{"id":1093413,"date":"2026-11-08T09:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-08T08:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kaleidos-images.net\/?p=1093413"},"modified":"2026-11-08T09:33:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-08T08:33:27","slug":"jamestowns-plastic-sea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kaleidos-images.net\/en\/2026\/11\/08\/jamestowns-plastic-sea\/","title":{"rendered":"Fish shortage in Jamestown"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Fish shortage in Jamestown<\/i><\/h1>\n

Jamestown is, with Usshertown, the oldest district of Accra. The British built James Fort there in 1673: the Royal African Company made it a trading post for gold and slaves. Today the district lives from artisanal fishing, and it is where a new fishing harbour, funded by a Chinese grant of 60 million dollars, was commissioned on 13 September 2024: a 200-capacity market, a 60-tonne ice plant, a 200-tonne cold store. Yet on 25 April 2026, on the quay, the day’s catch fitted in a few crates and sacks. This photo essay looks at the gap between the new equipment and a shrinking resource.<\/i><\/p>\n

Jamestown, the lighthouse and the new harbour<\/h2>\n

The present lighthouse dates from 1932, built on the site of the 1871 light. About 28 m high, the red-and-white banded tower is operated by the Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority. At its foot, a monument bears the name Jamestown Fishing Harbour and the China Aid logo. The harbour was commissioned on 13 September 2024.<\/i><\/p>\n

Pirogues and the harbour basin<\/h2>\n

In Ghana, the artisanal fleet grew from about 8,000 canoes in 1990 to 13,650 in 2017, according to an analysis published in The Conversation in 2024. The 2013 census counted 12,728, 73% of them fitted with an outboard motor. In the Jamestown basin, painted hulls crowd along the quay: more boats, for a shrinking resource.<\/i><\/p>\n

Nets and fishermen<\/h2>\n

Nets are piled up, mended, loaded back on board. Yet landings of small pelagic fish in Ghana fell by 59% between 1993 and 2019; those of Sardinella aurita dropped from 119,000 tonnes in 1992 to 11,834 tonnes in 2019. The causes put forward: warming waters, industrial trawlers, and the growing number of canoes, with their larger nets and more numerous engines.<\/i><\/p>\n

The day’s catch<\/h2>\n

On the wet quay, the day’s catch fits in a few crates, a sack, some basins of small silvery fish. Ghana imports more than 600,000 tonnes of fish a year, according to an SFMP programme study reported in 2018, and fishing employs about 10% of Ghanaians.<\/i><\/p>\n

The fish hall<\/h2>\n

The new market has 200 places; a 60-tonne ice plant and a 200-tonne cold store go with it. In the images, the granite tables are numbered and the hall is almost empty: a few plates of red fish sit on one table.<\/i><\/p>\n

Those who wait<\/h2>\n

Seated facing the basin, in silhouette or in the shade of the hall, the fish traders wait for the pirogues. Around them: plastic chairs, aluminium basins, the comings and goings of the quay.<\/i><\/p>\n

Landing, crowd and light<\/h2>\n

When a pirogue lands, the crowd presses onto the quay. At the end of the essay, backlight erases the details: silhouetted pirogues on glittering water, birds, a veiled sun.<\/i><\/p>\n

Tarek Charara<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Click here to see all the photos<\/a><\/p>\n

Propose a publication<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sources :<\/strong><\/h2>\n

https:\/\/gna.org.gh\/2024\/09\/president-akufo-addo-commissions-jamestown-fishing-harbour\/<\/i><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/theconversation.com\/west-africas-falling-fish-stocks-illegal-chinese-trawlers-climate-change-and-artisanal-fishing-fleets-to-blame-226819<\/i><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.myjoyonline.com\/small-pelagic-fish-near-total-depletion-report\/<\/i><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Jamestown\/Usshertown,_Accra<\/i><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fort_James,_Ghana<\/i><\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.crc.uri.edu\/download\/Ghana-Marine-Canoe-Frame-Survey-2013.pdf<\/i><\/a><\/p>\n

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Text and images \u00a9 2026 Tarek Charara\/Kaleidos images.<\/em><\/span>
All rights reserved.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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