The primary activities of the Department span the whole value chain of the fishing industry involving;
- Registration of exporters of fish and fishery products
- Inspection and approval of fishing vessels (freezer and trawler), fish processing plants, cold stores, ice making plants and landing sites
The country for that matter the Ghana Standards Authority was enlisted on 1 July, 1998, as the EU Competent Authority to export fish and fishery products to the Europe Union (EU).
Exporters intending to export fish and fishery products to the EU and other countries must register with the Department by completing a registration form (link) and comply with the requirements of Fishery Products Regulations. The Fishery Products Regulations may be obtained from the GSA Library for a fee.
The Fish Inspectorate Department activities cover three (3) main operational areas namely:
- Consignment Inspection
- Vessel Inspection
- Establishment Inspection
Under the support of UNIDO, the Consignment Inspection activity has been accredited to the ISO/IEC 17020:2012 – Conformity Assessment- Requirements for the operation of various types of bodies performing inspection by DAkkS of Germany. The accreditation covers the under-listed product lines:
- Bulk Fish Tuna
- Canned and Pouched Tuna
- Smoked and Salted Fish
- Fresh and Frozen Fish
- Live lobsters
- Fish Oil and
- Fish Meal
The scope of accreditation is expected to be extended to the other two operational areas of vessel and establishment inspections.