Perception of Fishermen on Heavy Metal Pollution of the Fosu Lagoon in Cape Coast, Ghana

Abstract

Many lagoons around the globe including those in Ghana are perceived to have been polluted in one way or another. The Fosu lagoon located in Cape Coast in the Central region of Ghana is among the much known ones. The importance of the Fosu lagoon includes tourist attraction, religious and economic value, of particular importance to fishermen who fish various aquatic animals, is blackchin tilapia, referred to locally as mpatoa with zoological name saratherodon melanotheron specie of the chiclid family. However the lagoon appears to be polluted in several ways and this is contributing to the drying of the lagoon and subsequently reducing its economic value. This study however looks at the perception of fishermen who fish in the lagoon for their livelihood to find out as to whether the lagoon is polluted with heavy metals. Sixty fishermen were sampled among an estimated 131 using the purposive and snowball sampling technique. Both open- and closed-ended questions in a questionnaire were employed to collect the data. Descriptive method of analysis was utilized in analyzing the data using SPSS software. The study identified ignorance, illiteracy, economic, and cultural factors as the reasons for fishermen’s perception. This calls for the need to educate fishermen on translocation of heavy metals through plants to fishes in the lagoon. The author recommends that radio, vernacular, health and medical practitioners be used as the media of communication to educate fishermen on pollution of the lagoon and its effects.

Keywords: perception, pollution, heavy metals, leachates.