The status and trends of small cetacean landings at Dixcove artisanal fishing port, western Ghana

Abstract

One of the largest documented takes of small cetaceans in western Africa occurs in Western regional coastal waters of Ghana. This temporally coincided with steadily decreasing catches of finfish, especially small pelagics (sardinellas, anchovies, mackerel) over the past decades, attributed to both climate change and indiscriminate exploitation methods. Dixcove, a key fishing port for cetacean landings was surveyed during 96 days between 12 September -17 December 2018. Our goal was to update insights from our earlier surveys, especially on catch rates, catch per unit effort and species composition. A total of 57 delphinids of 10 species were observed landed: Stenella attenuata (28.1%), Stenella clymene (17.5%), Lagenodelphis hosei (10.5%), Steno bredanensis (10.5%), unidentified stenellids (8.8%), Grampus griseus (3.5%), Delphinus sp. (3.5%), Pseudorca crassidens (3.5%) and single specimens of Tursiops truncatus, Stenella longirostris and Stenella frontalis. The observed cetacean catch per diem (cpd =0.59) at Dixcove was low compared to earlier rates for this port (e.g. cpd =2.82, in 2013-2014). However, fishing effort, measured as the number of canoes landing per diem (range 0-25; mean= 8.82 ± 6.05; n=22) was also reduced. Poor fish catches forced many canoes to remain in port. The prevalence in landings of common bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins has significantly decreased in the period 2000-2018. The prevalence of Fraser's dolphins and false killer whales increased. Indications are that a higher proportion of cetacean carcasses may be utilised offshore as shark bait. Hooks baited with cetacean parts are deployed in auxiliary longlines set longside large-mesh drift gillnets with a shark aggregating purpose, a first report in Africa. Shore-based incidental sightings of humpback whales suggest the potential for small scale whale-watching ecotourism in Ghanaian coastal waters, as pertains in the nearby waters of the Republic of Benin.