URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Fall_2021_Melissa-McCarthy

Photo by Danielle Bilecki

USAID chose the CRC to lead the project in partnership with several local and international organizations.

“Once the local scientists drew the conclusions, no one questioned the science and those scientific reports were widely cited by everyone,” Crawford says. “To me that was a huge accomplishment, that science-driven decision-making came to be as a result of our project.” Crawford also conducted socioeconomic studies on that first closed season, which revealed that fishing households lost 90 percent of their income, food insecurity increased as did dietary diversity for women. “I was shocked when I saw the results — they had very few other sources of income generation,” he recalls. “We piloted a social safety net scheme for vulnerable households through direct cash payments. After the pilot, we proposed cash payments to vulnerable fisherfolk be made during seasonal closures and this could be paid for from the savings during the closure on fuel subsidies to the fishery, which also exacerbates the overfishing problem. The pilot demonstrated that the government could mitigate temporary income loss and likely made it more enticing to comply with the closure, and the cost would be less than what they spend in fuel subsidies.”

Rosina Cobinna, assistant regional director, Accra Region, Ghana Fisheries Commission pictured with Brian Crawford.

FALL | 2021 Page 57