Fishing associations, coastal communities, and civil society organisations in Ghana have expressed concern over the reported granting of 10 contiguous Offshore Reconnaissance Licenses to GoldCoast Resource Corp. The licenses cover approximately 10,000 square kilometres of Ghana's western offshore area, extending about 300 kilometres from Half Assini towards Winneba. The groups are worried about the potential implications for artisanal fisheries and coastal livelihoods.
The marine space in question supports thousands of artisanal fishers, fishing communities, fish processors, traders, and other coastal businesses. It also contains fish habitats, spawning and nursery areas, and other ecological systems that support food security and coastal livelihoods. While the groups acknowledge that a reconnaissance licence is not a mining lease or authorisation for commercial extraction, they are concerned about the potential impacts of the reported programme, which includes geophysical surveys, bathymetric and seismic investigations, coring, and sediment sampling.
The organisations have called for an immediate suspension of further implementation and progression of the offshore gold project pending a transparent and independent review. They want the review to examine how the 10 licences were granted, their precise coordinates and boundaries, the technical and economic justification, the proposed work programme, consultations undertaken, their relationship with fishing grounds and fisheries management areas, environmental and social risks, and the adequacy of the existing legal and institutional framework.
The groups have also called for an independent environmental, fisheries, and livelihood impact assessment covering the entire licensed area and potential development pathway. This assessment should establish baselines on fishing grounds, fishing seasons, catches and fishing effort, fish spawning and nursery areas, seabed and benthic habitats, sediment movement, water quality, marine biodiversity, navigation, and the livelihoods of fishing communities, processors, traders, and other coastal businesses.
The organisations propose a formal multi-sector and community review mechanism involving various stakeholders, including the Minerals Commission, Fisheries Commission, Environmental Protection Agency, relevant ministries, Ghana Maritime Authority, research institutions, fishing associations, coastal communities, traditional authorities, and civil society organisations. They also call for public disclosure of the licenses, maps and coordinates, work programmes, applicable environmental requirements, regulatory approvals and conditions, consultations undertaken, and the proposed pathway from reconnaissance to any future prospecting or extraction.
The groups stress that fishing communities should have a meaningful voice in decisions that could affect their fishing grounds, safety, livelihoods, and future. They also call for commercial offshore gold extraction or substantial seabed disturbance not to proceed unless independent evidence demonstrates that such activities can be undertaken without unacceptable harm to marine ecosystems, fisheries, food security, and coastal livelihoods.
The letter was signed on behalf of 46 fishers' associations, fishing communities, and civil society organisations, including the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CaFGOAG), Fisheries Alliance, ISODEC, Natural Resources Governance Institute (NRGI), Resource Justice Network Ghana, and the Human Environment and Livelihood Platform Foundation (HELP Foundation Africa). The groups are urging the government to take their concerns seriously and work with them to find a solution that balances economic development with environmental and social protection.
Key points
- The groups are calling for a halt to the offshore gold project and a comprehensive review of the licenses to ensure that the project does not harm marine ecosystems, fisheries, food security, and coastal livelihoods.
