The population of Ogheye consists of about 785 adult women (Nigerian Population Bureau, 1991). All of them are involved in fishing and fishing-related activities. In fact, it is their major source of income. Apart from fishing, processing and marketing of fish and fish products, women play an important role in buying and selling their husband's catch, as well as the catch of other fishermen. Furthermore, women are responsible for household activities, such as the preparation of food, cleaning of the house and child care. They also play an important role in maintaining social networks at family, neighbourhood and community level.
The household size of the women interviewed ranges from 6 to 34, including their husband, their children, co-wives, relatives, and other children These figures apply to women of different marital status. Sixty-five (65) percent are married, 10% are divorced, 10% are widowed and 15% are single. Among the women that are married, 68% have one or more co-wive(s). Fourty-five (45) percent of the women are their husband's first wife, 45% are their husband's second wife, while 10% of them take the position of third or fourth wife. On average, women have 6 children of their own.
Apart from their involvement in fishing and fishing-related activities, women are responsible for household activities and satisfying household needs. Men are expected to contribute in cash or in kind, to providing initial capital for women to start their own economic activities, and/or to sell their catch to their wives. In fact, only 32% of the women in the sample receive household contributions from their husbands, in 25% of the cases the husband actually provided the starting capital for the women's businesses, and more than 50% of the women buy fish from their husband on credit and/or against a favourable price. In most of the other cases, at least one of the fishermen women buy from is a relative.
In practice, many households are male headed but female dominated Most household decisions are taken by the first wife. She controls the distribution of her husband's catch to his wives and she allocates shares of his contributions in cash and in kind to her co-wives, according to their position and the number of children All women in the household are responsible for feeding and clothing their own children In case women are single, divorced or widowed, and in case husbands do not make household contributions (68%), women bear all financial responsibilities towards their household.
Three combinations of fishing and fishing-related activities of women can be distinguished; (a) fishing-processing-marketing, (b) processing-marketing and (c) fishing-marketing. Apart from this, most women finance or invest in other people's activities by supplying inputs. This section describes women's activities in each of these combinations.
Most of the women in Ogheye are involved in fishing, smoking as well as marketing activities. These women fish, smoke their own catch and sell it. Apart from processing their own catch, most of them buy fish in addition. In fishing, women target fish (species), prawns and crayfish, using gillnets, hook and line, shelters, screens and different types of traps. All fishing methods, except that of prawns, are covered in the sample.
Gillnet
Gillnet fishing requires a 9 or 1 2-planked canoe (canoe consisting of 9 or 12 planks), a 25Hp engine, fishing gear and a crew of 2-3 people. Women use gillnets with varying mesh sizes (6, 9 or 12 inches). They go out fishing twice a day, in the morning (4h-11h) and in the afternoon (15h-19h). Species targeted depend on the season, demersal species during the rainy season and pelagics during the dry season. In the rainy season women fish close to the shore while in the dry season they go much further out to sea. On these long trips, most women do not take an active part as crew members, since they are too busy smoking fish onshore.
Hook and line
Hook and line fishing is combined with gillnet fishing. This fishing method is either used at the same time or alternated with gillnet trips. Except for the fishing gear, hook and line fishing requires the same equipment as gillnet fishing Species landed by gillnet and hook and line units are Croacker (Pseudotolithus sp), Snapper (Lutjanus sp), Grunt (Pomadasys sp), Shinynose (Polydactylus quadrifilis), Catfish (Arius sp), Grouper (Epinephelus sp), and Barracuda (Sphyraena sp).
Crayfish
Crayfish (Nematopalaemon hastatus) can be found in high salinity river mouths, large creeks and coastal waters of about 15 ppt. They are most abundant during the months of June-November with peaks between July and August. However, crayfish occurs throughout the year in smaller quantities (Marioghae, 1980).
The fishing equipment and materials of women involved in crayfish fishing consists of a dugout canoe and conical traps, locally called "ekobi", which are made of cane using synthetic twine to hold it together The number of conical traps owned by women varies between 20-60 The traps are set at low tide, near the river bank and retrieved during high tide. They can also be used in the creeks. It must be noted that the equipment and materials used by men targeting crayfish are different. Most of them use active stow nets, requiring a 9-planked canoe and a 25Hp engine.
Prawns
In Ogheye, prawns (Macrobrachium vollenhovenii, Macrobrachium macrobrachion and Desmocaris sp) can be found in the brackish water creeks with a peak season between November and March. Smaller quantities occur throughout the year. In the main channel, prawns can only be found in the period from April to June (Powell, 1982).
Prawn fishing requires either fence traps or shelters, baskets, and a dugout canoe. Fences are erected along the banks of the river, the traps are placed at intervals. The traps are inspected and emptied twice a day at low tide. Women in Ogheye widely use so called "basket traps", requiring a relatively large dugout canoe. Each canoe carries water hyacinth (Eichornia crassipes), stakes, palm fronts or any type of leave, to provide shelter or shade for the prawns to hide. The plants, leaves or fronts are coralled at the river banks. A woman can own up to 20 of these shelters. In order to collect the prawns, the shelters are lifted gently, held over a receiving basket and shaken vigorously to dislodge the catch.
Women involved in fishing and marketing deal with either periwinkle (Tympanotonus fuscata/radula, Tympanotonus fuscata, and Pachymelania aurita) or crab (Callinectes amnicola, Ocypode africana, Sersama sp, Ocypode africana). Periwinkle picking only requires a dugout canoe and long hours of bending, picking and selecting the shells. Undersized shells reduce the market value. During the rainy season, women pick between 67 and 113 kilos per day. Fresh periwinkles are stored in bags, and covered with fresh leaves that are watered occasionally for moisture retention. They are sold at creek junctions to avoid offloading and loading in the village.
Crab can be found in the mouth of the estuaries and in the main river channel. They occur throughout the year with two peaks, from June to October in the main channel and from April to December in the creeks. Crab is most expensive in December when the females are producing eggs.
Crab fishing requires a dugout canoe and so called "bicycle wheels". These, a ringed wire or the middle of a two hundred liter drum, are used with discarded fishing net attached to them. Since in Ogheye crab fishing is a popular activity, nets are designed to stretch across the circumference of the wheel or ring. A twine is tied to the circular frame and attached to a float or lead line. The traps are baited with fish, but the most effective bait is a piece of chicken or a dead rat. The number of traps women own ranges between 5 and 20. They drop the trap singly into the water attached to the float, at well spaced intervals. After dropping all the traps, women go back to the first to start lifting and inspecting. This cycle continues until they take a break, and remove the traps from the water. If women leave the traps without watching, the crab will take the bait and swim away with it. The whole operation is carried out by walking in the water near the river banks, or occasionally from a dugout canoe in the middle of the river.
Catch rates vary according to the season. During the high season women catch 120-180 kilogrammes per day' in 4-6 hours fishing. During the low season 60-90 kilogrammes are landed (National Agricultural Research Project, 1996). Crabs are stored in baskets and covered with fresh leaves to reduce the direct effect of the sun and to minimize dehydration. They are sold Ogheye to buyers from Koko, Sapele, Warri or even Benin City.
The third combination of activities consists of fish processing and marketing. Women involved in these activities buy fresh fish to process and sell afterwards. In Ogheye, fish processing mainly refers to the smoking of fish. The fish smoked consists of species from gillnet and hook and line units (during the rainy season these are mainly demersals), trawler by-catch, and crayfish.
Before smoking, demersal species are cut into equal pieces and placed on a drying rack. Several layers of fish can be placed on one oven. During smoking, the fish is covered on the top and the four sides with straightened drums. The fire place, which is open, is covered with four pieces of zinc roofing sheet. On average, women own four ovens which have to be watched by one or two persons, depending on the quantity and type of fish being smoked. The fish has to be turned over at intervals to avoid charring of the product. Smoking large species takes 4-6 hours.
Crayfish smoking requires more preparations than the smoking of demersals. They have to be washed first to remove sand and other debris. After washing, women spread out the crayfish on a raised mat for excess water to drain out and sun drying. During smoking, the fire is not continuous. They only build it with intervals. The crayfish and the fire place are covered with zinc to retain the heat. Once the heat becomes too intense the sides are uncovered to release excess heat and to avoid burning. Smoking crayfish takes 24 hours of expert tending of the fire. Smoked crayfish is stored in bags and kept on a rack in the smoking unit, with occasional fires to avoid deterioration. Most of the product is sold in Ogheye, or customers collect their product in Koko, Sapele or Warri. In this case, customers bear the cost of transportation and handling charges.
Unlike the processing of demersals and crayfish, periwinkle processing does not require a smoking unit. Periwinkles are parboiled to loosen the muscles from the shell and to allow for easy extraction with a needle. Processed periwinkle is sold in cups.
