Through community action, Issah and his NGO AquaLife Conservancy are saving Critically Endangered guitarfish species from local extinction by mitigating the threats of overfishing and working towards the creation of Ghana’s first Locally Managed Marine Area.

ANCIENT ANIMAL

Once abundant, guitarfish show how easily a species can decline when it is poorly understood and undervalued. When this key coastal predator disappears, food webs can become unstable, affecting overall ocean health as well as fishing communities. Closely related to both sharks and rays, there are at least 55 species of guitarfish globally. However, they are particularly vulnerable because they live in shallow coastal waters, grow slowly, mature late, and produce few young. Issah will focus on four Critically Endangered and ancient species: the common guitarfish, white-spotted guitarfish, blackchin guitarfish and the spineback guitarfish. The project builds on data from Issah’s initiative to establish the first baseline for sharks and rays in West Africa, teaming up with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Shark Specialist Group for the African region that he co-chairs.

OVEREXPLOITATION

Ghana’ s coastline extends for 550km, with the ocean sustaining the lives of coastal communities. Many people in these communities depend directly or indirectly on small-scale artisanal or semi-industrial fisheries for their livelihoods. With industrial fishing depleting fish stocks, small-scale fishers and semi-industrial fisheries now actively target guitarfish, sharks and rays for their valuable meat and fins fueling the overexploitation of these species. There is currently little support for struggling fisher communities, and no management plan to conserve guitarfish.

SCALING SUCCESS

This project builds on a successful programme of initiatives which has reduced the number of fishers harvesting guitarfish by more than 200. The team will add four hotspot communities to the five communities that AquaLife Conservancy works with in Ahanta West District which are major hubs of guitarfish fisheries in Ghana. Importantly, they work with both resident and migrant fishers – a group largely overlooked in conservation planning, whose movements shape fishing pressure across communities and national borders. Not only will fishers be trained on the safe release of guitarfish and best fishing practices, but how to collect scientific data and GPS mapping of important coastal habitats that are critical for species survival. The ‘fisher biologist model’ employs local fisher knowledge to understand guitarfish breeding, spawning, and aggregation sites, as well as core fishing zones. Through awareness campaigns, the team will draw attention to the conservation profile of guitarfish with communities. They will also support alternative livelihood schemes, such as snail farming, to offer a reliable source of income with a low environmental impact to benefit both nature and people.

With the Whitley Award Issah and his team will:

• Train fishers in sustainable methods and safe release practices, and to map critical habitat for guitarfish recovery
• Boost local livelihoods with alternatives that increase income while reducing pressure on marine resources
• Raise awareness on the extinction risk of guitarfish in additional fishing communities

“Guitarfish are among the most threatened fish in the ocean, yet they remain largely invisible in policy, research, and public awareness.”