Understanding the socio-economic characteristics and perception of poverty in artisanal fisheries of Ghana. The Case of Kpong Reservoir

There is a worldwide perception that large number of small-scale fishers, especially in Africa, live in poverty. We applied a mixed-methods of interview, catch assessment and observation to understand the socio-economic characteristics and perception of poverty in artisanal fisheries of Kpong Reservoir of Ghana. Specifically, we asked the following questions: What are the socio-economic characteristics of the fishing communities in terms of age, education, household sizes and fishing experience? What is the distribution of fishing costs and household expenses? What is the perception of poverty in terms of understanding, nature and causes? Results of the study show that the socio-economic characteristics of the fishers around the reservoir are quite similar. However, they differ in terms of income and household expenditures. Dominant gears used consist of purse seine and gill nets. This study also revealed that fishers have an in-depth perception and knowledge about poverty in the fishing communities; and that it is multi-dimensional in nature other than soley from lack of income. From the study, fishers were able to identify the most vulnerable groups to poverty in the communities. Keywords: socio-economics; small-scale fisheries; poverty; reservoir; Kpong

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Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2011 in the subject Sociology - Economy and Industry, , language: English, abstract: There is a worldwide perception that large number of small-scale fishers, especially in Africa, live in poverty. We applied a mixed-methods of interview, catch assessment and observation to understand the socio-economic characteristics and perception of poverty in artisanal fisheries of Kpong Reservoir of Ghana. Specifically, we asked the following questions: What are the socio-economic characteristics of the fishing communities in terms of age, education, household sizes and fishing experience? What is the distribution of fishing costs and household expenses? What is the perception of poverty in terms of understanding, nature and causes? Results of the study show that the socio-economic characteristics of the fishers around the reservoir are quite similar. However, they differ in terms of income and household expenditures. Dominant gears used consist of purse seine and gill nets. This study also revealed that fishers have an in-depth perception and knowledge about poverty in the fishing communities; and that it is multi-dimensional in nature other than soley from lack of income. From the study, fishers were able to identify the most vulnerable groups to poverty in the communities. Keywords: socio-economics; small-scale fisheries; poverty; reservoir; Kpong