Ghana’s fishing industry recorded a strong recovery in the first quarter of 2025, achieving a real GDP growth rate of 16.4 percent year-on-year, the highest the sub-sector has seen since the second quarter of 2022. This performance positioned fishing as the fastest-growing agricultural sub-sector for the period, according to provisional national accounts data published by the Ghana Statistical Service.
The sector’s quarter-on-quarter performance also reflected this resurgence, with a seasonally adjusted real growth rate of 3.2 percent, outpacing crops, livestock, and forestry. While crops contributed the largest share to the agriculture sector’s overall 6.6 percent real growth in Q1, fishing stood out for its momentum and accounted for 0.13 percentage points of the sector’s total contribution to GDP growth.
Over the past five years, fishing has experienced pronounced volatility. In 2020, the industry performed relatively well, beginning with an 18.1 percent expansion in the first quarter and closing the year at 17.7 percent. However, the first quarter of 2021 brought a sharp contraction of 14.4 percent, followed by an extraordinary rebound to 31.6 percent in Q2, the highest growth recorded within the period under review.
That recovery continued through the rest of 2021, but the subsequent years saw mixed results. In 2022, growth softened to single digits before dipping to -1.5 percent in Q4. The sector remained unstable in 2023, fluctuating between modest growth and mild contractions. By Q3 of 2024, the fishing sub-sector had dropped again to -6.4 percent.
It was not until the last quarter of 2024 that signs of recovery began to emerge. A 9.2 percent growth in Q4 signaled a turnaround, which was confirmed by the strong performance in the first quarter of 2025. The current recovery not only reflects seasonal improvements but also suggests a possible stabilisation in the fishing industry following years of erratic performance.
In monetary terms, the fishing sub-sector generated GH¢2.2 billion in nominal GDP during Q1 2025, representing 2.6 percent of the total output from agriculture, which stood at GH¢83.2 billion. Crops remained the dominant force with a 91.9 percent share, but fishing’s renewed growth offers an important signal for agricultural diversification and sectoral resilience.
The resurgence in fishing comes at a time when policy conversations around food security, sustainability, and coastal livelihoods are gaining prominence. While the sub-sector’s historical volatility highlights the challenges it faces, from climate impacts to overfishing and illegal activities, the recent data suggests a renewed path of recovery that could influence broader agricultural trends in the months ahead.
