The Fisheries Commission has formally objected to the Minerals Commission’s decision to grant Gold Coast GRC Ghana Ltd a licence to explore for gold across roughly 10,000 square kilometres of Ghana’s shallow continental shelf. The objection, sent in a letter dated September 29, 2026, demands a halt to operations until the environmental and fisheries concerns are properly addressed.
Prof. Benjamin Betey Campion, Executive Director of the Fisheries Commission, wrote to the Minerals Commission’s CEO warning that the licence was drafted with a land-based mining mindset, ignoring the realities of the marine environment and fisheries. The Fisheries Commission only received notification of the licence grant on September 7, 2026, following a communication dated July 15, 2026.
The Commission’s review found the reconnaissance programme failed to consider marine-specific factors. It pointed out that the licence documents included provisions about “hunting game, gathering firewood, collecting snails,” which are irrelevant to offshore operations. The Fisheries Commission said the licence should reflect the rights and livelihoods of artisanal, semi-industrial, and industrial fishers, along with fish processors and traders.
Prof. Campion listed ten specific flaws in the licence and its environmental assessment. The Fisheries Commission was not meaningfully involved in the planning, assessment, or permitting process despite the activity being entirely offshore in an area supporting fishing. The documentation also failed to assess customary marine rights or potential impacts on access to fishing grounds, fish behaviour, fishing gear, navigation, and compensation.
Restrictions related to sacred areas, forest reserves, markets, towns, roads, and dams were included in the licence. The Fisheries Commission said these are mostly irrelevant to the continental shelf and should instead focus on fishing grounds, spawning and nursery areas, marine protected areas, and navigational routes.
Environmental data relied heavily on terrestrial features such as climate, physiography, and vegetation, while ignoring marine bathymetry, seabed characteristics, oceanography, water quality, marine habitats, plankton, marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds.
The proposed budget excluded the Fisheries Commission and made no provision for a Fisheries Impact Assessment or engagement with fishing communities. Risk and environmental impact assessments ignored marine-specific hazards like vessel operations, interaction with fishing vessels, marine pollution, underwater noise, weather conditions, man-overboard risks, and emergency responses. Operational schedules assumed land-based logistics, overlooking vessel mobilisation, weather windows, and port logistics.
Licence conditions referred to protecting farms, villages, trees, crops, rivers, and railways, all terrestrial concerns. They lacked reference to fisheries science or oceanography.
The Fisheries Commission framed its concerns within Ghana’s growing focus on responsible ocean governance. Ghana ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea’s Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) on January 14, 2026. The agreement entered into force on January 17, 2026, and includes frameworks for environmental impact assessments and area-based management tools.
While the BBNJ Agreement governs areas beyond national jurisdiction, the Fisheries Commission said Ghana’s ratification signals increased expectations for science-based and precautionary marine governance. It also cited international calls for a pause on seabed mining until environmental, economic, and social risks are better understood, including statements by the Deep-Sea Conservation Coalition and the Deep-Sea Mining business coalition.
The Fisheries Commission’s letter requests that the Minerals Commission formally register its objection and suspend any offshore reconnaissance until the deficiencies are corrected. It calls for a marine-specific environmental and fisheries baseline assessment, a Fisheries Impact Assessment under Section 50 of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act, 2025 (Act 1146), and formal consultation with the Fisheries Commission, fishing communities, fisher organisations, and researchers.
The Commission also wants a Marine Fisheries and Livelihood Management Plan, a marine-specific Health, Safety and Emergency Response Plan, and revised licence conditions that reflect marine realities. It proposed creating an inter-agency review mechanism involving the Fisheries Commission, Minerals Commission, Environmental Protection Authority, Ghana Maritime Authority, Water Resources Commission, Petroleum Commission, and others.
Prof. Campion stressed that the Fisheries Commission is not opposed to responsible investment or scientific investigation of Ghana’s natural resources. However, he said such activities must recognise fisheries’ role in food security, employment, coastal livelihoods, and the national blue economy.
“An offshore reconnaissance programme of this magnitude represents a significant intervention in Ghana’s marine space,” the letter states. “It is therefore essential that the regulatory and scientific processes supporting the activity are fit for purpose.”
According to 3News.
