A coalition of 51 civil society organisations, fishers' associations, and fishing communities in Ghana has petitioned President John Dramani Mahama to immediately halt the reported offshore gold exploration activities by GoldCoast Resource Corp. The groups expressed concerns over the granting of 10 contiguous Offshore Reconnaissance Licenses covering approximately 10,000 square kilometres of Ghana's western offshore area. They warned that the project could have implications for water quality, fisheries, and marine biodiversity.
The groups, including the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG) and Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI), said their concern was not with mineral exploration itself but with the extraordinary scale of the licensed area and its location within a productive marine environment. The area supports thousands of artisanal fishers, fishing communities, fish processors, traders, and other coastal businesses. They also raised concerns about the potential progression of the project into prospecting and future shallow-water dredging.
The groups cited the potential for sediment resuspension, increased turbidity, and disturbance of benthic habitats, particularly where adequate safeguards and baseline information are not available. They demanded an immediate suspension of further implementation or progression of the project until a transparent and independent review has been completed and its findings made public. The review should establish how the 10 licences were granted and examine their precise coordinates and boundaries, technical and economic justification, and proposed work programme.
The groups also called for an independent environmental, fisheries, and livelihood impact assessment covering the entire licensed area and the possible development pathway of the project. The assessment should establish reliable information on fishing grounds, fishing seasons, catches, fishing effort, fish spawning and nursery areas, seabed and benthic habitats, sediment movement, water quality, marine biodiversity, navigation, and the livelihoods of coastal communities.
The groups want a formal multi-sector and community review mechanism involving various government agencies, research institutions, fishing associations, coastal communities, traditional authorities, and civil society organisations. They also want the government to publicly disclose the licences, maps, and coordinates, work programmes, environmental requirements, regulatory approvals and conditions, consultations undertaken, and the proposed pathway from reconnaissance to any future prospecting or extraction.
The groups insisted that fishing communities should have a meaningful role in decisions that could affect their fishing grounds, safety, livelihoods, and future. They are also asking the government to establish clear safeguards before any commercial offshore gold extraction is permitted, including environmental, fisheries, and livelihood assessments, cumulative-impact assessments, environmental performance standards, sediment and turbidity controls, independent monitoring, public reporting, and effective grievance and redress mechanisms.
The coalition has appealed to President Mahama to halt further progression of the offshore gold project and convene an urgent meeting involving government, affected fishing communities, fishers' associations, and civil society organisations to consider the concerns raised. The groups described the reported 10,000-square-kilometre offshore mineral licence as a national marine-resource governance issue, emphasising that Ghana's ocean should be regarded as a productive economic, ecological, and social system rather than an empty space for exploitation.
Key points
- The groups are demanding an immediate suspension of the offshore gold project pending a comprehensive review.
- The project could have implications for water quality, fisheries, and marine biodiversity.
- The groups want a formal multi-sector and community review mechanism involving various government agencies and stakeholders.
