustainable fishery resource management.

He said by their active engagement in the industry, women had contributed to poverty reduction, adding "the coastal woman can now put food on the table, and support in paying school fees and meet other needs of the family".

Mr Kyei said the NGO, with support from the Overseas Development Institute, had put up programmes and activities aimed at managing the country's ecosystem to generate long term socio-economic benefits to communities while sustaining biodiversity. He noted that the NGO was also strengthening the capacity for fisheries compliance and enforcement in coastal communities as a means of solving the problem of depletion of fish stock.