Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience |  University of Cape Coast

Humanity has for several years widen their livelihood sources as they are engaged in various sources of income. Supplementary livelihoods are essential to many households in Ghana particularly fishing communities. This is because these communities have had their livelihoods plagued with overfishing and declining stocks since the past two decades. However, involvement in supplementary livelihoods in most fishing households has not been fully patronized due to a plethora of factors. Also, poor development of supplementary livelihoods opportunities is also a contributing factor to the minimal indulgence. As a result, most fishing households are constantly trapped in the poverty basket, unable to perform their reproductive role at the household level which also has snowballing effects on the society at large. Thus, overlooking alternative options can result in restrictive management measures being less effective and more confrontational with the targeted groups, which can result in fisheries policies and interventions missing their target of creating sustainable livelihoods based on marine resources.

The aim of the study is to assess opportunities and constraints in the development of supplementary livelihood options in coastal communities in Ghana.

The specific objectives of the study are to:

1. Identify various livelihood opportunities in coastal communities
2. Estimate the economic potential of existing livelihood opportunities in coastal communities
3. Assess the governance structure, both spatial and temporal for identified livelihood opportunities in the coastal communities.
4. Map out conflict resolution strategies among target and vulnerable groups (users) of the supplementary livelihoods.
5. Develop a framework for the development and sustenance of the identified supplementary livelihoods in the coastal communities.

The proposed study aims to provide insights into pathways for developing successful livelihood programs for coastal communities in Ghana as earlier interventions have had limited success. Thereby, filling an essential gap in fisheries management information geared towards sustainable fisheries management.