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Rural fishing communities in Ghana have encountered changes in the past four decades, in particular arising from the introduction of motorization and highly productive new fishing gears. This has created problems of over exploitation of the resource base. Artisanal fisheries in rural fishing communities form the backbone of fishing in Ghana. The paper examines the importance of fishing in rural communities along rivers, lakes and lagoons as well as threats to the sustainability of the fisheries. Some livelihood strategies developed by fishers are multiple income earning activities, the use of flexible and diverse fishing practices to spread risk over various species and markets as well as seasonal migration to richer fishing areas to ensure year round income. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]