URI_Research_Magazine_Momentum_Fall_2021_Melissa-McCarthy

SCIENCE DRIVEN POLICY

BRIAN CRAWFORD Senior Coastal Resources Manager Coastal Resources Center

written by DIANE STERRET T

“Because fish are so important as an animal protein source, and as local fish catch declined, more expensive fish were imported, making life even more difficult for poor people,” Crawford says. “Fewer fish caught also affected the businesses, such as small-scale women fish processors, leading to further economic instability. We worked to implement best practice collaborative management processes where fishermen — both canoe operators and industrial trawlers — worked side by side with fishery commissions to come to a consensus.” Previously, outsiders conducted stock assessments and the central government mandated policies in a top- down approach, leading to non-compliance with needed regulations to rebuild the fish stocks. Crawford’s team developed the capacity for local scientists, with support from fishermen and academia, to conduct their own assessments, review the data, and provide recommendations to the government. Stakeholders being involved in the decision-making process led to greater buy-in for proposed solutions to the overfishing problem. After much discussion and debate, a closed fishing season was declared for the artisanal fishery in 2019 for the first time ever, and compliance by fisherfolk was almost perfect.

Sixty percent of Ghana’s animal protein diet comes from fish, but the anchovies and sardines the country’s people rely on have faced a severe decline for more than a decade — a consequence of overfishing, illegal fishing, too many fishing vessels, and non-compliance with fisheries laws. “When we started in Ghana, no one wanted to believe there was a crisis in the fishery,” says Brian Crawford, University of Rhode Island (URI) Coastal Resources Center (CRC) senior coastal resources manager. He served as project manager for USAID/ Ghana Sustainable Fisheries Management Project (SFMP) from 2014 to 2021. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) chose the CRC to lead the project in partnership with several local and international organizations. Ghana’s Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development and its Fisheries Commission was CRC’s main government counterpart. The goal: rebuild fish stocks through adoption of sustainable practices and exploitation levels in the four coastal regions stretching from the border with Togo to Cote d’ Ivoire.

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