Drivers of Cetacean Exploitation: The Case of Ghanaian Coastal Waters in the Gulf of Guinea

ABSTRACT Cetacean exploitation persists in Ghana despite conservation regulations. Initially documented in the 1900s as bycatch occasionally used for food, it has evolved into direct harvesting for food and bait. The socio‐economic factors influencing this practice were investigated to inform conservation efforts. A total of 389 fishers from four identified cetacean hotspot communities were surveyed using simple random sampling in the Western and Central Regions of Ghana. Results showed that 65% of respondents were drift gillnet fishers. Nearly all fishers (98.8%) encountered cetaceans during fishing trips, with most sightings occurring during major and minor upwelling seasons. About 80% of fishers reported entanglements in fishing gear. Fishers using purse seines, set gillnets, bottom‐set nets and hook‐and‐line often found cetaceans alive or with torn gear as evidence of interaction, whereas those caught in drift gillnets were predominantly found dead. Approximately 80% of drift gillnet fishers targeting sharks used bycatch and targeted small cetaceans as bait due to their effectiveness, availability, low cost and durability. Preferred species included Clymene ( Stenella clymene ) and Spinner dolphins ( Stenella longirostris ). Economic factors such as declining fish catches, high premix fuel costs, high shark fin prices and market demand for cetacean carcasses were key drivers of exploitation. To address this issue, targeted interventions are needed, including financial incentives for fishers, national cetacean bycatch data collection, improved enforcement and monitoring and community‐based education to promote long‐term conservation.