Fishing for survival: Importance of shark fisheries for the livelihoods of coastal communities in Western Ghana

Seidu, Issah; Brobbey, Lawrence Kwabena; Danquah, Emmanuel; Oppong, Samuel; Beuningen, David van; Seidu, Moro; Dulvy, Nicholas K.

doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2021.106157

Cited by 36 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Ghanaians have been documented to dominate every stage of the shark fishing process (including capture, processing and sale) in some West African countries (Diop & Dossa, 2011). In The Gambia, the batoid fishery has reportedly developed in response to a decline of the shark fishery (Moore, Séret & Armstrong, 2019), but the demand for batoid meat, especially from Ghana (Seidu et al, 2022) probably also drives this fishery in the West Africa region. Large quantities of dried batoid meat (including guitarfishes) were observed at Ghanatown, The Gambia in 2014, which Ghanaian fishers said would be exported to Ghana for local consumption (R.H. Leeney, unpublished data).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short note: An assessment of the status of sawfishes and of guitarfish landings in artisanal fisheries in Ghana

Leeney¹,

Quayson²

2022

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Two species of sawfish (Pristidae) formerly inhabited the eastern Atlantic: the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) and the largetooth sawfish (Pristis pristis).Both are listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.2. Limited information is available on the historical occurrence of sawfishes in the Gulf of Guinea, or on current landings of sawfishes and other Rhinopristiformes.3. A rapid interview study was conducted in 2018 to assess the current status of sawfishes and to collect basic information on fisheries for guitarfishes in Ghanaian waters.4. Of 28 interviewees, only five recalled seeing a sawfish during their lifetime. At least two species of guitarfishesblackchin guitarfish (Glaucostegus cemiculus)and common guitarfish (Rhinobatos rhinobatos)were caught by fishermen and were primarily landed between November and February. Opportunistic photographs of landings suggested that G. cemiculus was the most commonly caught guitarfish species.6. Interviewees reported catching between two and 60 individuals per week during the peak guitarfish season. Guitarfish meat is sold and consumed locally; fishermen could sell guitarfish fins for up to US$55 per kg.7. The findings suggest that sawfishes are locally extinct in Ghana and that management of the guitarfish fishery is urgently required to ensure those species do not meet the same fate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short note: An assessment of the status of sawfishes and of guitarfish landings in artisanal fisheries in Ghana

Leeney¹,

Quayson²

2022

Aquatic Conservation

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“…Alternatively, some countries that are resource-poor may implement blanket bans on the landing of sharks and rays (Dulvy et al 2017). We stress that this should not be the solution as blanket bans may have detrimental effects on subsistence and artisanal fishers who rely on these resources (Haque et al 2022, Seidu et al 2022a). Alternatively, they may force catches ‘underground,’ further complicating collection of landings data (Castellanos-Galindo et al 2021).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Guitarfishes are plucked: undermanaged in global fisheries despite declining populations and high volume of unreported international trade

Sherman

Simpfendorfer

Haque

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Some sharks and rays are subject to fisheries catch and international trade regulations. However, the Guitarfishes (family Rhinobatidae) are a highly threatened group with minimal regulations. Substantial underreporting of catch and broad commodity codes for traded products are masking the true volume of Guitarfishes included in international trade. Here, we collate international trade information for Guitarfishes that have not readily been documented in trade, possibly due to poor resolution of molecular genetic markers, to begin to document the extent of trade. We assess the shortfall in fisheries management (M-Risk) for all species of Guitarfish based on 99 assessments across 28 countries. Globally, Guitarfishes are inadequately managed, with an average M-Risk of 45% of an ideal score, resulting in 76% of species being threatened globally. The high and unregulated catch and trade volume, paired with the management shortfalls, require global integrated improvement in fisheries management, supported by regulating international trade to sustainable levels.

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“…The shark landings in Ghana was about 22,479 tons in 2015, which is about 70 % lower than the historic highest landings of sharks. The contribution of shark landings to the total marine fish landings has also decreased from 3.4 % in 2015 to 0.6 % in 2020 (Seidu et al 2022). Although many scientific works have been carried out on sharks in Ghana, many of these studies have centred on the socio-economic aspects of shark trade (e.g., Seidu et al 2022;Agyeman et al 2020) with little attention to the population dynamics of the stocks, including information on the growth and mortality parameters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shark species are often targeted by fisherfolks due to rising demand for their meat, fins, liver and other products, and this has led to indiscriminate fishing of the resource and ultimately decline in their population. The global shark landings has reduced from 893,000 tons in 2000 to 766,000 tons in 2018, registering a 15% decline in a decade (Seidu et al 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Population Dynamics of Shark Species in the Coast Of Ghana, West Africa

Ackah

Amekor

Amponsah

2023

Res. Agric. Livest. Fish.

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This study aimed at assessing the growth and mortality parameters of the Prionace gluaca and Sphyrna lewini shark species from the coast of Ghana. Data was taken for nine (9) months from April 2021 to December 2021. The length data taken from the shark species was analyzed for the estimation of population parameters using the FiSAT II tool. From the results, the estimated asymptotic length (L∞) and the growth rate (K) of P. glauca and S. lewini were 396.4 cm and 0.27 yr–1 and 349.1 cm and 0.24 yr–1 respectively, indicating that these species exhibited slow growing characteristics, evinced by a longevity of approximately 11 – 12 years. The length at first capture (Lc50) for P. gluaca was 128.6 cm and that for S. lewini was 169.0 cm. The length at first maturity (Lm50) for P. gluaca and S. lewini was 179.74 cm and 160.4 cm respectively. By comparing the Lc50 and Lm50, it implies that individuals of P. gluaca were vulnerable to fishing gears before having the chance to mature and even spawn once. The total mortality (Z), natural mortality (M), fishing mortality (F) and the exploitation rates for P. glauca and S. lewini were 0.82 yr–1 , 0.22 yr–1 , 0.60 yr–1 and 0.73 and 0.76 yr–1, 0.21 yr–1, 0.55 yr–1 and 0.72, respectively. This suggests that fishing activities are the main cause of decline in the abundance of these shark species. The exploitation rate (E > 0.5) revealed that these species are overexploited in Ghana’s marine waters. Based on these findings, it is recommended that fishing effort be reduced through appropriate measures by relevant authorities. Vol. 9, No. 3, December 2022: 353-365

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Fishing for survival: Importance of shark fisheries for the livelihoods of coastal communities in Western Ghana

Cited by 36 publications

References 37 publications

Short note: An assessment of the status of sawfishes and of guitarfish landings in artisanal fisheries in Ghana

Short note: An assessment of the status of sawfishes and of guitarfish landings in artisanal fisheries in Ghana

Guitarfishes are plucked: undermanaged in global fisheries despite declining populations and high volume of unreported international trade

Population Dynamics of Shark Species in the Coast Of Ghana, West Africa

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