Purpose The primary source of fish from inland capture in Ghana is Volta Lake. Meanwhile, the catch from this fishery source has been unstable for the past years. This can be attributed to unfavourable environmental factors, operational challenges and managerial inefficiencies of fishers. Therefore, this study examines the efficiency of artisanal inland capture fishers and the factors that affect their efficiencies. Design/methodology/approach The study employed cross-sectional data from inland capture fishers. The study used a Translog stochastic frontier model to estimate the technical efficiency scores of 260 artisanal fishers in Biakoye and Krachi West Districts. The model also helped in the identification of factors influencing the technical inefficiencies of fishers. Findings The study revealed that the level of input used by artisanal inland capture fishers is highly variable. The average technical efficiency of 32.13% is very low, implying fishers are losing 67.87% of the potential catch given the available inputs. Though the average household fish catch is 5,691.92 Kg per annum, the artisanal inland capture fishers are not optimizing the available inputs and resources. Also, an increase in mesh and net sizes beyond certain thresholds leads to overfishing. Lastly, the study found out that education, fishing experience, motorized canoe use and adhering to closed (moratorium) season are key factors that improve fishers' optimization of available resources. Research limitations/implications The study highlights the need for fishers to efficiently organize the inputs and improve management practices to promote sustainable fishing. Young people desirous of entering into fishing should engage in an internship to sharpen their skills to improve their technical efficiencies. Also, the net size and mesh size selection should be carefully done with the technical advice from extension officers of the Fisheries Commission. The study confirmed that adherence to the fishing moratorium enhances catch. Originality/value The research documents efficiency patterns and identifies correlates that may inform operational improvements.
Mabe et al. (Thu,) studied this question.