Industrial and small-scale fisheries relations in Ghana: A political ecology perspective on blue economy exclusion

Ayilu, RK; Fabinyi, M; Barclay, K; Bawa, MA

Industrial and small-scale fisheries relations in Ghana: A political ecology perspective on blue economy exclusion

Ayilu, RK Fabinyi, M

Barclay, K

Bawa, MA

Permalink

Publisher:: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Journal of Rural Studies, 2023, 102
Issue Date:: 2023-08-01

Embargoed

	Filename	Description	Size
	Industrial and small-scale fisheries relations in Ghana.pdf	Accepted version	692.32 kB	Adobe PDF	View/Open

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Embargoed
Open Access

This item is currently unavailable due to the publisher's embargo.

The embargo period expires on 1 Aug 2025

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Ayilu, RK
dc.contributor.author	Fabinyi, M https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5293-4081
dc.contributor.author	Barclay, K https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4779-0965
dc.contributor.author	Bawa, MA
dc.date.accessioned	2024-01-08T22:36:49Z
dc.date.available	2024-01-08T22:36:49Z
dc.date.issued	2023-08-01
dc.identifier.citation	Journal of Rural Studies, 2023, 102
dc.identifier.issn	0743-0167
dc.identifier.issn	1873-1392
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/174113
dc.description.abstract	The fisheries sector in Ghana is a significant source of livelihood for many communities along the coast. However, the sector faces several challenges, including the power dynamics between the industrial bottom trawl industry and small-scale fishers. The concept of resource scarcity has frequently been used to characterise conflicts between industrial vessels and small-scale canoes in Ghana. This paper seeks to build on this dominant narrative that resource scarcity is the key driver of conflicts, arguing that exclusion, and resistance to exclusion can also explain contemporary conflicts in marine fisheries, and that indeed apparent resource scarcity can be caused by exclusion. A political ecology lens reveals that fisheries conflict in Ghana is entwined with established and emerging socio-political domains of exclusion, namely, regulation, legitimisation, force, and the market. We explain how contradictory regulations and ambiguous boundary delimitations, combined with a long period of weak enforcement, have helped industrial trawlers exploit fisheries in ways that exclude small-scale fishers. Additionally, with foreign-aid diplomacy legitimising the expansion of foreign-owned industrial trawlers, the infiltration of illegal catch into the small-scale value chain harms local businesses. We conclude that conflict serves as both a tool and a symptom of exclusion through its connection to regulatory, jurisdictional, and political contexts, as well as market dynamics.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP180100965
dc.relation.ispartof	Journal of Rural Studies
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.jrurstud.2023.103085
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/embargoedAccess
dc.subject	1205 Urban and Regional Planning, 1604 Human Geography, 1608 Sociology
dc.subject.classification	Geography
dc.subject.classification	4404 Development studies
dc.subject.classification	4406 Human geography
dc.subject.classification	4410 Sociology
dc.title	Industrial and small-scale fisheries relations in Ghana: A political ecology perspective on blue economy exclusion
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	102
utslib.for	1205 Urban and Regional Planning
utslib.for	1604 Human Geography
utslib.for	1608 Sociology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/e-Press
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/School of Communication
utslib.copyright.status	embargoed	*
utslib.copyright.embargo	2025-08-01T00:00:00+1000Z
dc.date.updated	2024-01-08T22:36:48Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	102

Abstract:

The fisheries sector in Ghana is a significant source of livelihood for many communities along the coast. However, the sector faces several challenges, including the power dynamics between the industrial bottom trawl industry and small-scale fishers. The concept of resource scarcity has frequently been used to characterise conflicts between industrial vessels and small-scale canoes in Ghana. This paper seeks to build on this dominant narrative that resource scarcity is the key driver of conflicts, arguing that exclusion, and resistance to exclusion can also explain contemporary conflicts in marine fisheries, and that indeed apparent resource scarcity can be caused by exclusion. A political ecology lens reveals that fisheries conflict in Ghana is entwined with established and emerging socio-political domains of exclusion, namely, regulation, legitimisation, force, and the market. We explain how contradictory regulations and ambiguous boundary delimitations, combined with a long period of weak enforcement, have helped industrial trawlers exploit fisheries in ways that exclude small-scale fishers. Additionally, with foreign-aid diplomacy legitimising the expansion of foreign-owned industrial trawlers, the infiltration of illegal catch into the small-scale value chain harms local businesses. We conclude that conflict serves as both a tool and a symptom of exclusion through its connection to regulatory, jurisdictional, and political contexts, as well as market dynamics.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/174113