Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

Preliminary studies on the population dynamics of African Sicklefish (Drepane africana, Osorio 1892) from the coast of Ghana

Year 2025, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 52 - 59

Samuel Amponsah

Abstract

Individuals of African Sicklefish (Drepane africana), one of Ghana's most commercially and significant marine fish species, are declining in abundance. Therefore, the study aimed to provide the first estimates of growth and mortality parameters for sustainable management of the species from the coast of Ghana. The total length (TL) of 515 individuals of African Sicklefish sampled from June 2020 to July 2021 was measured and analyzed using the FISAT II software to determine the growth, mortality, and exploitation rates. The growth equation was Lt = 27.3 (1 - exp 1.80 (t + 0.09)). The size at first capture (Lc) and maturity (Lm) were 12.3 cm and 16.3 cm TL, respectively. The total mortality rate (Z), natural mortality rate (M), and fishing mortality rate (F) were 7.34, 2.73, and 4.61 per year, respectively. The exploitation rate was assessed at 0.63, indicating that the stock is currently overexploited. The fishery risks collapsing if sustainable management measures are not implemented since the maximum sustainable yield (Emax) slightly exceeds the current exploitation rate.

Keywords

Fisheries management Growth parameters Length at capture Length at maturity Mortality parameters

Thanks

Sincere gratitude goes to the fisher-folks along the coast of Ghana who assisted immensely during the fieldwork.

References

  • Aheto, D.W., Acheampong, E., Odoi, J.O. (2019). Are small-scale freshwater aquaculture farms in coastal areas of Ghana economically profitable. Aquaculture International, 27, 785-805. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-019-00363-9
  • Amponsah, S.K., Ofori-Danson, P.K., Nunoo, F.K.E, Ameyaw, G.A. (2019). Estimates of population parameters for Sardinella maderensis (Lowe, 1838) in the coastal waters of Ghana. Greener Journal of Agricultural Science, 9(1), 23-31.
  • Aoki, T., Takano, T., Santos, M.D., Kondo, H., Hirono, I. (2008). Molecular innate immunity in teleost fish: review and future perspectives. In Fisheries for Global Welfare and Environment, Memorial Book of the 5th World Fisheries Congress (pp. 263-276). Terrapub: Tokyo, Japan. https://doi.org/10.15580/GJAS.2019.1.011719017
  • Arizi, E.K., Collie, J.S., Castro, K., Humphries, A.T. (2022). Fishing characteristics and catch composition of the sardinella fishery in Ghana indicate urgent management is needed. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 52, 102348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2022.102348
  • Bauchot, M.L. (2003). Drepanidae. p. 514-515. In D. Paugy, C. Lévêque and G.G Teugels (eds.) the fresh and brackish water fishes of West Africa Volume 2. Coll. faune ET flore tropicales 40. Institut de recherche de développement, Paris, France, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, France and Musée royal de l'Afrique Central, Tervuren, Belgium, 815p.
  • Ben‐Hasan, A., Walters, C., Hordyk, A., Christensen, V., Al‐Husaini, M. (2021). Alleviating growth and recruitment overfishing through simple management changes: insights from an overexploited long‐lived fish. Marine and Coastal Fisheries, 13(2), 87-98. https://doi.org/10.1002/mcf2.10140
  • Desoutter, M. (1990). Ephippidae. p. 834-836. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
  • Edwards, A.J., Gill, A.C., Abohweyere, P.O. (2003). A revision of FR Irvine's Ghanaian marine fishes in the collections of The Natural History Museum, London. Journal of Natural History, 37(18), 2213-2267. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930210138359
  • FAO (2019). FishStatJ Manual. Version 4.00.0, December 2019. Rome.
  • Froese, R., Binohlan, C. (2000). Empirical relationships to estimate asymptotic length, length at first maturity and length at maximum yield per recruit in fishes, with a simple method to evaluate length frequency data. Journal of Fish Biology, 56(4), 758-773. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2000.tb00870.x
  • Gayanilo Jr, F.C., Soriano, M., Pauly, D. (1988). A draft guide to the Compleat ELEFAN.
  • Gulland, J.A. (1971). Ecological aspects of fishery research. In Advances in ecological research (Vol. 7, pp. 115-176). Academic Press Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2504(08)60204-4
  • Kwei E.A, Ofori-Adu E.W. (2005). Fishes in the coastal waters of Ghana. Tema: Ronna Publishers. 108 p.
  • Pauly, D. (1979). Theory and management of tropical multispecies stocks: a review, with emphasis on the Southeast Asian demersal fisheries.
  • Pauly, D. (1980). On the interrelationships between natural mortality, growth parameters, and mean environmental temperature in 175 fish stocks. ICES journal of Marine Science, 39(2), 175-192. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/39.2.175
  • Pauly, D. (1983). Some simple methods for the assessment of tropical fish stocks (No. 234). Food & Agriculture Org.
  • Pauly, D. (1984). Fish population dynamics in tropical waters: a manual for use with programmable calculators (Vol. 8). Worldfish.
  • Pauly, D., Munro, J.L. (1984). Once more on the comparison of growth in fish and invertebrates. Fishbyte, 2(1), 1-21.
  • Pauly, D., Soriano, M.L. (1986). Some practical extensions to Beverton and Holt’s relative yield-per-recruit model. In The first Asian fisheries forum (pp. 491-496). Manila: Asian Fisheries.
  • Pinsky, M.L., Byler, D. (2015). Fishing, fast growth and climate variability increase the risk of collapse. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282 (1813), 20151053. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1053
  • Segbefia, J., Francis, N.K., Hederick, D.R. (2013). Species composition, abundance, and growth of three common fish species of the Volta estuary, Ghana. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 3(1), 79-97.
  • Shojaei, M.G., Motlagh, S.A.T., Seyfabadi, J., Abtahi, B., Dehghani, R. (2007). Age, growth and mortality rate of the narrow-barred Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomerus commerson Lacepede, 1800) in coastal waters of Iran from length frequency data. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 7(2).
  • Thiam, D. (1988). Estimation of growth parameters and mortality rates for Drepane africana in Senegalese waters. p. 214-228. In S.C. Venema, J.M. Christensen and D. Pauly (eds.) Contributions to tropical fisheries biology. FAO/DANIDA Follow-up Training Course on Fish Stock Assessment in the Tropics, Denmark, 1986 and Philippines, 1987. FAO Fish. Rep. 389.
  • Zhai, L., Pauly, D. (2019). Yield-per-recruit, utility-per-recruit, and relative biomass of 21 exploited fish species in China's coastal seas. Frontiers in Marine Science 6, 724. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00724

Preliminary studies on the population dynamics of African Sicklefish (Drepane africana, Osorio 1892) from the coast of Ghana

Year 2025, Volume: 8 Issue: 1, 52 - 59

Samuel Amponsah

Abstract

Individuals of African Sicklefish (Drepane africana), one of Ghana's most commercially and significant marine fish species, are declining in abundance. Therefore, the study aimed to provide the first estimates of growth and mortality parameters for sustainable management of the species from the coast of Ghana. The total length (TL) of 515 individuals of African Sicklefish sampled from June 2020 to July 2021 was measured and analyzed using the FISAT II software to determine the growth, mortality, and exploitation rates. The growth equation was Lt = 27.3 (1 - exp 1.80 (t + 0.09)). The size at first capture (Lc) and maturity (Lm) were 12.3 cm and 16.3 cm TL, respectively. The total mortality rate (Z), natural mortality rate (M), and fishing mortality rate (F) were 7.34, 2.73, and 4.61 per year, respectively. The exploitation rate was assessed at 0.63, indicating that the stock is currently overexploited. The fishery risks collapsing if sustainable management measures are not implemented since the maximum sustainable yield (Emax) slightly exceeds the current exploitation rate.

Keywords

Fisheries management Growth parameters Length at capture Length at maturity Mortality parameters

Thanks

Sincere gratitude goes to the fisher-folks along the coast of Ghana who assisted immensely during the fieldwork.

References

  • Aheto, D.W., Acheampong, E., Odoi, J.O. (2019). Are small-scale freshwater aquaculture farms in coastal areas of Ghana economically profitable. Aquaculture International, 27, 785-805. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10499-019-00363-9
  • Amponsah, S.K., Ofori-Danson, P.K., Nunoo, F.K.E, Ameyaw, G.A. (2019). Estimates of population parameters for Sardinella maderensis (Lowe, 1838) in the coastal waters of Ghana. Greener Journal of Agricultural Science, 9(1), 23-31.
  • Aoki, T., Takano, T., Santos, M.D., Kondo, H., Hirono, I. (2008). Molecular innate immunity in teleost fish: review and future perspectives. In Fisheries for Global Welfare and Environment, Memorial Book of the 5th World Fisheries Congress (pp. 263-276). Terrapub: Tokyo, Japan. https://doi.org/10.15580/GJAS.2019.1.011719017
  • Arizi, E.K., Collie, J.S., Castro, K., Humphries, A.T. (2022). Fishing characteristics and catch composition of the sardinella fishery in Ghana indicate urgent management is needed. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 52, 102348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2022.102348
  • Bauchot, M.L. (2003). Drepanidae. p. 514-515. In D. Paugy, C. Lévêque and G.G Teugels (eds.) the fresh and brackish water fishes of West Africa Volume 2. Coll. faune ET flore tropicales 40. Institut de recherche de développement, Paris, France, Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Paris, France and Musée royal de l'Afrique Central, Tervuren, Belgium, 815p.
  • Ben‐Hasan, A., Walters, C., Hordyk, A., Christensen, V., Al‐Husaini, M. (2021). Alleviating growth and recruitment overfishing through simple management changes: insights from an overexploited long‐lived fish. Marine and Coastal Fisheries, 13(2), 87-98. https://doi.org/10.1002/mcf2.10140
  • Desoutter, M. (1990). Ephippidae. p. 834-836. In J.C. Quero, J.C. Hureau, C. Karrer, A. Post and L. Saldanha (eds.) Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). JNICT, Lisbon; SEI, Paris; and UNESCO, Paris. Vol. 2.
  • Edwards, A.J., Gill, A.C., Abohweyere, P.O. (2003). A revision of FR Irvine's Ghanaian marine fishes in the collections of The Natural History Museum, London. Journal of Natural History, 37(18), 2213-2267. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222930210138359
  • FAO (2019). FishStatJ Manual. Version 4.00.0, December 2019. Rome.
  • Froese, R., Binohlan, C. (2000). Empirical relationships to estimate asymptotic length, length at first maturity and length at maximum yield per recruit in fishes, with a simple method to evaluate length frequency data. Journal of Fish Biology, 56(4), 758-773. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.2000.tb00870.x
  • Gayanilo Jr, F.C., Soriano, M., Pauly, D. (1988). A draft guide to the Compleat ELEFAN.
  • Gulland, J.A. (1971). Ecological aspects of fishery research. In Advances in ecological research (Vol. 7, pp. 115-176). Academic Press Society. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2504(08)60204-4
  • Kwei E.A, Ofori-Adu E.W. (2005). Fishes in the coastal waters of Ghana. Tema: Ronna Publishers. 108 p.
  • Pauly, D. (1979). Theory and management of tropical multispecies stocks: a review, with emphasis on the Southeast Asian demersal fisheries.
  • Pauly, D. (1980). On the interrelationships between natural mortality, growth parameters, and mean environmental temperature in 175 fish stocks. ICES journal of Marine Science, 39(2), 175-192. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/39.2.175
  • Pauly, D. (1983). Some simple methods for the assessment of tropical fish stocks (No. 234). Food & Agriculture Org.
  • Pauly, D. (1984). Fish population dynamics in tropical waters: a manual for use with programmable calculators (Vol. 8). Worldfish.
  • Pauly, D., Munro, J.L. (1984). Once more on the comparison of growth in fish and invertebrates. Fishbyte, 2(1), 1-21.
  • Pauly, D., Soriano, M.L. (1986). Some practical extensions to Beverton and Holt’s relative yield-per-recruit model. In The first Asian fisheries forum (pp. 491-496). Manila: Asian Fisheries.
  • Pinsky, M.L., Byler, D. (2015). Fishing, fast growth and climate variability increase the risk of collapse. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282 (1813), 20151053. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.1053
  • Segbefia, J., Francis, N.K., Hederick, D.R. (2013). Species composition, abundance, and growth of three common fish species of the Volta estuary, Ghana. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquaculture, 3(1), 79-97.
  • Shojaei, M.G., Motlagh, S.A.T., Seyfabadi, J., Abtahi, B., Dehghani, R. (2007). Age, growth and mortality rate of the narrow-barred Spanish Mackerel (Scomberomerus commerson Lacepede, 1800) in coastal waters of Iran from length frequency data. Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 7(2).
  • Thiam, D. (1988). Estimation of growth parameters and mortality rates for Drepane africana in Senegalese waters. p. 214-228. In S.C. Venema, J.M. Christensen and D. Pauly (eds.) Contributions to tropical fisheries biology. FAO/DANIDA Follow-up Training Course on Fish Stock Assessment in the Tropics, Denmark, 1986 and Philippines, 1987. FAO Fish. Rep. 389.
  • Zhai, L., Pauly, D. (2019). Yield-per-recruit, utility-per-recruit, and relative biomass of 21 exploited fish species in China's coastal seas. Frontiers in Marine Science 6, 724. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2019.00724
There are 24 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects Aquaculture and Fisheries Stock Assessment
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Samuel Amponsah 0000-0001-5559-3139

Early Pub Date December 14, 2024
Publication Date
Submission Date June 8, 2024
Acceptance Date August 19, 2024
Published in Issue Year 2025Volume: 8 Issue: 1

Cite

APA Amponsah, S. (2024). Preliminary studies on the population dynamics of African Sicklefish (Drepane africana, Osorio 1892) from the coast of Ghana. Aquatic Research, 8(1), 52-59.
 Download Cover Image

16291

is licensed under a CreativeCommons Attribtion-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence 14628   1325927040

Diamond Open Access refers to a scholarly publication model in which journals and platforms do not charge fees to either authors or readers.

Open Access Statement:

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

Archiving Policy:

Archiving is done according to TÜBİTAK ULAKBİM "DergiPark" publication policy (LOCKSS).