The Ghanaian navy and air force rescued 71 fishermen whose boats were attacked off the coast of Ghana by unidentified gunmen, a local official said on Thursday.

Armed men attacked the fishermen’s boats and robbed them late on Wednesday, Kalala Nyamekye Eghan, the top local government official for the Awutu Senya West District in Ghana’s Central Region, told The Associated Press. The gunmen stole the boat's outboard motors, leaving the fishermen stranded at sea.

All the fishermen were rescued by the military on Thursday morning and were taken to a hospital and later discharged, Eghan said. An investigation into who was responsible for the attack is ongoing, he added.

The Ghana Armed Forces, which includes the air force and navy, said in a statement earlier on Thursday that they were conducting a search-and-rescue operation off the coast of Senya Bereku in the Central Region following attacks on boats in the area.

Military appeals for calm

“The operation is ongoing, and the Ghana Armed Forces appeals to all to remain calm. Further details will be communicated,” navy spokesperson Captain Veronica Adzo Arhin said in the statement.

The Gulf of Guinea — a part of the Atlantic Ocean along the western coast of Africa, stretching from Senegal to Angola — faces a piracy challenge, with armed groups targeting commercial and fishing vessels.

However, incidents have declined since 2021 following increased naval patrols and stronger regional security cooperation, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.