E-ISSN 2676-2862 | ISSN 2676-2854
 

Original Article 


Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks

Isaac Okyere.

Abstract
Ghana’s marine fish stocks have been declining in the last two decades. Efforts to address this trend have focused mainly on curbing overcapacity, overexploitation and inappropriate fishing methods with little attention to degradation of the country’s coastal lagoons and estuaries, which serve as nursery habitats for juvenile marine fishes. To demonstrate the need to factor coastal ecosystems into fisheries management plans, this study assessed the quality of the waters of the River Pra Estuary, the second largest estuary in Ghana. This estuary is silted from activities of illegal alluvial gold miners upstream. Temperature, turbidity, salinity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, nitrate and phosphate concentrations were monitored from February 2012 to December 2013. Turbidities greater than 500 ppm known to have detrimental effects on estuarine organisms were recorded in the estuary from March to October each year. Dissolved oxygen concentration in the estuary in 2012 was below 5 mg/L, the threshold for survival of aquatic life in running waters. Although nitrate and phosphate concentrations in the estuary far exceeded the optimum levels (nitrate = 1.0 mg/L; phosphate = 0.1 mg/L) for primary productivity in estuaries, the high turbidity hampers light penetration and consequently limit primary productivity in the estuary. The possible effects of this estuary on recruitment of juvenile fish into the marine fishery are discussed with recommendations for management considerations.

Key words: Pra estuary; water quality; ecosystem management; fisheries production


 
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How to Cite this Article
Pubmed Style

Isaac Okyere. Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks. J. Fish. Coast. Mgt. 2019; 1(1): 18-23. doi:10.5455/jfcom.20190315062201


Web Style

Isaac Okyere. Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks. https://www.jfcomonline.com/?mno=37197 [Access: October 11, 2023]. doi:10.5455/jfcom.20190315062201


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Isaac Okyere. Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks. J. Fish. Coast. Mgt. 2019; 1(1): 18-23. doi:10.5455/jfcom.20190315062201



Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Isaac Okyere. Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks. J. Fish. Coast. Mgt. (2019), [cited October 11, 2023]; 1(1): 18-23. doi:10.5455/jfcom.20190315062201



Harvard Style

Isaac Okyere (2019) Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks. J. Fish. Coast. Mgt, 1 (1), 18-23. doi:10.5455/jfcom.20190315062201



Turabian Style

Isaac Okyere. 2019. Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks. Journal of Fisheries and Coastal Management, 1 (1), 18-23. doi:10.5455/jfcom.20190315062201



Chicago Style

Isaac Okyere. "Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks." Journal of Fisheries and Coastal Management 1 (2019), 18-23. doi:10.5455/jfcom.20190315062201



MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Isaac Okyere. "Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks." Journal of Fisheries and Coastal Management 1.1 (2019), 18-23. Print. doi:10.5455/jfcom.20190315062201



APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Isaac Okyere (2019) Implications of the deteriorating environmental conditions of River Pra estuary (Ghana) for marine fish stocks. Journal of Fisheries and Coastal Management, 1 (1), 18-23. doi:10.5455/jfcom.20190315062201