Keta Lagoon

Map of Keta Lagoon from OpenStreetMap

The topography of the area is a flat land with extensive lagoons in Togo [13] and Benin along the coast.[14] This suggests that the lagoon might have been formed when the sea receded back over the millennia. Hence there is a sandy coastline or sandy deposition along the littoral. Another theory is that there could be coastal rivers which have dried up leaving behind large ponds. This is evidenced by the remains of oyster shells [15] that are deposited at various spots in towns to the northern side of the lagoon. A third theory is that during the ice age these spots were the remains of the ice which melted due to rise in temperature leaving behind a fresh lagoon. The infiltration of sea water made it saline.[16]

The Köppen Climate Classification is "Aw". (Tropical Savanna Climate).[17]

Keta Lagoon-1

Seva is an island located in the Keta Lagoon.[19] By 2010, it has a population of 300 people with a terrain elevation of 43 metres above sea level. It has social amenities such as the School run by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. Portable water is available. It is linked to the mainland by a road to Konu. Other islands include Dudu with no human habitation and Netivi Kpota where there are coconut trees.

There is constant flooding of the area after heavy rains and also from the inflow of Kplikpa and Aka rivers into the lagoon.[20] The colonial government began to record the high water levels at Keta from 1907 onwards,[21] but for a long time they did not do much because of the opinion that the merchants and inhabitants should also invest in saving their own town and businesses. The foreign merchants and people of Keta believed that the colonial government should be responsible in saving the land. This issue has defined the political history of the Anlo - Ewe politicians. In periods of flooding, entire settlements would move out of their homes. To stop the flooding and the coastal erosion attempts were made during the colonial period without success. In 1963, Aryee, an officer in charge of the Public Works Department at the Keta District took the initiative and cut a canal from the lagoon to the sea.[22] This was known as Aryee Canal. He and the ground on which he was standing was swept away by a huge flood and it turned out that his plan had done more harm than good. The problem of flooding has now abated because of increased climate change and reduction in rainfall. The Keta Sea Defence project has created a canal between the lagoon and the sea so that over flooded water can go through the canal into the sea. A road was constructed through the lagoon from Kedzi to Metsrikasa for the transportation of the boulder rocks used for the construction work. Since there is no bridge for the water to flow through, the road created shallow waters to the eastern part of the lagoon.

The lagoon and its Ramsar site contribute significantly to the economic well being of the people. They provide the livelihood through fishing and boat transportation from Keta to Anyako and Afiadenyigba. Salt winning is common in years when there is low rainfall. Coconut trees abound close to the coastal areas from which coconut oil is extracted. An opportunity also exists for turning aquatic reeds harvested by women into bags, mats and other handicrafts that will provide alternative livelihoods to generate income especially for women.

The practitioners of the traditional Anlo belief system have a strong spiritual attachment to the lagoon. It is believed that the lagoon has gods who must be worshiped if the people wish to get abundant catch. One of the gods is called ‘Gbele’ where the people of Anlo Afiadenyigba once every year perform some rituals for the lagoon. At times a live cow is deposited in the lagoon so that there could be a bumper harvest. The Bate Clan assert their relationship with Mama Bate, a sea Orisha, and claim responsibility for the expansion of the land around Keta as arising from this relationship with her.[23]

On many occasions children get drowned while swimming and people got missing during fishing expeditions and most of these accidents are attributed to spiritual forces.

In 1983, the leader of the Apostolic Revelation Society[24] the late Apostle C.N.K Wovenu [25] was invited to pray for increase in the waters of the lagoon since the lagoon was almost dried up because of the dry weather that year. After the prayers, fishermen were instructed not to fish on Sundays in the lagoon.

Gradually there is a reduction in the importance of spiritual significance of the lagoon. The diminished importance in the spiritual significance of the lagoon and other water bodies in Anlo which Green (2002) described could be explained by the decline in fish stocks caught from the lagoon.[26]

Although some fishermen attribute declining catches to social-spiritual causes such as conflict in the community or as punishment from the gods, more fishermen are aware of the increased fishing effort as a cause for declining catches. Some of these fishermen are migrating to other parts of the country and outside Ghana to continue with fishing.

The lagoon is important in conserving several species of mangroves, crabs, shrimps and raffia plants.

Some of the freshwater species encountered were Oreochromis niloticus, Tilapia zillii, Hemichromis Fasciatus and H. bimaculatus.[28]

The common marine species found in the lagoon were the mojarra [2] (Gerres melanopterus), half beak (Hyporhampus picarti) and the needle fish[29] (Strongylura senegalens is). Juveniles of the flat sardine[30] Sardinella mardrensis, mullets Mugil curema and Liza falcipinn as well as Caranx hippos were also encountered.[31] The endemic fishes in the lagoons is mostly cichlids.[32] S. melanotheron is the dominant fish with l'guineensis, l'zillii and H. fasciatus also found in the catches. In Keta Lagoon, Pellonula leonensis was most abundant.[2][33] After the Sea Defence Project is finished, the lagoon has regained economic significance. The lagoon was dredged and an open link was created with the ocean to enable shrimps to swim into the lagoon. This protected environment allows valuable shrimps increase in size quickly.[15]

Drag nets[34] are commonly used in the lagoon.[35] Other fishing gears used are bottles also called 'atukpaxe' which are mostly used by women,[36] hook and line, acadja and traps.[37] Although acadjas act as fish aggregating devices that provide shelter for fish thereby enhancing fish breeding in the lagoon, the use of mangroves and twigs, which are cut from neighboring vegetation, makes this method of fishing environmentally unfriendly.[38] When the lagoon waters are low fish are caught using the hand.