Marine Ecosystem
Protecting Ghana’s Sea Turtles amd Marine Mammals: A Community-Led Response Through Research and Awareness Interventions.
Project Overview
The Coast and Wildlife Project is being implemented to support community-based conservation of sea turtles and marine mammals along the coastline of Ghana. The project forms part of the broader Marine Ecosystem and Community Programme, which seeks to strengthen sea turtle protection through monitoring activities, enhance understanding of marine mammal bycatch, and assess the socio-economic perspectives of fisherfolk along Ghana’s coast.
The project adopts a comprehensive community-based conservation approach that combines data collection, local empowerment, and community engagement to address threats such as poaching, bycatch, and habitat degradation while promoting sustainable coastal resource management. Through these interventions, the project aims to strengthen the long-term conservation of sea turtles and marine mammals at key fishing landing sites, including Dixcove and Axim along the coast of Ghana
Funded By
Pronature Alliance Ghana
Implementer
Pronature Alliance Ghana
Implementer
Wildseas Ghana
Implementer
West African Sea Turtle Conservation Network
Implementer
Conservation and Research on West African Aquatic Mammals-Ghana
Project Duration: 12 Months
Expected Impact
This project aims to contribute to the conservation of sea turtles and marine mammals along the coastline of Ghana by addressing key threats and promoting sustainable, community-driven solutions.
Key Components of the Project
Sea Turtle Nesting and Bycatch Monitoring: Assess the abundance and distribution of sea turtles at Dixcove and Axim through nesting and bycatch monitoring activities.
Marine Mammal Bycatch Assessment: Document and record marine mammal species incidentally caught and landed by fisheries as bycatch
Capacity Building: Train community-based conservation volunteers to monitor and report incidents of poaching and bycatch.
Socio-economic Surveys: Conduct surveys to understand community perceptions, livelihoods, and cultural attitudes toward dolphins and other marine mammals.
Conservation Awareness and Education: Promote awareness and education on the conservation status and threats facing sea turtles and marine mammals.
Expected Outcomes
- Availability of baseline data on the approximate population and nesting importance of sea turtles within the project area.
- Improved understanding of the number of marine mammal and sea turtle bycatches landed during the survey period.
- Identification and documentation of the species composition of all landed marine mammal and sea turtles.
- Identification of fishing methods used in the project area and assessment of their impacts on marine mammal and sea turtle.
- Increased awareness and knowledge among community members on the ecological and socio-economic importance of marine mammals and sea turtles.
- Socio-economic information from fisherfolk and community leaders regarding landed marine mammal and sea turtle collected and analysed.