The blue economy concept has drawn global attention to the maritime economy, recognising expanding maritime industries such as shipping as crucial drivers of economic growth. In recent decades, seaports have correspondingly witnessed significant expansion, allowing them to play a substantial role in achieving blue growth. This study examines the challenges faced by small-scale fishing actors in gaining access to fishing livelihoods in coastal fishing communities close to Ghanaian ports. Drawing on political ecology, the study demonstrates how securitisation in port areas and dispossession has resulted in unstable fishing livelihoods in port communities. The study shows that the growth-oriented goals of port expansions and port security measures have restricted fishing communities’ access to coastal fishing spaces and caused congestion in the canoe bays of Ghana’s fishing harbours. In addition, the urbanisation around the ports has impacted fishers’ ability to meet the rising cost of living in fishing communities with fishing incomes. Furthermore, the study discusses how the new Jamestown fishing harbour complex project has displaced small-scale fishing actors and become a site of contestation between a coastal fishing community and local government authorities. In conclusion, as coastal fishing actors lose their only source of livelihood, resistance may escalate into different forms of maritime conflicts in the blue economy. The study recommends addressing the marginalisation and exclusion of traditional coastal fishing livelihoods to ensure a more equitable blue economy.

蓝色经济概念引起了全球对海洋经济的关注，认识到航运等不断发展的海洋产业是经济增长的重要驱动力。近几十年来，海港相应地出现了显着扩张，使其在实现蓝色增长方面发挥了重要作用。本研究调查了小型渔业参与者在加纳港口附近的沿海渔业社区获得渔业生计所面临的挑战。借鉴政治生态学，该研究展示了港口地区的证券化和剥夺如何导致港口社区不稳定的捕鱼生计。该研究表明，以增长为导向的港口扩建目标和港口安全措施限制了捕鱼社区进入沿海捕鱼空间，并导致加纳渔港的独木舟海湾出现拥堵。此外，港口周边的城市化影响了渔民在有捕鱼收入的渔业社区中应对不断上涨的生活成本的能力。此外，该研究还讨论了新的詹姆斯敦渔港综合项目如何取代小规模渔业参与者，并成为沿海渔业社区与地方政府当局之间争论的场所。总之，随着沿海捕鱼者失去唯一的生计来源，抵制可能会升级为蓝色经济中不同形式的海上冲突。