A Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Moses Anim has underscored the need to increase fish production, adding that government is working assiduously to support the youth in aquaculture.

According to him, the supply of fish is not meeting demand in the market due to the country’s depleting marine resources. He was speaking at the Blue Food partnership event by the Chamber of Aquaculture.

The Ghana Chamber of Aquaculture and the World Economic Forum under its Blue Food project held a networking event to deliberate on ways to improve the sector.

In an interview, Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, Moses Anim said government is working to ensure that the aquaculture sector is able to meet demands in the market.

“Aquaculture remains the most viable alternative to bridge the gap between our supply and demand because if we even say that our annual per capita consumption is 20kilogram .We have 30 million Ghanaians. If you multiply this, it gives you a fair idea of how high the demand is”, he said.

Chairman of the Ghana Chamber of Agriculture, Dr. Henry Anim Somuah also noted that an increase in the production of fish would help to reduce the cost of food.

He also added that promoting sustainable practices would support the transformation of Ghana’s aquaculture industry, which is currently the fastest growing in sub-Saharan Africa.

A project lead of Futurefish, the technical partners of the Blue Food Partnership Ghana Initiative, Dr. Olek Kaminski, said the initiative would ensure the adoption of more responsible practices and a resilient aquaculture industry.

He said a number of stakeholders engagement had been held, while a survey had also been carried out to find out the priority areas for the sector.

Stakeholders also called for a transformation of the sector to make it sustainable.