Abstract:
Globally, migration has become an important livelihood strategy for many
poor households, with estuaries and seashores playing a central role as points
of human settlement and marine resource use. In Ghana, estuarine wetlands
support and attract fisher migrants for livelihood adaptation. This study
evaluates the impact of estuarine ecosystems on fishers' livelihood migration
patterns and anthropogenic stresses on Ghanaian estuaries. Fisher household
heads from five estuaries communities were selected using multistage
sampling. Data for the study was collected using 652 structured interview
schedule, seven focus groups discussions, and 10 in-depth interviews. The
results revealed the selected estuaries along Ghana's coast were degraded
based on a 34-year LULC change analysis. The type of fishing gear (P =
0.001), Sanctions (P=0.000), and Experience in fishing (P=0.001) were
revealed to have a significant negative influence on the degradation of the
estuaries along Ghana's Coast. There was a strong positive correlation between
ethnicity and migration among migrant fishers (Cramer's V = 0.71). The
results also revealed conflicts over the use of the estuarine ecosystem between
migrant and native fishers found in Anlo Beach, Faana and Kewunor
communities. Overall, fisher‘s household livelihood security index was 67%.
Understanding fisher migration patterns is necessary for managing Ghana's
coastal ecosystems, especially estuaries. Uncontrolled migration might lead to
overexploitation and resource degradation, compromising SDG 14 and fishers'
livelihoods.
