Mafa River/Lake Piso, Stockton Creek/Mesurado Wetland, Du River/Junk River/Farmington River, and Mechlin River/St. John River/Benson River are the main wetlands that support shellfisheries in Liberia. The shellfisheries support the livelihoods of over 1,066 individuals.

The shellfisheries were the primary livelihood of about 80% and 89% of men and women, respectively. Aside from fin fish-related livelihoods, resource-users are engaged in secondary livelihoods like farming, sewing, carpentry, petty businesses, and security services (solely done by men).

The most exploited shellfish year-round in the study areas in priority order was reported to be crayfish, crabs, periwinkle, oyster, and prawn. The most important shellfisheries in terms of yield per individual per day were reported to be periwinkle (16.73 ± 7.64 kg), crabs (8.35 ± 5.16 kg), oyster (6.42 ± 0.83 kg), and crayfish (2.52 ± 0.60 kg).

Crayfish are harvested by traps with bait, while crabs are exploited with nets and baited traps. Periwinkles are handpicked, whereas oysters are detached from mangrove roots or hard substratum.

Women dominated all the categories of the shellfisheries value chain (54.17% harvesting, 62.50% consumption, 62.50% marketing, 85.71% processing and 57.14% transportation) and no form of shellfish aquaculture was practised in the study areas. The shellfisheries value chain appears to be more specialized than in most other countries in West Africa with very few harvesters (at most 20%) claiming to also be involved in processing and transportation of shellfish.

A few shellfishers (2.86%) engage in subsistence fishing, while the majority (91.43%) trade shellfish in local markets and a minor proportion (5.71%) target distant and/or larger markets.

The non-resource users highlighted some possible threats to the health of shellfish for consumers. These are the use of dynamite in fishing, indiscriminate disposal of garbage, and oil spillage in wetlands that support shellfisheries.

Almost all respondents (94%) describe the coverage of the mangrove vegetation in the study sites as moderate. However, 60% of the respondents indicated that mangroves are exploited in the coastal communities and that this is carried out mainly by men (93.94%) for commercial purposes.

There are no formal laws and traditional customs targeted at regulating the varied coastal and mangrove shellfisheries, hence the resources are unregulated.

Rainfall is the main climatic factor that causes seasonality in shellfisheries in Liberia.

Recommendations:

• It is imperative that all commercial shellfisheries in the estuarine/lagoonal and mangrove systems of Liberia are regulated to warrant sustainable use and development of the resources.

• Government and NGOs/CSOs with a focus on women should intervene to provide education and training of shellfishers on the ecological services of shellfish and mangrove systems and to promote best practices in the shellfish enterprise.

• The Environmental Protection Agency of Liberia must enforce the regulation against Mangrove exploitation to restore the ecological integrity of mangrove systems.

• The general sanitation of coastal aquatic systems and catchment areas should be improved, particularly ceasing the indiscriminate dumping of garbage and oil spillage, for the betterment of shellfisheries and its consumers.

• Distant or larger markets as well as high-end users of shellfish should be targeted to aid in boosting demand for shellfish by value addition.

• Shellfishers should be supported with soft loans, transportation needs (e.g., canoe), and fishing protective gears (i.e., waders, gloves) to aid the business.

• The aquaculture potential of the shellfishes should be investigated and pursued to lessen the imminent pressure on wild exploitation, improve food security, and reduce the fish production deficit in Liberia.

• The revenue accrued from the mangrove/estuarine ecosystem-based shellfisheries of Liberia should be assessed to appreciate its contribution to the national fisheries production and stimulate the needed interventions