Changes in Fishing Gears and Implications for the Marine Fisheries Industry at Elmina, Ghana

Abstract

The marine fisheries industry of Ghana is widely noted for its importance in income and employment generation for most economies and therefore major efforts by various Governments are geared towards sustainable growth of the industry. To this end, any practice that seems to undermine this growth will threaten livelihoods. The primary objective of the study examines changes in fishing gears on development of the marine fishing industry at Elmina, Ghana. The study describes major gears used by local fishers at Elmina, their effects and management implications. The data used was mainly primary, taken from landing of fishers and secondary was taken from the Fisheries Scientific Survey Division of the Fisheries Commission, Ghana. Collected data was coded and input into a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for analysis. The study employed techniques such as the pair-wise correlation, chi-square and logistic regression for the analysis. Monofilament nets and Ali were found as key gears that impact on the future development of the marine industry. Fish landed by both gears were below the recommended 25mm lateral stretch and this may have dire consequences on stock levels. The use of explosives, chemical and small mesh size nets also pose threat to the development of the marine fisheries industry. The implications include depletion of fish stock and increase unemployment levels in Elmina. The study attributes this scenario to low level of law enforcement, the desire to increase catch and make enough profit, the influx of cheap fishing gears of smaller mesh sizes and inadequate knowledge on best practices among others, motivates the use of these fishing gears and practices. It is recommended that, The marine fisheries industry of Ghana is widely noted for its importance in income and employment generation for most economies and therefore major efforts by various Governments are geared towards sustainable growth of the industry. To this end, any practice that seems to undermine this growth will threaten livelihoods. The primary objective of the study examines changes in fishing gears on development of the marine fishing industry at Elmina, Ghana. The study describes major gears used by local fishers at Elmina, their effects and management implications. The data used was mainly primary, taken from landing of fishers and secondary was taken from the Fisheries Scientific Survey Division of the Fisheries Commission, Ghana. Collected data was coded and input into a Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for analysis. The study employed techniques such as the pair-wise correlation, chi-square and logistic regression for the analysis. Monofilament nets and Ali were found as key gears that impact on the future development of the marine industry. Fish landed by both gears were below the recommended 25mm lateral stretch and this may have dire consequences on stock levels. The use of explosives, chemical and small mesh size nets also pose threat to the development of the marine fisheries industry. The implications include depletion of fish stock and increase unemployment levels in Elmina. The study attributes this scenario to low level of law enforcement, the desire to increase catch and make enough profit, the influx of cheap fishing gears of smaller mesh sizes and inadequate knowledge on best practices among others, motivates the use of these fishing gears and practices. It is recommended that, regulatory agencies should be proactive in the monitoring and surveillance of the sea in order to crack the whips on the negative fishing practices. Co-management should be embedded in the Fisheries Act 625, Civil society Groups and other authorities to help the Fisheries Commission which is unfortunately understaffed to educate fishermen on the best practices.