An Investigation Into the Sustainable Utilisation of Artisanal Fisheries in Liberia: a Case Study of West Point

Abstract

Fish is the world’s most-traded food product with an international seafood trade value of about $141.6 billion in 2016. Compared to industrial fisheries, artisanal fisheries provide about 90% of world fisheries employment, provide more food, and it is comparatively less environmentally damaging. The sector provides means of livelihood for 33,000 fishers and processors in Liberia, of which 60% are women. The artisanal fisheries are characterised by low capital, labour-intensive, remote landing sites, conflicts, and post-harvest problems such as spoilage and wastage in Liberia generally and in West Point particularly. The sector is open accessed and managed under an informal management system. This informal management system is self-organising but leading to unsustainable use of the fisheries resources, due to the use of gill nets and beach seine methods. There exist limited studies on the use of the artisanal fisheries resources through the informal self-governance regime. This research was therefore conducted to investigate the factors which affect the sustainable utilisation of the artisanal fisheries in Liberia with particular reference to WestPoint, a slum community next to Monrovia city centre with 1,249 fulltime fishermen. The population was stratified according to fishing methods and a proportion allocation method was applied to each stratum to obtain the sample size. Data was collected using structured questionnaire administered to 303 fishermen, focus group discussions in the two fishing communities of West Point, key informants interviews and a fish weight sampling. The results were analysed using descriptive statistics such as frequency distribution, percentages, and the results were presented in charts, graphs, and tables. Findings showed that there was a 41.7% decrease in total production of fish from the artisanal fisheries between 2013 and 2014 with key informants attributing the huge drop to inadequate assessment of landed catch and the 2014 Ebola outbreak. The study also revealed that key factors affecting the sustainable utilization included lack of rules of reciprocity to govern the resources, beach seine (5.3%) and different gear types: monofilament gill nets (41.6%),

monofilament gill lines (11.2%), and multifilament net (47.2%). The multifilament gears are the recommended gears for sustainable fisheries while monofilament gears are illegal and pose a greater threat to the fisheries. These gears (monofilament), due to their fibre, continuously fish once lost or left at sea destroying the spawning grounds of the species and increasing the rate of juvenile catch. Based on these findings, we conclude that factors influencing the sustainable use of the fisheries include methods of fishing, gears used and the local governance system and therefore recommends constant monitoring and assessment of the impact of fishing methods on coastal fisheries and a total ban of gears that are classified as harmful. The informal self-organized governance system should incorporate rules that protect not only the fishermen but also the fisheries resources. The Bureau of National Fisheries should widen the scope of artisanal data collection for more accurate catch report for a full representation of the marine small-scale fisheries yield.