The small-scale fishing industry of Ghana is well developed and produces approximately 70 percent of the total fish production of the country. The small-scale fishery is practised essentially with dugout canoes and utilizes various types of fishing gear well adapted to this type of craft and the local fishing conditions.
The presence of the Ghanaian fishermen with their canoes and gear all along the west coast of Africa shows the influence the Ghanaian canoe fisheries have had on the fisheries of other West African countries.
This catalogue has been prepared on the basis of the available information from previous fishing gear and craft surveys carried out by P.P. Dinglasan, fisheries technologist, UNDP/FAO project GHA/65/508, 1972, and the Research Branch of the Fisheries Department of Ghana in 1978. It gives details and illustrations of most types of canoes and fishing gear used in the small-scale fisheries.
Fishing gear designs differ often from village to village and from fisherman to fisherman, so this catalogue presents only the most representative fishing gear used in Ghana. The range is sufficient for users to select gear appropriate to local fishing conditions.
Figure 1 is a coastal map of Ghana, showing the 200 m contour line and the most important lagoons and rivers.
The main purpose of this work is to make available basic information from which improvements or innovations in design and construction of small-scale fishing gear can evolve.
This catalogue is intended for masterfishermen, fishing technologists, fisheries officers, training instructors and extension workers and to be used for reference in Ghana and in other neighbouring countries.
Grateful acknowledgements are extended for the active cooperation and hard work of the author, Mr B. Anum Doyi, Senior Technical Officer of the Fisheries Department of Ghana, who contributed some detailed information for the preparation of this publication.
This catalogue has been edited by the Fishing Technology Service, Fishery Industries Division, FAO, Rome, in collaboration with Mr T. Gestsson, a CECAF consultant Fishing Technologist, and the Marine Resources Service, Fishery Resources and Environment Division, FAO, Rome.
The designs have been prepared with the participation of Mr M. Carlesi, draftsman of the Fishery Industries Division, FAO, Rome.
