Oil and Fisheries in Ghana: Prospects for a Socio-ecological Compact

The document examines the intersection of Ghana's oil industry and its artisanal fisheries, which account for 60-70% of the total marine catch. While initial tensions focused on exclusion zones around oil platforms and collisions, the paper argues that the oil sector is not the primary threat to fisheries sustainability. Instead, the sector faces systemic challenges including fleet overcapacity, illegal fishing practices, and climate change. The author advocates for a 'socio-ecological compact' where the oil industry, government, and fishing communities collaborate through integrated maritime governance and co-management to ensure long-term sustainability.

• The decline of Ghana's fisheries is primarily attributed to fleet overcapacity and fluctuations in coastal nutrient upwellings rather than the emergence of the oil sector.
• Fisheries sustainability is severely threatened by fleet overcapacity, the use of illegal gear (such as small mesh and nylon nets), light fishing, and transhipment.
• Exclusion zones around floating production storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) and mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) are major points of contention, as fishers believe these structures attract fish into restricted areas.
• Despite a policy shift toward co-management and decentralization, fisheries governance in Ghana remains largely top-down, with monitoring and enforcement remaining under central authorities.
• Ghana's oil governance has been characterized by strong institutional frameworks and civil society participation, yet the country has struggled with rising public debt and fiscal mismanagement.

APA

Benkenstein, A. (2016). Oil and Fisheries in Ghana: Prospects for a Socio-ecological Compact. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Occasional-Paper-239.pdf

Chicago

Benkenstein, Alex. Oil and Fisheries in Ghana: Prospects for a Socio-ecological Compact. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2016. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Occasional-Paper-239.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Benkenstein |first1=Alex |title=Oil and Fisheries in Ghana: Prospects for a Socio-ecological Compact |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=September 2016 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Occasional-Paper-239.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{benkenstein2016oil, author = {Benkenstein, Alex}, title = {{Oil and Fisheries in Ghana: Prospects for a Socio-ecological Compact}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2016}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Occasional-Paper-239.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }