Fish stocks in Ghanaian waters are on the decline. There is therefore the need to rebuild the stocks through marine stock enhancement and restocking. Stock enhancement and restocking are the guarantee routes to revive the stock declining menace of the country. Other benefits will include sustainable employment, increase fishers income, reduce poverty, ensures food security and promote national development. Species to be used for restocking is a major problem since the biology of the existing species is poorly understood. There are certain factors that must be taken into considerations if stock enhancement and restock programmes are to be successful, namely existing fisheries management schemes, socio-economic factors, institutional capacity and aquaculture development. The potential for Ghana to create sustainable, supplemental livelihoods through restocking or stock enhancement appears promising.
Part of the book: Public Management and Administration
The main objective of the study was to assess the abundance and distribution of sharks in Ghana’s coastal area. Samples were collected daily from the three sampling sites from April – to December 2021. The data obtained from this study were assessed for species abundance and composition, ecological indices; species diversity, and exploitation status using PAST and Microsoft Excel. A total of eight species were recorded with Prionace glauca (68%) as the dominant species and Carcharhinus leucas (1%) as the least dominant species. The mean species richness index (SRI) of 0.9 indicated infinite diversity of the species. The mean species evenness index (SEI) of 0.5 showed an evenly distributed species. The mean species dominance index (SDI) of 0.4 implied that the habitat was not dominated by only one or two particular species. The mean Shannon Weiner index (SWI) was less than 3, which is suggestive of pollution and habitat degradation. The exploitation status indicated that the stock of the shark species is in healthy condition. The month with the higher index was October which is possibly the aftermath of the close season and the major upwelling season. Extending the period of the closed season and reducing fishing effort are recommended.
Part of the book: Sharks