A faculty member at Ashesi, Mr. Dwomfuor, is conducting his doctoral research study on mapping upwelling along the Gulf of Guinea in the tropical Atlantic region. He is testing various theories and hypotheses about the various mechanisms responsible for upwelling in the Gulf of Guinea as there appears to be no explanation as to what is causing it. He is exploring associations with local winds versus Kelvin waves propagating eastward from the Brazilian coast along the equator. His hypothesis is that the trapped Kelvin waves hit the eastern coast of Africa and then propagate along the coastal boundary of West Africa causing wave heights that bring about upwelling. His research is to extract the Kelvin waves from the modern observational satellite and model data on sea surface height and possibly link them to upwelling events in the Gulf of Guinea.

This is important to him and Ashesi because Ghana’s coastal shores are situated in the Gulf of Guinea. The rare phenomenon of upwelling is characterized by cold water and nutrients from the deep part of the ocean being displaced to the surface of the coastlines. During upwelling, there is an increase in the biological activities of phytoplankton and zooplankton, which are nutrient-rich and serve as food for fish. Fish along Ghana’s coast feed on the easy-to-access food which has high nutritional value during the upwelling. Needless to say, when upwelling occurs from June to September, the fish grow immensely and there are increased numbers of fish along the coast feeding.

Traditionally, it is a taboo in Ghana for fishermen to go to sea during these months. The myth is that around that time the sea Gods are fishing themselves and we should afford them the courtesy of space and appreciation of their generosity to us during the remaining 8 months of each year. The truth is our elders had noticed the benefits of “upwelling” during those months, and they used the fear of the gods to deter fishermen from fishing during those periods. The elders intend through their myth to restore fish stocks “in theshortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield” (SDG 14.4).

In 2021, the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development, declared those months a fishing Closed Season targeting all fishers, industrial and artisanal. The industrial trawlers and inshore fleet, in 2021, complied at a 100 percent rate, with artisanal and semi-industrial fishers scoring 90 percent. The success of the compliance during the closed season in July 2021 yielded more fish catch for both artisanal and semi-industrial fleets than catches in the same period of 2020 – where there was no closed season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Biological studies by the Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development (MoFAD) have revealed that the major upwelling season of fish fall within July and September, with a minor upwelling season – December to February – representing the period with greater spawning activity for both small pelagic and demersal species. (Business & Financial Times, 2022, para. 5)

In addition to the annual closed season observed between July and September every year for industrial trawlers, MoFAD’s intends to introduce an extra closed season from December to February for all fleets during the minor upwelling season (December to February).

It appears understanding life in the sea, such as the outcomes of upwelling, may help us to effectively regulate harvesting and mitigate overfishing. Regulatory bodies such as MoFAD are implementing science-based management methods, through their observations, Closed Season mandates, and measurements of compliance reports to regulate fishing and, possibly destructive fishing practices. have impact on the ability to artificially (and also use artificial intelligence or machine learning) create conditions that are conducive to increasing fish production, with implications for alleviating hunger and poverty.