Change in fisheries access arrangements as a result of hydropower development: The case of reservoir fisheries at the Mount Coffee hydropower scheme in Liberia

Abstract

AbstractHydropower development can result in both environmental and social change. Modification of riparian environments and the creation of storage reservoirs can alter fish assemblages, change access arrangements and create new opportunities within and outside fishing. These opportunities may be perceived differently by different stakeholders, leading to changes in the fishery and, ultimately, with implications for the nature and distribution of benefits from the fishery. Focusing on a trap fishery for freshwater prawn Macrobrachium vollenhovenii (Herklots), this study examines the way access arrangements changed in response to the rehabilitation of the Mount Coffee run‐of‐river hydropower scheme on the lower reaches of the Saint Paul River in Liberia. Through the use of interviews and limited participant observation, the study explores the responses to change resulting from the rehabilitation, highlighting the way that agency and bargaining power contributed to shaping the formation of a fisher group and the new access arrangements that they have begun to develop.