A first checklist of cetaceans of Ghana, Gulf of Guinea, and a shore-based survey of interactions with coastal fisheries. Scientific Committee document SC/51/SM35, International Whaling Commission, May 1999, Grenada

To date, six cetacean species are confirmed to occur in coastal waters off Ghana: five odontocetes Stenella clymene, Steno bredanensis, Tursiops truncatus, Kogia simus, Physeter macrocephalus, and Megaptera novaeangliae. A stranded humpback whale calf raised questions about breeding stock. We found no evidence for the presence of the Atlantic hump-backed dolphin Sousa teuszii ; either it has become rare or it does not occur off Ghana. Unrestrained coastal development may pose a threat for nearshore species. Regular and year-round bycatches of small cetaceans are documented in artisanal gillnet fisheries from Apam, Jamestown (Accra), Kpone and Winneba. At Apam, drift gillnet fishermen intentionally capture dolphins with sharks and tuna. Annual takes at Apam and Jamestown probably count in the low hundreds, higher than at Kpone and Winneba. Bottlenose dolphins are also known to be taken in semi-industrial purse-seines (Jamestown). Carcasses are not filleted, but hacked into small portions including bone, and retailed locally for food. This explains why beach-combing around fishing villages did not yield any findings of skeletal parts. Field research and monitoring effort should continue

Fisheries potential of village dams in northern Ghana

Results of a twelve-month assessment of the fisheries and aquaculture potential of small waterbodies (SWBs) in the West Gonja District of Northern Ghana are presented. The primary objectives of the project were to established whether the fisheries within the reservoir basins in the West Gonja and Nanumba Districts (Northern Region) could be enhanced and aquaculture associated with the SWBs could be viable

Biophysical and socioeconomic state and links of deltaic areas vulnerable to climate change: Volta (Ghana), Mahanadi (India) and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (India and Bangladesh)

We examine the similarities and differences of specific deltaic areas in parallel, under the project DEltas, vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation (DECCMA). The main reason for studying Deltas is their potential vulnerability to climate change and sea level rise, which generates important challenges for livelihoods. We provide insights into the current socioeconomic and biophysical states of the Volta Delta (Ghana), Mahanadi Delta (India) and Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna (India and Bangladesh). Hybrid methods of input-output (IO) construction are used to develop environmentally extended IO models for comparing the economic characteristics of these delta regions with the rest of the country. The main sources of data for regionalization were country level census data, statistics and economic surveys and data on consumption, trade, agricultural production and fishing harvests. The Leontief demand-driven model is used to analyze land use in the agricultural sector of the Delta and to track the links with final demand. In addition, the Hypothetical Extraction Method is used to evaluate the importance of the hypothetical disappearance of a sector (e.g., agriculture). The results show that, in the case of the Indian deltas, more than 60% of the cropland and pasture land is devoted to satisfying demands from regions outside the delta. While in the case of the Bangladeshi and Ghanaian deltas, close to 70% of the area harvested is linked to internal demand. The results also indicate that the services, trade and transportation sectors represent 50% of the GDP in the deltas. Still, agriculture, an activity directly exposed to climate change, plays a relevant role in the deltas'' economies-we have estimated that the complete disappearance of this activity would entail GDP losses ranging from 18 to 32%

Indeterminate status of West African populations of inshore common bottlenose dolphins <i>Tursiops truncatus</i> caution against opportunistic live-capture schemes

The limited information available on the status of inshore common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus along the coasts of West Africa is reviewed. Although reported from at least ten countries, it is unclear whether their distribution is continuous. Population structure and genetics have not been studied, however cranial morphology suggests that the West African dolphins differ from North Sea bottlenose dolphins. Mean group sizes are small (3.19 – 12.91 individuals/group) and are smallest in Guinea-Bissau. There are no estimates of abundance but by analogy with a well-studied population in Sarasota, Gulf of Mexico, the Guinea-Bissau population may number only in the hundreds. It is essential that scientific estimates be obtained through dedicated surveys. In some areas of Guinea-Bissau with a high density of fishing activities, bottlenose dolphins are now less frequently encountered than they were in the recent past. Key parameters besides abundance, including population identity, bycatch levels and other anthropogenic threats need to be documented and quantified before any deliberate exploitation is considered. A small-scale, botched live-capture operation in Senegal in 2003, in which all dolphins died, serves as warning against such opportunistic schemes. In management terms, live-capture operations are equivalent to hunting and multi-year, large-scale removals of bottlenose dolphins in Guinea-Bissau would have the potential to effectively extirpate the wild population from its waters

Occurrence of phytoplankton in the water and gut of the volta clam (Galatea paradoxa born 1778) from the lower volta estuary, Ghana

The Volta Clam, Galatea paradoxa Born 1778 (= Egeria radiata) occurs in the waters of the Lower Volta Estuary. It is an important source of protein for the inhabitants and fishing for clams is done to supplement income. The clam is eaten whole after frying, boiling, steaming or roasting. The gut contains many microalgae that are resident in the enclosing riverine water. This paper reports the incidence of microalgae (phytoplankton) in the surrounding water and in the gut of the clam with the view to identifying potential toxin-producing ones which constitute the phytoplankton population. The phytoplankton content of the riverine water and in the gut ofthe clam was determined using standard and prescribed methods. Out of the 826 single microscopic phytoplanktons counted from the surface and bottom layers of water, 63.8% belonged to the Chlorophyta, 22.9% to the Bacillariophyta and the remaining 13.3% were Cyanophyta. The  Chlorophyta population was made up of seventeen (17) species belonging to seven (17) genera. Actinastrum, Pediastrum, Phacus and Phytoconia species were detected only in the bottom water whilst Ankistrodesmus, Coelastrum, Chlorella, Euglena, Microspora, Mougeota, Scenedesmus, Spirogyra, Straurastrum and Ulothrix were found in both layers. Spirogyra was the most predominant amongst the Chlorophyta in the surface water consisting 70.6% at this layer and 44.3% of the Chlorophyta population of the bottom water. Cyanophyta belonging to nine genera (Anabaena, Anacystis, Chroococcus, Gomphosphaeria, Lyngbya, Nodularia, Oscillatoria, Phormidium and Stignonema) were isolated in the water. Oscillatoria princeps was the most predominant Cyanophyta at the surface (36.1%) and bottom (52.6%) waters. Members of the Bacillariophyta found at the surface and bottom layers belonged to six (6) genera (Asterionella, Diatoma, Fragilaria, Melosira, Navicula, and Synedra). Members of the Cyanophyta which were isolated from the gut only were Merismopedia elegans, Oscillatoria tenius and Planktothrix agardhii. Practical implications of the findings are discussed

A survey for the conservation of dolphins in Ghanaian coastal waters

Surveys were undertaken to identify common dolphin species landed by local fishers in the coastal waters of Ghana between 1998 and 2000. Altogether, 14 out of the known 18 dolphin species in the West African sub-region were identified. They were predominated by the clymene dolphin, Stenella clymene (35%) followed by the pantropical spotted dolphin, Stenella attenuate (1 7%), the bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus (1 6%), and Risso 's dolphin, Grampus griseus (7%). Although some coastal communities traditionally revere dolphins, pressure from rapid population growth and declining fish catches have currently made them immediate food need because their meat is consumed fresh or smoked. The main threats of concern are unregulated directed or accidental killing by drift gill-nets (DGN), purse seine and use of the meat as baits for catching sharks whose fins attract scarce foreign exchange. The increasing pressures from these artisanalfisheries call for en forcement of existing national conservation legislation (Wildlife Conservation Regulation, 1971 or Legislative Instrument, 685) and adoption of new measures to address the protection of dolphins. In support of this effort, some short-term and long-term interventions needed to protect the dolphins are discussed for their conservation because they are considered a potential source of eco-tourism "dolphin-watching"