Giving guitarfish a chance: one man’s mission to persuade fishers to farm giant snails instead

Automatisch samengesteld met AI uit de vermelde bronnen

Of about 200 fishers Dr Issah Seidu persuaded to reduce guitarfish catch along Ghana’s 335‑mile coastline, 43 have switched to farming giant African land snails, a livelihood he says can generate up to 10,000 cedis a month versus the 750–1,000 cedis earned from fishing. Seidu established the biodiversity organisation AquaLife Conservancy in 2019 and, after initially facing hostility, enlisted communities to monitor guitarfish and adopt better practices; in 2025 he was made IUCN co‑chair of the shark specialist group for Africa, and in May 2026 he received a Whitley Fund for Nature award for the work.