World Fisheries Day is November 21, and Cloudburst is reflecting on their work in Ghana, which is directly aligned with the World Fisheries Day goals of sustainability and the well-being of small-scale fishing communities. Under the USAID/Ghana Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Platform activity (LINC LLC, prime contractor), specialists from Cloudburst’s Global Development practice area have been working in partnership with international and Ghanaian fisheries experts to collect data for a midterm performance evaluation of the Ghana Fisheries Recovery Activity (GFRA) throughout coastal Ghana.
GFRA is a five-year, Feed the Future-funded activity implemented by TetraTech to mitigate the decline of Ghana’s small pelagic fisheries sector and establish a durable basis for its ecological recovery. It seeks to reduce fishing overcapacity and illegal fishing practices within Ghana’s small pelagic fisheries sector to encourage ecological sustainability while enhancing socio-economic well-being and local resilience of artisanal fisherfolk and their communities. GFRA is implemented in fishing villages and fish landing sites across Ghana’s coastal districts for the benefit of artisanal fishers, fish processors and traders, fishing associations and local community members, local and national government, and the research community.
A woman processes seafood in Apam, Ghana. (Photo: Scott Chamberlin / USAID)
The midterm performance evaluation of the GFRA activity serves to assess the successes and challenges of the first several years of GFRA’s implementation. In coordination with Cloudburst, the evaluation team is currently collecting both quantitative data, in the form of a survey of program participants, as well as qualitative data through both semi-structured key informant interviews and focus group discussions. These diverse sources of data will be analyzed and triangulated to answer specific evaluation questions and provide actionable recommendations to inform and improve GFRA and Ghanaian fisheries activities in the future.
GFRA staff engage fisherfolk in fishing practices in a fireside storytelling session in Dago, Ghana. (Photo: Scott Chamberlin / USAID)