The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) committed approximately $24 million dollars to the SFMP to contribute to food security in Ghana. The Coastal Resources Center at the Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, USA (CRC), is the lead in this project lasting from October 2014 to October 2021.

The fisheries management project had the objective to rebuild Ghana’s marine fisheries stocks and catches through facilitating adoption of responsible fishing practices. It complements the Government of Ghana’s fisheries development objectives and USAID’s Feed the Future (FtF) Initiative goals of improved food security, economic growth and poverty alleviation.

This project, which contributed to consolidating the gains made by the Integrated Coastal and Fisheries Governance (ICFG) Initiative (2009-2014), and also contributed to the strengthening of marine and fisheries management training at the University of Cape Coast (UCC) and coastal spatial planning capacity of districts in the Central and Western Regions.

The project aimed at ending overfishing of some key marine fish stocks like herrings, sardinella and anchovies, which are crucial to local food security.

To achieve these goals the SFMP intended to:

1. Improve the legal enabling conditions for effective collaborative management of marine resources, use rights and effort-reduction strategies

2. Increase the use of science and applied research to inform decision making and to strengthen enforcement

3. Heighten public awareness of fisheries issues to build public and political support needed to rebuild fish stocks; and

4. Implement applied management initiatives for several targeted fisheries ecosystems

Lead implementing partner CRCworked with a consortium of other international and local organisations namely Friends of the Nation, Hen Mpoano, the Netherlands Development Organization (SNV), SSG Advisors, the Central & Western Fishmongers Improvement Association (CEWEFIA), Daasgift Quality Foundation (DQF), Development Action Association (DAA) and Spatial Solutions.