Current issues, status and applications of GIS to aquaculture: Development of potential and financial viability of fish farming in the Republic of Ghana

Citation

Asmah R, Muir J & Ross L (2013) Current issues, status and applications of GIS to aquaculture: Development of potential and financial viability of fish farming in the Republic of Ghana. In: Meaden G & Aguilar-Manjarrez J (eds.) Advances in geographic information systems and remote sensing for fisheries and aquaculture. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Technical Paper, 552. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, pp. 259-268. http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/i3102e/i3102e00.htm

Abstract
First paragraph: The Republic of Ghana is located in West Africa, a few degrees north of the equator. It has a total land area of 238 540 km2 and a coastline length of 550 km. Aquaculture has been practised in Ghana since the 1950s, but until about a decade ago fish culture was largely undertaken in earthen ponds, primarily at the small-scale level and where rudimentary tools were employed. From about 1998, the sector has transformed with the introduction of commercial cage fish farming in Lake Volta. Vigorous campaigns and promotions of the sector by government agencies over the years have further enhanced commercial interests of both foreign and local investors. A number of farms, with targeted production capacities ranging from 700 to 5 000 tonnes per annum, have been established within the last five years and are operating at various levels of their full capacities. Several other small-scale production facilities or farms, mainly operated by locals, have also sprung up and their numbers continue to grow. The main cultured species is Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). Other cultured species are African catfish (Clarias gariepinus), African Arowana (Heterobranchus spp.), striped snakehead (Channa striata), grey mullet and Heterotis sp. (Asmah, 2008).