Willingness of marine artisanal fishermen to integrate aquaculture in enterprise mix: Evidence from Ghana

Abstract

Marine resources are depleting, making the dependence of economies on fish from such sources no longer the best option. Aquaculture has been suggested as an alternative livelihood. This study assesses the willingness of marine artisanal fishermen in the coastal region of Ghana to adopt aquaculture. The Effutu municipality in the central region of Ghana was purposely selected for the study. A multi stage cluster sampling procedure was used to randomly select150 artisanal fishermen from two communities in the coastal area of the district. Data was collected using semi structured questionnaire. The study employed the Binary Logit model to assess the influence of technical, socioeconomic and institutional factors on the decision to integrate the aquaculture enterprise into household enterprises of fishermen. The results of the study showed that about62 percent of the marine fishermen were willing to adopt and integrate aquaculture into their enterprise mix. The Logit estimation results reveal that fishermen who lacked savings, had difficulty in accessing credit, did not belong to fishermen's association, and were new in marine fishing were more likely to be convinced about integrating aquaculture. There is potential for marine fishers to explore and use aquaculture to enhance their wealth. The study recommends that targeting marine fishers who are youthful and inexperienced for training and capacity building is the best policy option for stakeholders who are interested in aquaculture development.

Key Words: Marine artisanal fishermen, aquaculture, enterprise mix, Binary Logit Model, Ghana