Title: The Delusion of the Profits: An Analysis of the Impact IUU Fishing on the Value of Ghana’s Tuna Industry

The tuna industry in Ghana contributes to the economy by employing directly over 3000 Ghanaians and creating indirectly many other jobs servicing the tuna sector. It also generates about 88% of the value of total exports of fish and fishery products from Ghana. In recent times, the tuna sector has been faced with Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. This has affected the value of tuna and tuna products exported to the EU, which is the largest market of these products, importing over 75% of tuna and tuna products produced in Ghana. IUU fishing resulted in the banning of fish and fishery products from Ghana into the EU in 2013, impacting jobs and the inflow of foreign exchange from the fishing. The ban was lifted in September 2015 after Ghana made efforts to strengthen its fisheries management systems by including policies that were aimed at preventing, deterring, and eliminating IUU fishing activities. However, sections with the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 880 of 2014 and the Fisheries Act 625 of 2002 when analysed in comparison with other international fisheries regulations and specific cases of illegality in fisheries raises questions that require further research. There is a need to employ other management measures that will serve as a positive incentive in the fight against IUU fishing and also have the aim of promoting sustainable fisheries management. One of such measures is the introduction of ecolabels in Ghana’s tuna fishing sector.