Fishers’ migration in the small pelagic fishery of Ghana: A case of small-scale fisheries management

Abstract

Ghana is a fishing nation with a long tradition of active fishing industry in the West Africa sub-region. However, continuous decline in catches, coupled with other socio-economic conditions has resulted in unprecedented migration of fishers. This study aims to better understand migration in the small-scale fisheries sector of Ghana in order to ensure fisheries resources sustainability and secure fishers' livelihoods. We investigated the sources and demographic characteristics of migrant fishers, the patterns of migration (internal and international), accessibility of fishery resources in the host communities, and management and conservation of fishery resources in the host communities.We employed a mixed method in collecting information from local fishers, Chief Fishermen and Fisheries Technical Officers and analysed documents on fishers migration. Our findings revealed that Sekondi, Tema and Apam were the most important internal destinations for migrant fishers while Togo, Benin and Ivory Coast were the most visited transboundary destinations. The main driver for migration to other fishing communities was the desire to catch more fish with information for migration mostly gained through personal experience, friends and relatives. Migrant fishers in host communities have unlimited access to the resources, provided they go through the required protocols (such as payment of landing fee token, and obtaining the necessary documentation). The most common types of gears used by migrant fishers were set nets (35%), poli-watsa (19%) and drift gillnets (46%). The incidence of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing methods such as light fishing, blast fishing and the use of small mesh-sized fishing gears were minimal among migrant fishers in the host communities. In conclusion, the activities of Ghanaian migrant fishers in both internal and transboundary communities are essential to the socio-economic development and food security requirements of the host communities as well as the wellbeing of dependent households. Therefore, there is the need to formulate policies for managing the activities of these migrant fishers for sustainable management of the small pelagic fisheries resources.