About

Ghana Tuna Association (GTA) is located in Tema, Ghana. GTA is a corporate body, registered with the Registrar Generals Department as a company limited by guarantee on 7th October, 1991.

GTA is non-partisan, non-profit making fisheries sector organization. It is focused on operators of Tuna. It has a six -member Executive Member Committee.

TUNA INDUSTRY IN GHANA

Two (2) key personalities stand very tall when it comes to the history, promotion and development of tuna fishing in Ghana. They are the late Robert Kwamena Nortey Ocran of Mankoazde Fisheries Ltd – a Ghanaian, and the late Bok Nam Kim of Afko Fisheries – a Korean.

The late Robert Ocran, of Mankoadze Fisheries, an entrepreneur of great repute in the fishing industry in Ghana can be credited with pioneering contribution to the fishing sector in Ghana, particularly the Tuna Sector. His role as a Ghanaian fisheries entrepreneur significantly opened up the total fisheries value chain. His investment in the sector contributed to the development of the Tuna Fishing, processing and marketing including exportation.

He also provided training and opened up opportunities for Ghanaians to exhibit their skills, employing thousands in the process and opening up the sector for partnership with Japanese, Russians and Americans. In partnership with StarKist International of America, Robert Ocran caused the canning equipment on his factory trawler vessel M/v Mankoadze to be moved to land, to start the first ever tuna Cannery in Ghana and probably the West Coast.

The cannery was named Manko Tuna, latter to be known as Pioneer Food Cannery as it remains till date. In the early seventies, as demand from the cannery increased, he secured a Norwegian government grant to construct four(4) brand new tuna vessels known as the Sterkoder vessels which operated a triplex system as against the traditional power block system.

It is equally worthy to mention that while Mankoadze Fisheries started operating her Tuna vessels together with Star-Kist International, another American Tuna company, by name Van Camp’ Int., a subsidiary of Ralston Purina Co. of US had also started operating tuna business in Ghana with a Ghanaian Agent, EN.  Soli Fisheries.

Some of the Associated  Companies operating in Ghana at that time for Van Camp Int were ‘Hae Chang ’ Fisheries, ‘Dong Won’ Fisheries and few others. Those Associated companies operated more than ten (10) Pole & Line vessels.  The crew were mainly Koreans and few Japanese nationals. Due to some Political reasons at that time, Van Camp Int. had to wind up their operations in Ghana and leave. Around the same period in 1978 a South Korean Businessman and Philanthropist by name Mr. Bok- Nam Kim, Chairman /MD of AFKO FISHERIES CO. LTD managed to acquire two of Van Camp’s Int tuna vessels in addition to one trawler vessel he had started operating  in Tema.

With good management and sound operating skills, he gradually managed to acquire and operated more than (17) deep sea tuna and trawl vessels in Ghana, thus becoming the leading producer and exporter of fishing products to the EU which culminated in AFKO receiving several Awards both locally and internationally. It must be put on record that the Founder and Chairman of AFKO Fisheries Co. Ltd, the Late Bok-Nam, KIM, was a driver and highly instrumental in the formation and running of the Ghana Tuna Association, by contributing on several occasions to the numerous activities of both the GTA and NAFAG(National Fisheries Association of Ghana).

TUNA FISHING INDUSTRY

Ghana’s tuna fisheries have been exploited for many centuries by local fishers prior to the introduction of large scale Tuna fishing.

Over the past six decades, tuna fishery has developed into a global industry with the United States and European Union as its biggest markets. Ghana like other tuna producing and consuming countries depend on tuna for nutrition, employment, foreign exchange, livelihoods and food security.

Until recently, Tuna was the leading non-traditional foreign exchange earner, now in second place. Tuna beyond providing employment also generates a lot of revenue for the economic development of the country. The sector employs over 10,000 people directly and indirectly along the value chain whilst raking in over US $ 350,000 million annually at peak. This figure has however seen a drop due to decline in production and high cost of operations.

OBJECTIVES

GTA objectives as stated in its Regulations are as follows:

  • To provide the representative and authoritative body recognized by the Government of Ghana as such in all matters relating to tuna fisheries development and business, conservation, national and international meetings or negotiations on tuna as well as on matters affecting tuna operation and crew on tuna vessels and participation of non-Ghanaians in tuna fisheries;
  • To initiate, promote, direct, control, supervise and develop a Ghanaian tuna fisheries and carry out all the overall management and policy measures necessary for proper, orderly profitable tuna business;
  • To provide consultancy service and information to all Ghanaian and foreign organizations in tuna fisheries;
  • To safeguard the interests of the tuna industry in Ghana and to seek cooperation and collaboration with outside tuna organizations; and
  • To establish and maintain a Tuna Fund for the purpose of promoting and sustaining the tuna industry.