The Pioneer Food Cannery (PFC), ahead of World Ocean Day, has sensitized Ghanaians on the need to keep Ghana’s ocean clean and called on relevant stakeholders to protect Ghana’s water bodies.
The sensitization event by the PFC was marked with a cleanup exercise at the Tema Fishing Harbour. The exercise is aimed to promote knowledge about how to preserve the oceans for generations. It was also used to sensitize the fishers on the need to keep the ocean clean.
Madam Vida Botchwey, PFC Human Resources Director, in an interview, said the ocean is one of the greatest resources, a major source of income and food, among others.
Speaking on the theme: “Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean,” Madam Botchwey said there is a need to raise awareness to promote global ocean and resource sustainability.
Madam Botchwey cautioned that dumping of refuse into water bodies was adversely affecting marine life and called for a behavioural change to maintain the ocean.
“When we dump, it all comes back into the ocean and the coastal areas are seriously impacted, as people who depend on the ocean, we must take care of it, because it’s by taking care of it today that tomorrow, our generation to come also can use the ocean.”
Vida Botchwey
Rejuvenating the oceans is a collective responsibility
Mr. Kwame Adumako, the Acting Director of PFC, explained that the World Ocean Day celebration is to create awareness and ensure sustainable management of the ocean.
He said rejuvenating the oceans is a collective responsibility and urged the stakeholders to play their roles in creating a sustainable future for the world.
He said ocean pollution is one of the environmental concerns affecting the world at large, adding that the injury of the ocean is also harmful to marine life, and can lead to the loss of jobs linked to the oceans, and others.
In a recent interview, Nii Ashitey Odamtey II, Tema Chief Fisherman, revealed that preserving Ghana’s marine fisheries go beyond replacing fish stock; instead, it is mitigating human activities such as pollution, and habitat destruction, among others, urging fishers and Ghanaians to adopt positive attitudes that would help preserve and conserve the ocean for future generations.
“The ocean has been a significant source of income, solving unemployment problems, oxygen among others, and any activity that would lead to the destruction of the ocean must be abolished. The preservation of marine life does not only have to do with replacing the fish population, but also mitigating human activities such as pollution, habitat destructions, overfishing, and a lot more.”
Nii Ashitey Odamtey II
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