Guinea
Cisse, I.; Bamy, I.L.; Bah, A.; Camara, S.B.; Kourouma, M. (2000). Guinea, in: Sheppard, C.R.C. (Ed.) Seas at the millennium: an environmental evaluation: 1. Regional chapters: Europe, The Americas and West Africa. pp. 797-803 In: Sheppard, C.R.C. (Ed.) (2000). Seas at the millennium: an environmental evaluation: 1. Regional chapters: Europe, The Americas and West Africa. Pergamon: Amsterdam. ISBN 0-08-043207-7. XXI, 934 pp., more |
| Available in | Authors | | Document type: Review
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| Authors | | Top | - Cisse, I.
- Bamy, I.L.
- Bah, A.
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| Abstract | The Guinea Exclusive Economic Zone covers about 71,000 km² and has a high diversity of marine fauna and flora. The coast has numerous estuaries, mangrove stands and beaches, and the offshore habitat is dominated by sediments, high proportions of which are terrigenous silts which arrive from heavy run-off during periods of high seasonal rainfall. The upwelling which brings nutrient enrichment to more western countries terminates around the western border of Guinea, though some enrichment of these waters does occur. Plankton are enriched, and support an industrial and artisanal fishery which, while not large in global terms, brings valuable protein, employment and foreign exchange to the people of the coastal region. Both pelagic and demersal fish species are important, together with cephalopods and shrimp. Except for tuna boats, most of the fishery is for demersal species, and catches have been increasing considerably through the 1990s. People of the coastal zone depend mainly on small-scale agriculture as well as artisanal fishing. Rice plantation and some shrimp farms occupy increasing amounts of estuaries and land once occupied by mangroves, and significant deforestation has taken place. While coastal erosion is not severe overall, it has resulted in important losses, especially in Conakry. Urban and village development has been unregulated, and there is very little industrial or domestic pollution infrastructure or control, with the result that high levels of several contaminants have been recorded in marine species or sediments. There is some more recent progress towards environmental management and pollution control. |
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