Credit: Ivan Venkonwine Kaleo (Ghana)
The water body shown in the picture is the Golinga Dam, located in the Tolon District of the Northern Region. It was a dam constructed to provide water for the rural communities surrounding it mainly for irrigation purposes.
The Boat is a hand dug canoe used for artisanal fisheries by the rural communities. They are usually made with wood materials from Odum or Wawa depending on the kind of wood the fishermen can afford. The men in the picture are just returning from fishing after having been casting their net for a couple of hours.
This water resource contributes approximately about 15 tons of fish annually to the fishery sector in Ghana. From previous data collected and information gathered from fishermen, there is a drastic reduction in the catch of fishermen mainly as a result of overfishing. The Principal fish species here are Oreochromis niloticus, Sarotherodon Galilaea , Tilapia zillii , Heterotis niloticus, Brycinus spp. and catfish. The major types of fishing done here is through the use of cast and gill nets with a few people setting traps.