Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience |  University of Cape Coast

The Centre for Coastal Management -ACECoR at the University of Cape Coast (UCC), has inaugurated a new Library at its new multi-purpose building complex. The new Library is named after Prof. Daniel Pauly, Lead Scientist on the Sea Around Us Project at the Institute of Oceans and Fisheries at the British Columbia, and Prof. Rashid Sumaila, a Professor of Ocean and Fisheries Economics at the same university based in Canada.

The facility, located at the second floor of the ACECoR multi-purpose building is capable of seating 50 students in well-demarcated compartments. Inaugurating the Library, the Director of ACECoR, Prof. Denis Aheto, said the Centre decided to honour Prof. Daniel Pauly and Prof. Rashid Sumaila on grounds of compelling reasons among them, their enormous contributions to the development of blue economy and fisheries in particular among other specific support for ACECoR notable among them the donation of books, providing project partnership opportunities, and mentorship to the Centre through their role in in the Centre’s International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB). 

He said the duo had donated several fisheries and coastal management books to stock the library and had pledged to donate more to enhance teaching and learning within the outfit. According to him, students required constant exposure to books to develop and maintain an interest in reading as well as knowledge, which played a critical role in shaping their academic performance.

He used the occasion to express his gratitude to Prof. Daniel Pauly and Prof. Rashid Sumaila for the donation and promised that the books would be well utilised for posterity.

For his part, Prof. Daniel Pauly, nicknamed the Ocean Whistleblower, urged researchers and students to link science to activism. He told the gathering that nothing could take away the existence of books adding that “not even the advent and prevalence of the internet in today’s world can be comparable to reading books”.
Prof. Pauly, therefore, used the opportunity to encourage students to take reading seriously to contribute to the growth of ocean economy in the country.

He revealed during the event that they were planning to donate some more books to the library in the coming months. He further appealed to ACECoR to take good care of the books as they have valuable lessons which could go a long way to impact students.

Prof. Rashid Sumaila, on his part, told the gathering and students that they could achieve whatsoever they put their minds to and encouraged them to aspire to become responsible persons and leaders who would contribute significantly to the development of their respective communities and the country at large. He thanked ACECoR for the honour done him and vowed to contribute significantly to the forward march of ACECoR and encouraged the students to take their studies seriously and take advantage of the library to enrich their knowledge.

Present at the event were the Provost of the College of Agricultural and Natural Sciences, Prof. Moses Jojo Eghan, and the Dean of the School of Biological Sciences, Prof. Aaron Tetteh Asare.

Prof. Daniel Pauly at a Glance

•    Known for his work in studying human impacts on global fisheries
•    Most cited fisheries scientist in the world - 2020.
•    Former Director of UBC Fisheries Centre from October 2003 to October 2008.
•    Known for key global research projects on fisheries publications on shifting baseline, fishing down the foodwebs, Fishbase, Ecopath and Ecosim .
•    Donated his personal and acquired books in his professional life to ACECoR-2023.
•    First Professor on a Sabbatical at ACECoR -2024

Prof. Rashid Sumaila at a Glance

•    Former Director of Fisheries Economics Research Unit at the UBC Institute for the Oceans and Canada Research Chair.

•    Volvo Environment Prize Winner in 2017.

•    Named as one of the 100 Most Influential Africans by New Africa Magazine for his work as a "Global Champion of the oceans in 2023".

•    Described by peers as a leading interdisciplinary fisheries economist

•    Chair, International Scientific Advisory Board of ACECoR