This study has been conducted in Ogheye, a fishing village on the right bank of the Benin River (annex I). It is also the last settlement facing both the sea and the estuary in. Delta State, which occupies the western part of the Niger Delta. It has a tropical climate characterized by two distinctive seasons; the dry and the rainy season. The dry season is from November to April, and the rainy season starts in May and lasts until October, with a brief stop in August, commonly referred to as the August break. From December to February, the dry Harmattan wind blows over the state. The average annual rainfall is 266.7 centimeters with an average temperature of 30°C (80°F). Ogheye is located on cleared red mangrove (Rhizophora sp) area. The salinity in the river channels is as low as 0.5-4 ppt. during the rainy season and 15-33 ppt. during the dry season. The surface water temperature in the mangrove area varies from 26°C to 28°C.
Ogheye has a population of 4,500 people (Nigerian Population Bureau, Census 1991), composed of four different tribes, Isekiri, Ilaje, Ijaw, and Uhorobos. Apart from Nigerians, a significant number of Ghanaians reside in Ogheye. However, an ethnic conflict between the Isekiri and the Ijaw seriously reduced both the population and the number of canoes at the time of the study. Since the beginning of the conflict in April 1997, most Ghanaians, part of the Ilaje, and the Ijaw left the place. The latter are hiding in a nearby river system. During the same period the number of canoes declined from 675 to 402 (350 planked canoes and 52 dugouts).
However, Ogheye was already selected as study site before the escalation of the conflict. The most important reason for selecting Ogheye was because of good research experiences in this village in the past. The people in Ogheye are receptive and accomodating when it comes to data gathering for research purposes, partly because the village has often been a site for pilot projects of both the Nigerian government and international agencies.
The respondents were selected through a short pilot survey in the village. This survey showed that women are involved in three combinations of activities, (a) fishing-processing-marketing, (b) fishing-marketing, and (c) processing-marketing. Within each of these categories different fishing methods and/or species can be distinguished. Apart from prawn fishing, the sample selected represents all combinations of activities observed at the time of the study. Table I gives an overview of the composition of the sample.
Table 1 Composition of the sample
Number of Women in the Sample |
In Percentage of Sample Size | |
Fishing - Processing - Marketing | ||
gillnet + hook and line |
3 |
10% |
crayfish (conical trap) |
1 |
3% |
Fishing- Marketing | ||
periwinkle |
1 |
3% |
crab ("bicycle wheel") |
5 |
16% |
Processing - Marketing | ||
fish |
12 |
39% |
crayfish |
6 |
19% |
periwinkle |
3 |
10% |
TOTAL |
31 |
100% |
Although most women in Ogheye are involved in fishing, processing and marketing, a relatively small number of them is represented in the sample. This is explained by the relatively low level of fishing activities due to the ethnic conflict. For the same reason, prawn fishing is not represented in the sample.
Data have been collected from 3 June to 4 July 1997. Research methods have been mostly participatory, meaning that women actively participated in the process of data collection. Apart from a literature review, research methods consisted of questionnaires with structured and open questions for both fisherwomen (annex II) and fish processors (annex III), daily report sheets (annex IV and V), group discussions, and the observation of women's activities. Women of the Eghoroke Better Life Society participated in several group discussions and they served as intermediaries between the researchers and women in Ogheye.
The questionnaires have been used to collect data on household characteristics, fishing and fishing-related activities, marketing channels, financial arrangements between women and fishermen, and the operations and role of socio-professional organizations. The daily report sheets aimed to collect daily information on costs and earnings of women's fishing and fishing-related activities and on their use of income. Observations and measurements were made to cross-check data obtained through the questionnaires, daily report sheets and group discussions.
As already mentioned, this study is based on data collected for a month period in the low season. Most women's activities were on a relatively low level, except crayfish fishing. Another factor that affected the volume of catch landed and hence the processing and marketing output during this month is the ethnic conflict between the Ijaws the Isekiri, afflicting the area since April 1997. Women are afraid to spend long hours on the water either to fish or to travel to sell their product elsewhere. Besides, since the Ijaw, the Ghanaians and part of the Ilaje have moved from Ogheye, they could not be included in the study.
It must be realized that this low level of activity has clearly influenced the results of the study. Apart from exceptionally low monthly sales, net revenues and profitability rates of women's activities presented in Chapter 4, the low level of activity is expected also to be reflected in women's household expenses, savings and contributions, and finance and investment strategies presented in Chapter 5. Therefore, extrapolation of data has been avoided as much as possible.
