#amlep

Posted by Kwabena Akuamoah-Boateng, Social Media Assets Manager

  Often, we hear in the news of foreign ships docking at the Tema or Sekondi ports. What we don't get is what really happens when they are here, the impact and why they were here in the first place. This past week, I was privileged to be on one such ship: USNS Spearhead. 

U.S. & Ghana Team Pose For A Group Photo Behind USNS Spearhead –April 4, 2014

As a Ghanaian working as the Social Media Assets Manager for the U.S. Embassy in Accra, I have covered a couple of workshops between U.S. military and West African countries, and I have always wondered what happens outside the classroom. My time on USNS Spearhead gave me a great insight worth sharing.

The ship was in Ghana as part of  African Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership (AMLEP),  partnering with Ghana to find potential violations in its waters. If you haven’t paid attention to the growing piracy, trafficking and illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea, then you should. There are growing violations, which countries should collaborate on to fight against, as some ships have committed similar violations in other countries’ waters.

Ordinarily you would expect such joint exercises to be between the US Navy, US Coast Guards and Ghana Navy but this was a little different. This one also included 6 men from the newly formed Ghana Marine Police, Fisheries Commission and the Narcotics Control Board as well as Naval officers from Nigeria and Togo, who were also on board to learn and share their experiences. 

On our second day patrolling Ghana’s territorial and exclusive waters at about 35 nautical miles off the coast of Winneba, we encountered a vessel fishing illegally without a license and using nets that were below internationally approved or Ghana approved sizes for commercial fishing. The story was the same the next day; another fishing vessel without a license and fishing with small nets. The team of Ghana Navy, Marine Police and Fisheries Commission with support from the US Coast Guard boarded the vessel, conducted some inspections and arrested the vessel.

It was heartwarming to see how simple technologies like the mobile phone were being used. After the debriefings, I would often spot the Ghanaian Navy officers refer to the Fisheries Act 2002 on their mobile phones. I digress but as a Social Media Manager, it got me thinking how Ghana could employ mobile technologies in fighting crime on the sea.

  U.S. Coast Guard & Ghana Navy Officer Overlook Juvenile Fish On Arrested –April 2, 2014

I saw really small fishing canoes deep in the Gulf of Guinea and the song "Letter to the Government (International Fisherman)" kept ringing in my ears. Maybe it hasn't struck countries on the Gulf of Guinea yet but illegal fishing is happening on a large scale and it's about time nations collaborate more to save our dwindling fish stock.  

I will ask the hard question here. Just as with illegal gold mining (galamsey), are Ghanaians fronting for foreigners as owners of these illegal vessels? 

Being on the embarkment, I have come to appreciate even more the work of seamen and fishermen. Waking up to no land in sight made me homesick. Being on the sea is not as easy as it seems. Learning how to walk and not get seasick from the rolling of the Spearhead was quite a challenge. I can only be thankful for all the advice I got before the embarkment. Let me share some advice with you. Make sure you carry some saltine crackers and some Advomine.

If there is a lesson I learnt, it would be cooperation; cooperation between countries and cooperation between agencies. I kept nodding at how the Ghanaians shared information and tactics.