Ghana is a West African country bordered on the north, east, south, and west by Burkina Faso, Togo, Gulf of Guinea (Atlantic Ocean) and Côte d’Ivoire, respectively. The coastal area of Ghana stretches over 550 km, covering four coastal regions namely Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions. According to Obodai (1997), Ghana has 108 coastal water bodies, 15 are in the Volta Region, 14 in the Greater Accra Region, 38 in the Central Region and 41 in the Western Region. These water bodies comprise closed lagoons, open lagoons and estuaries with its accompanied mangrove vegetation, mud and tidal flats and marshes, which support many commercially important fisheries. Five of the coastal water bodies in Ghana comprising the Keta, Muni, Sakumo, and Songor lagoons, as well as the Densu Delta, are designated as Ramsar sites. The primary occupation of the coastal inhabitants is fishing, and fish-related businesses of which women form an integral part.
Women are actively engaged in the harvesting, processing, and trading of shellfishes in Africa. Female dominance has been reported for oyster fisheries in Ghana (Asare, Obodai & Acheampong, 2019; Osei, Yankson & Obodai, 2020), Nigeria (Ansa & Bashir, 2007) and The Gambia (Njie & Drammeh, 2011). Moreover, the Volta clam fishery in Ghana is reported to have supported the livelihood of mostly women (Abarike, Alhassan & Alipi, 2015; Adjei-Boateng et al., 2012). The same can be said about the periwinkle fishery of Rivers State, Nigeria (Akinrotimi, Abu, Ibemere & Opara, 2009). Hence the opportunity for women to lead and benefit from sustainable exploitation of shellfisheries.
