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

James Fynn Walker  is an emerging ocean and marine governance enthusiast from Ghana, West Africa, with a strong interest in interdisciplinary research focused on sustainable coastal and marine systems. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences, with a major in Economics and a minor in Sociology, from the University of Cape Coast.

After completing his undergraduate studies, he undertook his national service with the Physical Planning Department of the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly. During this period, he was exposed to local-level development planning processes, community engagement, and spatial policy implementation—experiences that sparked his growing interest in the intersections between socio-economic development and environmental governance.

He is currently pursuing a Master of Philosophy (MPhil) in Blue Economy, Governance and Social Resilience at the Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience (ACECoR), University of Cape Coast, as a World Bank ACECoR Scholar. His research focuses on assessing the impact of Ghana’s closed fishing season on the stock dynamics of small pelagic fish species, with specific attention to regional variations in fishing intensity, catch per unit effort (CPUE), and stakeholder responses.

Motivated by the urgent need to address coastal vulnerabilities and declining fish stocks, he is committed to contributing to evidence-based policy formulation and sustainable ocean governance across Ghana and the West African sub-region. He aspires to bridge disciplinary knowledge in economics, sociology, and marine science to support integrated approaches to managing coastal and marine resources.