Researchers and students from DTU Aqua and University of Cape Coast are doing field and lab work in Ghana in August 2023 as part of the HOTSPOT 2 project.
The aim of the work is to establish a baseline description of the oceanography and plankton community in the Bay of Guinea during the rainy season. In this period, cold water full of nutrients is transported from depth to the sea surface where it fertilizes the phytoplankton. Phytoplankton serves as a foundation for the production of copepods (a type of zooplankton), which are key prey for fish larvae. The fish production is a key income for the coastal fishery communities along the Ghanian coast.
Unfortunately, the coastal food web is receiving a range of toxic substances from untreated wastewater, mining, and oil exploration. The project also analyses and identifies the toxic substances and their impact on the survival and reproduction of the copepods and the potential up-concentration in the food web.
Test of equipment in Elima Habour before going to the sea. See pictures below.
Samples of fish for analyzing the content of heavy metals and other toxic substances are collected from the local beach fishery. The fishery is conducted by sailing a fishing net 1 km out from the coastline. 60 men drag the net back to the beach where the catch is shared among the fishermen’s wives, who sell the fish at the market. See pictures below.
Samples from the field work are analyzed in the laboratory. See photos below.
The laboratoy is a state of the art plankton laboratory built by University of Cape Coast with DANIDA funds as part of the HOTSPOT project.
