Ghana's fishing industry - not bad, cod do better.

In my last posts I touched upon the importance of the fishing industry on Africa’s economy. I would like to explore this topic in more detail by analysing at least one case study for you all. I will be discussing the fishing industry in Ghana within the Cape Coast Municipality. Having looked into it, it turns out that yes, the fishing industry is effected by climate change but it would be presumptuous to think that this was the only reason for its decline just because this blog is centred around climate change and its effects on water. Before we delve into a case specific example, I just wanted to show you some ways we can aim to assess the fishing industry's ability to cope.

Vulnerability: is fairly straightforward - basically highlights how exposed a country/region is to climatic change, how sensitive it is to said hazard and its subsequent lack of ability to adapt. There are three key components of the vulnerability index. (Belhabib, 2016)The exposure to climate change, the dependence of the national economy on fishing and the adaptive capacity of a country/region. Therefore it is important to point out that vulnerability and adaptive capacity are not the same things - a country can be vulnerable but to struggling to adapt and vice versa. (Belhabib, 2016)

Mobility: There are two forms of mobility within fisheries that can be observed. One is the act of following your chosen migrating fish species to new fishing grounds. (Belhabib, 2016)Another type would change their target species altogether depending on abundance. However, other factors also influence mobility and are discussed below.

Fishing fleet types: Getting a bit "engineery" now but stay with me! Due to more powerful engines and more aqua dynamic boats with higher levels of technology distant water fishing boats/fleets have greater levels of mobility. Moreover, they are even more resilient to climatic changes owing to their higher levels of capital and financial flexibility. (Belhabib, 2016)For example in Peru in 1997 the El Nino event prompted distant water fishermen to shift their fishing gear from "gill-nets" to trawlers. In contrast, more artisnal fisheries possess the opposite mobile capacity. They are seen to have  comparably lower resilience.(Belhabib, 2016)

Migration history: can be seen in the context of artisinal fishing and can be viewed as merely short term ventures into the waters of another country. A fleet in this scale with high levels of mobility would be one that possess a strong migration history. This means a higher ability to adapt to changes in available fishery resources.


Change in fishing cost: fishers often have to/choose to increase their costs due to falling number of catches and limited alternative revenue streams. As a result, a historical study of these levels will somewhat indicate the rises and falls of fish stocks over space and time. (Belhabib, 2016)

The fishing industry in Ghana provides roughly 2 million jobs with artisanal/ small scale fishing operations dominating proceedings. (Pabi et al. 2015; 1) Climate change has been crippling the socio-economic development of millions of people involved in the Ghanaian fishing industry. With the artisanal sector of said industry being the most heavily punished due to their lack of resources and scope to adapt to the changes occurring in their natural sphere of work. They rely mostly on traditional fishing methods which aren’t as adaptable to the varied and extreme weather events the rapid climate changes create – on top of all this they often lack any form of insurance due to their levels of informality and minimal profit margins – Direct Line don’t cover lost trout it seems, they’re not on price comparison sites remember. (Allison, 2009)

Within the artisanal fishing sector for example, it is not uncommon for boat owners to invest in the acquisition of new fishing boats with the help of the state to compensate for declining catches [15], whether caused by over-exploitation, the effects of climate change or both.

One of the key coping mechanisms for the undoubted strain on the fishing industry is obviously to adapt to maximise/maintain their revenue stream. Research shows that fishermen are actually very much aware of climate change and its effects on their industry and are able to adapt. For example, artisanal fishermen look at how clouds are formed, testing the sea surface temperature, using the presence of foamy patches on the sea and sometimes the scent of the sea to determine which way the fish are swimming in order to maximise their catch volume. (Obeng: 7) Unfortunately, as discussed in previous posts, climatic changes increase the frequency sporadic temperatures and precipitation levels making these artisanal techniques less productive – fishermen spend more hours out on the water trying to cope, their operational costs rise and so does their CO2 outputs. A small scale vicious cycle is occurring.

A more large scale solution can be seen in Aquaculture - it is more of  a structural change which requires collaboration - not merely a small scale artisinal form of adaptation. (Lam etal. 2012; 104). Aquaculture is basically farming but on water - as a result it carries benefits such as greater economic certainty and fish stock boosts - everything we need! Aquaculture can and should be used as a management solution to reduce fishery uncertainty by bridging the gap bet ween supply and demand. The issue arises when comparing Africa's current aquaculture percentage to the global rates - 19% vs 2% in West Africa. More extremely - in Nigeria in 2000 it only contributed to about 0.01%!   FAO estimated using a GIS model that up to 37% of Sub-Saharan Africa is suitable for small scale artisinal aquaculture.  (Lam etal. 2012; 107). Well get on with it then! Unfortunately, its not as simple as that... There are many limiting factors in West Africa which are hindering the process of aquaculture from taking hold. There is a very low product base, poor infrastructure, political instability and poor market development - all trademark issues with any developing countries.   At the moment, even though it is growing, Aquaculture is not growing fast enough to allow supply and demand of fish to get close enough to make it worth while investing in. That's why some studies suggest it should not be seen as a viable solution. (Lam etal. 2012; 108). 

However, from when studying the literature around the Ghanaian fishing industry the effect of climate change on the industry doesn’t crop up regularly or readily in the reason for its struggles. Other reasons are far more prevalent suggesting that actually climate change can’t be viewed as a huge negative force on the industry – it does affect it yes but not heavily. Factors such as over fishing and illegal encroachments from other fishermen into Ghana’s designated fishing areas cause most of the fishing shortages it seems. Tensions are mainly high in relation to China trying to out compete Ghana in its own legally governed territory. 

Why the picture?

This week's picture was chosen as it symbolises the colour and elaborate design of the fishing fly represents the thriving, bursting with opportunities, Ghanaian fishing industry whilst the strongly contrasting black background represents the distressing undertones of uncertainty and economic decline which is somewhat caused by the dark and ambiguous force of climate change.