By Mildred Siabi-Mensah/ Emmanuel Gamson
Just before dawn, as the first rays of sunlight spread across the Atlantic Ocean, fishermen at Akwidaa begin their familiar ritual of hauling nets into wooden canoes, checking outboard motors and steering towards fishing grounds that have sustained generations of coastal families.
These waters have fed families, supported communities and shaped the identity of Ghana’s western coastline, and for many of the men aboard those canoes, this is just another day’s work.
Yet, unknown to an outsider watching from the shore, some of those fishermen were heading into waters whose sections, on paper, are no longer meant for business as usual.
Months after Ghana officially declared its first ever Marine Protected Area (MPA), a landmark conservation achievement hailed by government, scientists, and environmental organisations as a turning point in restoring the country’s collapsing marine ecosystem, the reality on the water tells a different story.
Fishing continues. Nets are still cast, canoes still return with their catch, and life appears to have changed very little.
“For us, we still go on our normal fishing trips even though we understand that some portions on the sea have been designated as MPA,” Mr Peter Essel, a fisherman at Akwidaa, told the Ghana News Agency (GNA).
This issue is not peculiar to fishermen in Akwidaa alone, but shared by others at Dixcove, Busua, and other coastal communities earmarked as part of the MPA.
What is a Marine Protected Area?
A Marine Protected Area (MPA) is a designated section of the ocean or coastline where human activities are regulated or restricted to conserve biodiversity, protect habitats and ensure long-term ecosystem sustainability.
It is often described as the ocean’s equivalent of national parks. Some zones are designated as fully protected where activities such as fishing, and drilling are strictly prohibited, while others are allowed limited use under regulations.
On April 14, 2026, Ghana declared its first ever MPA in the Greater Cape Three Points enclave of the Western Region, marking a historic milestone towards its ocean governance and environmental conservation.
The MPA covers about 700 square kilometres of biodiversity-rich coastal waters in 21 communities within the Greater Cape Three Points enclave. Studies have identified that area as one of Ghana’s most biodiversity-rich areas that has coastal wetlands, rocky reef formations, mangrove ecosystems, and critical fish breeding and nursery habitats that makes it a highly productive marine environment.
Scientists say the MPA functions as safe zones where fish can breed, grow, and replenish without human pressure, and over time, these protected populations can spill over into surrounding fishing areas, boosting catches and restoring balance.
Ghana has developed a balanced mixed-used management approach. Communities will continue to have access to these waters but with a shift from practices that degrade the environment and habitats, and deplete stocks, to sustainable methods that will allow the ocean to recover, regenerate, and strive.
Legal underpinning
The declaration of the MPA was undertaken pursuant to Section 39 of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, 2025 (Act 1146). Specifically, Section 39 (1) of the Act provides that “The Minister shall, on the advice of the Fisheries Commission and after consultation with relevant organisations, agencies, owners of adjoining land, the relevant District Assembly and other stakeholders, declare by notification in the Gazette, an area of the fishery waters and the seabed underlying the waters to be a marine fisheries reserve.”
Section 39 (3) also states that “A person shall not, except with the written permission of the Minister, engage in fishing, dredge or take sand or gravel, or otherwise disturb the natural habitat within a marine fisheries reserve.”
Global biodiversity commitments
The MPA aligns with Ghana’s obligations under regional and global frameworks like the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which calls for the conservation of 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, coastal, and marine areas by 2030, also known as the agenda “30×30” target.
Other frameworks are the Abidjan Convention, which is a framework aimed at promoting cooperation among African coastal states to combat marine pollution and sustainably manage coastal and marine resources.
The African Union Blue Economy Strategy, also a continental policy framework to guide African countries to develop their oceans, seas, rivers, lakes, and other aquatic resources in a way that promotes economic growth, while protecting the environment.
A different reality at sea
Ghana’s declaration of its first MPA was celebrated as one of the country’s boldest environmental decisions in decades as it represented far more than drawing lines on a maritime map.
The move was intended to reverse years of declining fish stocks, habitat destruction, illegal fishing and biodiversity loss.
For a country where fish provides the primary source of animal protein for the people, and where millions including, fishers, fish processors, and sellers among others depend on fisheries for their livelihoods, protecting marine ecosystems is no longer just an environmental issue, but also an economic, social, and food security imperative.
However, Mr Jerry Ansah, an Environmental Activist, says declarations alone cannot restore an ecosystem, noting that protection begins only when rules are respected.
Along the coastline, interviews with fishers reveal a strikingly different picture from the optimism that accompanied the declaration of the MPA.
Many fishers acknowledge hearing about the initiative, and some know that certain areas on the sea have now been designated for conservation.
Meanwhile, what almost all agree on, however, is that fishing has not stopped.
Mr Emmanuel Coffie, a fisherman at Busua, admitted knowing about the MPA and its significance to the fishing industry, but added that: “They said the area has been protected, but we haven’t seen any patrols. Nobody has explained where exactly we should stop fishing.”
Mr Kofi Cosmos, an Assistant Secretary to the Chief Fisherman at Akwidaa, also stressed on the significance of the MPA to fisheries recovery, but notes that enforcement actions after the declaration have been lacking.
“The MPA is a good thing that will help all of us in the fisheries value chain, but our fishermen still go on their usual fishing activities because we do not even have any demarcations to know the exact boundaries on the sea for the MPA.”
He said others were also unsure of which fishing methods would eventually be restricted.
Nana Ebo Ansah, Chief Fisherman for Lower Dixcove, said the absence of enforcement was a major challenge, adding that if nobody was monitoring the area, then the declaration had little practical meaning.
He expressed concern that these perceptions could be dangerous and threatened the sustainability of the MPA.
Does Ghana’s MPA risk becoming a ‘paper park’?
Conservation scientists describe a “paper park” as a protected area that exists in law but not in practice. It has legal government gazettes and official announcements, yet, on the ground, the very activities it was created to prevent continue almost unchecked.
Across the world, numerous protected areas have struggled with this label due to funding gaps, low community buy-in, and weak enforcement actions among others.
Dr Evans K. Arizi, the Chairman for Ghana’s MPA Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), acknowledged that active enforcement had not yet begun.
He said the non-availability of a clear-cut management plan with well-defined zones of the MPA and enforcement actions was what had allowed the fishermen to go on fishing within the area.
“Given that the MPA has not yet been zoned with the associated enforcement modalities or actions clearly spelt out, the expected compliance monitoring has not yet started,” he stated.
On whether the current enforcement gaps posed some risks of the MPA becoming a paper park, Dr Arizi said: “It is too early to indicate that the MPA risks becoming a paper park because some activities and processes are ongoing to develop a viable management plan for the MPA.”
Mr Stephen Kankam, Deputy Director of Hen Mpoano, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that championed the establishment of the MPA, said every MPA around the world risked becoming a “paper park” if implementation processes were not followed through.
He also said it was early to conclude that Ghana’s own would only exist on paper, as processes were underway to lay the fundamentals and foundation for its effective implementation.
Implementation processes so far
While government officials, conservation NGOs, and the TAC agree that enforcement was yet to start, they said authorities were currently developing a comprehensive management plan that would guide implementation of the MPA.
The management plan would determine how the MPA would operate, who would oversee enforcement, how communities would participate, what activities would be permitted or prohibited, and how compliance would be monitored.
Dr Arizi said process had begun for the development of the management plan, and was expected to be completed by the end of this year to allow the plan to be fully operational in 2027.
On whether Ghana currently had adequate funding and logistics to effectively monitor activities on the protected zones, he said: “Yes, Ghana has what it takes to effectively monitor activities related to MPA. Through proper planning and collaboration, the needed resources can be mobilised to effectively manage the MPA.”
Dr Charles Teye, the Western Regional Director of the Fisheries Commission, also stated that as part of the management plan development, the Commission under the auspices of the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture was engaging relevant stakeholders to develop a Fisheries and Aquaculture Regulations to operationalise the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, 2025 (Act 1146).
He said the Regulations would spell out clear penalties and sanctions for fisheries violations, including enforcement actions on the MPA.
But a question remains on the minds of conservationists. Why did the government and its stakeholders not wait until they had a management plan finalised before declaring the MPA?
Mr Kankam said: “For us to make this a working model, we are deliberately taking our time so that the fishers and communities take ownership and become key partners in the implementation of the conservation measures of the MPA.
“It is a very careful, and intentional process to ensure that the fishers and the coastal communities themselves are right at the centre of the implementation, and that is the only way we can have an effective management plan.”
A race against time
Declaring an MPA is only the beginning, the harder task is building the governance systems capable of making it work.
If management structures take too long to materialise, the gap between policy and practice begins to widen.
The longer fishing continues without visible consequences, the more difficult it becomes to convince communities that the protected status carries real meaning.
Experts warn that a Marine Protected Area that remains open to continuous fishing cannot provide ecosystems with the breathing space they need to recover.
The implementation dilemma
Officials insist that the current situation should not be interpreted as a failure, arguing that developing a management plan is a responsible planning process.
Marine Protected Areas require clear governance frameworks, legal procedures, scientific monitoring, stakeholder consultations and sustainable financing to work effectively.
Without these foundations, enforcement risks becoming arbitrary and unpopular.
Yet, experts also warn that implementation delays carry their own dangers. Every day without visible management reinforces perceptions that regulations are optional.
Conclusion
The declaration of Ghana’s first Marine Protected Area was undeniably historic, and aligned the country with global biodiversity commitments.
However, the interviews with fishers reveal a concerning implementation gap. Enforcement has not yet begun.
The stakeholders say the management plan is still under development and that implementation will progress accordingly.
The longer these conditions persist, the greater the risk that public perception shifts from seeing the Marine Protected Area as a conservation initiative to viewing it as little more than lines on a map.
GNA
Writers: Mildred Siabi-Mensah/ Emmanuel Gamson
mildred.siabi-mensah@gna.org.gh /Emmanuel.gamson@gna.org.gh
This story was produced with the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network.
