Small scale fishing in Ghana. Small scale fishing is a major occupation of coastal settlers along the Gulf of Guinea coast in Ghana. The fishers use dugout canoes of varying sizes and use traditional fishing methods that have been developed over the years to adapt to local conditions. Although there are fishing harbors in Ghana, several fishers use the beach as their landing sites. These beaches get very busy in the mornings when the fishers land their catch. The industry is threatened by the increasing incidence of coastal erosion along the coast and accelerated sea level rise due to climate change. Several beaches are eroding at rates over 1 m/yr in Ghana and the vulnerable low lying areas are experiencing flooding whenever there is a storm. This development forces the fishers into fishing harbors, causing overcrowding in the harbors that can have social and economic implications. (Photograph and caption provided by Frank van der Meulen, UNESCO-IHE, Institute for Water Education, Delft, The Netherlands, and Kwasi Appeaning Addo, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana, October, 2012.)