Fishery

• Average fish catches by traditional fishing communities along the west African coast have declined significantly over the past three decades.
• They have done this for generations, but since the 1990s, a decline in the catch has put their livelihoods at risk.
• In Ghana, total landings of small pelagic fish fell by 59% between 1993 and 2019, despite increased fishing efforts.
• The continuing decline in fish catches has serious implications for some of the poorest families in the region.

Climate

• Among the multiple threats from climate change, ocean warming is probably the least appreciated.
• This helps contain warming on land in the short run, but in the long run it brings a cascade of larger climate threats.
• The models are widely used to forecast range shifts of organisms due to climate change and predict the eventual ranges of invasive species, among others.
• It projected that climate change alone would reduce maximum catch potential in the Guinea Current System by 30% or more by 2050, even if the fisheries were well managed.

Chinese trawlers

• However, Chinese trawlers get around this barrier by using local companies as legal “fronts”.
• Chinese companies, thinly disguised as Ghanaian companies, currently own over 90% of Ghana’s licensed bottom trawlers.
• Chinese trawlers are occasionally fined for illegal practices in Ghana, but some fail to pay the fines and still do not lose their licence.

Too many canoes

• In west Africa there are now seven times as many canoes engaged in ocean fishing as there were in 1950.
• Today’s canoes have larger nets and bigger crews, and many have powerful outboard engines.
• Despite the recent fish catch decline, canoe numbers have continued to increase; in Ghana there were 8,000 canoes in 1990, but by 2017 there were 13,650.

New livelihoods

• This won’t be easy since roughly 40% of coastal fishermen in Ghana and Nigeria have no formal education.
• One policy measure to keep them in school would be to provide monthly cash transfers conditioned on school enrolment and attendance.
• For fishing communities threatened by falling fish stocks, this might be a path to future livelihood protection.

Robert Paarlberg receives research funding from the Salata Institute at Harvard University.

• LOS ANGELES, March 13, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oceana launched a new “Whales in Crisis” public service announcement (PSA) campaign today featuring actress Cobie Smulders that calls on decision-makers to do more to save whales from deadly entanglements in fishing gear off the West Coast of the United States.
• “Once caught, these whales struggle to eat and even reach the surface to breathe,” Smulders says in the PSA.
• Together we can ensure these majestic creatures swim free.”
  Entanglement in fishing gear is a top threat to endangered animals off the West Coast, including humpback whales and leatherback sea turtles.
• Among the animals impacted by these fisheries is the severely entangled humpback whale featured in Oceana’s new “Whales in Crisis” campaign.

• MUSCAT, Oman, March 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In line with the national directive to boost Oman's economic development and attract international investors, Oman Investment Authority (OIA) has launched the 'Future Fund Oman' with a robust capital of $5.2 billion.
• The Fund will also allocate 7% of its capital towards funding support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and the remaining 3% is set to be invested in startups.
• Future Fund Oman is designed to partner with a diverse array of investor categories, including private sector entities, business proprietors, foreign investors, SMEs, and startups.
• Governed by an Investment Committee and an Advisory Committee, the Fund ensures strategic alignment with broader economic objectives while overseeing investment decisions.

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• Approximately 50% of marine life is rapidly declining with a third of the world's ocean fisheries being overfished.