Back in the Field: How Ghana’s Aquaculture Sector Is Shaping Its Own Future

June 30, 2026

By Roy van Daatselaar and Lucas Santos

Ghana’s aquaculture sector is moving fast, shaped by a growing population, rising demand for farmed seafood, and deepening collaboration across industry and government. As part of the ongoing partnership between the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) and the Chamber of Aquaculture (COA) Ghana, a first field visit in October 2025 marked the beginning of a joint effort to develop a tilapia and catfish farming Code of Good Practice, inspired by ASC principles but adapted to local realities.

This second visit, in May 2026, marks the next step in that journey. What began with listening and understanding the Ghanaian industry has since evolved into a concrete co-development process, with a draft Code validated by producers, industry bodies, and government — and multiple farmers already committing to adopt it.

The primary objective of the visit was to present an initial draft of the Code of Good Practice and to engage directly with stakeholders across the sector. A key focus was ensuring that the proposed Code was locally applicable, relevant, and not overly dependent on costly implementation measures. The intent was to find a balance between ambition and feasibility, while ensuring that improved practices can be realistically adopted by committed producers of different scales.

The visit opened with bilateral meetings with the Chamber of Aquaculture Ghana and the Fisheries Commission, establishing early alignment between industry and government before broadening the conversation. This was followed by field visits across operations of different scales, seeing firsthand how the Code would translate on the ground and testing its requirements against the realities we observed. The visit closed with a wider stakeholder meeting and feedback session, ensuring all voices were heard, and that input was captured to refine the Code further. Particularly strong and consistent messages emerged around the role of women and youth across the aquaculture value chain, and the importance of recognising and empowering them as essential to the sector’s long-term sustainability and growth.

The Code itself is inspired by the ASC Farm Standard and is anchored in core credibility principles: guided by science, with progress that is measurable, verifiable, transparent, and accountable. These principles run through four key pillars:

Legal Compliance
Environmental Performance
Social Responsibility
Animal Health and Welfare

All focused on accelerating progress for People, Farms, Fish, and the Planet.

Importantly, the Code is not intended to be a certification scheme, but rather a practical framework to support continuous improvement across Ghana’s aquaculture sector. By translating internationally recognised best practices into actions that are achievable within the local context, it provides farmers and other value chain actors with a clear roadmap for strengthening their operations over time, ensuring that improvements in production are accompanied by stronger environmental stewardship, better social outcomes, and greater resilience as the sector continues to expand.

Biofloc tanks and grow-out ponds at a large-scale Ghanaian facility. Intensive tilapia production systems like these are an example of Ghana’s ambition for growth

Next steps

With the second round of stakeholder engagement completed and valuable feedback incorporated, the development of Ghana’s Aquaculture Code of Good Practice now moves into its final stages. Between June and September 2026, the Code will undergo further revision and refinement to ensure it reflects the priorities, realities, and ambitions expressed by stakeholders across the sector.

A third and final stakeholder consultation is planned for October 2026, providing one last opportunity for industry representatives, government agencies, producers, and other key actors to validate the final draft and strengthen collective ownership.

Following this process, the Code will be officially launched in Ghana in November 2026, marking an important milestone in the sector’s transformation journey. The Code will then be presented to the international aquaculture community at the World Aquaculture Society event in Tanzania in December 2026, bringing Ghana’s collaborative, locally driven approach to a global stage.

Feeding time at a floating net pen operation on Lake Volta – the world's largest manmade lake by surface area and a key resource for the future growth of Ghana's aquaculture sector.

Beyond Ghana: A Model for Replication

Ghana is the starting point, not the final destination. Sub-Saharan Africa’s population is projected to nearly double to around 2 billion people by 2050, creating enormous demand for protein that wild catch alone cannot meet. The long-term ambition is clear: to replicate and adapt this approach across the continent.

By combining ASC-inspired credibility principles with locally grounded practice, the Code of Good Practice offers a replicable pathway for strengthening aquaculture sectors in a way that is both ambitious and realistic. Building markets, improving access to finance, and creating lasting industries across the region. The Code developed in Ghana is designed to serve as a blueprint for that expansion, helping aquaculture sectors across Africa and the Globe to deliver better, more responsibly produced protein for billions of people