Fish imports into Ghana this year is expected to drop considerably as a result of rising fuel costs on the world market.

Kofi Adusei Poku, deputy Minister of Fisheries and Member of Parliament for Bekwai, who disclosed this to this reporter in an interview in Accra, said from 209, 358.99 metric tonnes in 2006, fish imports rose to 261,592.05 metric tonnes last year due to the bird flu disease in some Asian countries which led to high fish consumption.

To save the situation, the minister has called on the private sector to consider investing massively in aquaculture.

Government, on its part, is trying to get an Indian boat manufacturing firm to come and set up in Ghana and manufacture fibre-glass boats to replace old wooden canoes.

“Government is determined to revamp and build the fisheries sector to advanced levels,” he noted, adding that fishing methods and equipment currently used in the country were all antiquated.

Given the current situation globally on food and oil prices and their attendant repercussions on economies of developing countries, he said, “If we do not immediately address such deficiencies in our system, we stand the risk of experiencing fish shortage in the near future.”

He stressed that fish in the country’s sea was fast depleting due to errant fishing practices by some fishermen, pointing out that government was running a credit scheme for fish farmers across the country where the latter could obtain financial assistance ranging between GH¢40 million and GH¢60 million to improve their businesses.

This package comes with the provision of fish fingerlings and feed by the Fisheries Ministry to ensure 100 percent profitability.

Also, he said government was working at contracting a $120-million Chinese Government loan to develop about 14 fish landing sites along the country’s coast.

According to him, government was committed to vigorously developing the fisheries sector.

“The Fisheries Ministry is planning to embark on a massive awareness creation and education on aquaculture.