Sankofa Report & Ocean Literacy Storybook

To climax the regional validation events, the Sankofa Report and the Ocean Literacy Storybook, two key outputs from the Sankofa project, were launched by the Honourable Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture to national stakeholders at the final validation event held in Accra on 3 February, 2026.

The Sankofa Report, titled “Integrating indigenous and local knowledge into fisheries policy for equitable and sustainable livelihoods”, highlights key findings from field engagements with fisherfolk across Ghana’s four coastal regions, in relation to the project’s three research objectives. It makes policy recommendations that foreground fisherfolk’s gendered and local perspectives based on their lived experiences. The Report particularly emphasised fisherfolk’s support for conservation actions to sustain fisheries resources, the desire to revive traditional practices, and the need for management measures that are gender-sensitive and inclusive of fisherfolk’s insights. Read the report here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18771817

The Ocean Literacy storybook, titled “Stories of Sankofa: For the families of the sea” is set in Abeliakope, one of the research communities in the Volta region. It uses storytelling as an educational approach to help readers understand how the oceans influence a small fishing family, showcasing perspectives from the respective family members – the father, mother, female child, and male child. Read the story here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18784169

Special thanks to the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Hon Emelia Arthur, for recognising the contributions of the Sankofa research project to the fisheries sustainability dialogues in the region and for her important role in unveiling these two outputs to national stakeholders. Acknowledgements to Dr Ifesinachi Okafor-Yarwood and her team at the University of St Andrews: Eason Sun, Patrick Freeman, Josephine Laryea Asare, William McVean, and to the rest of the Sankofa team: Randolph Kwesi Benyi Johnson, Nana Kweigyah, Kenneth Arthur, Emmanuel Tenkorang, Gabriel Mevuta, for their contributions to the Sankofa storybook and the report.

Thanks to the funders, The Pew Charitable Trusts, with support from the University of St Andrews Research Impact and Innovation Services Enable (RIISE) team through the Scottish Funding Council International Science Partnership Fund. Thanks to collaborators: Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC/CPCO), Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana and Fisheries Commission, Ghana for their support, and to the fisherfolk across the four coastal regions of Ghana whose lived experiences inspired and contributed to these timely outputs.