Women's role in the fishing community of Joal in Senegal

Women's role in the fishing community of Joal in Senegal

by

Marie Seynabou Sy,

Nutritionist

Introduction

In Senegal, the main economic activity of the primary sector is fishing. In this sector, women play a significant and dynamic role. They obtain what is essential for feeding and improving the living conditions of the community from this activity.

Macro-economic data

Fishing in Senegal is a great provider of currency and employs about 250,000 people. It is well developed on the coast and is practiced both artisanally and industrially all year long. As for continental fishing, it is less important and is practiced seasonally in the Senegal river valley and on the Guiers lake.

Joal is one of the 190 artisanal fisheries landing sites. It is located on Petite Côte; at 114km from Dakar In 1992, 88,645 tons of catches were recorded. The most common means is the motorized canoe. The sail dug out canoe is less efficient. Fishing gears vary, depending on the type of fish wanted. The most common nets used are: surrounding nets, bottom gillnets, purse and beach seines.

Women are mainly engaged in fish processing and micro fish trading. They represent about 78% of the processors. Some of them own the means of production, processing and transportation.

Women's activities in the community of Joal

Nearly all the women are engaged in the processing of fishery products, even when they own the means of production or transportation. The most common processing techniques are fermentation, smoking and drying.

There are several ways to ferment the fish, depending on the type of fish, its freshness, the time and material available to the processor. Generally, the fish is scaled, sometimes the head removed, gutted and cut flat, then put in water tubs in order to speed up the decomposition. Sometimes salt is added to avoid decay. The gastropods, after their shells have been removed, are cut and placed in nylon bags for fermentation. Then, the fish and the gastropods are dried.

Smoking is done by using ovens and lasts 2 or 3 days. The fish is placed on a metallic grill on top of the oven and covered with cardboards and sheet metal to force smoking. The smoking technique is closely linked to that of braising. Certain types of fish are braised on the floor, cooled, heads removed, cleaned and salted to avoid infestation during drying. Others are braised on ovens, cleaned too and dried.

Drying also implies salting. This technique is applied to small and big species and "ailerons" as well. The process lasts four days.

Almost all the processors market their products themselves, mostly locally. Sometimes when the fish has to be taken far inland for sale, men are involved. The products are conveyed by using public transportation.

Apart from fishing activities, Joal women are engaged in farming and small scale breeding. For their activities to flourish and to improve their living conditions, women get together in Economic Interest Group (GIE). Thus in 1995, there were 36 women groups in Joal. This organization allows them to be granted credit from time to time.

Incomes and their use

It is difficult to determine exactly the incomes generated by fishing activities, as the profitability depends on periods of abundance or non abundance of fishery products. Other key factors are regularity in the fishing activity, distribution as well as the level of investment in equipment for each type of product (see table).

Table 1. Estimated incomes generated by fish processing (FCFA)

Product	Period		Sporadic production	Annual Total	Comments
	Abundance	Scarcity
Kétiakh	999,810	241,641	-	1,241,451
Guedj	2,362,124	421,311	-	2,783,435
Yet	383,918	255,000	-	638,918
Saly cobo	-	-	55,000	55,000	Gross incomes generated by 500 processed baskets
Tamba-diang Saly ray	731,172 -	231,379 -	- 451,500	962,551 451,500	Gross incomes generated by 1000 pieces of processed

The major part of the income serves to reinforce capital. The rest is spent on food for the family, child care, ceremonies and the repairing of the material. Individual dressing expenses as well as leisure and expenses on holidays are the last concerns of Senegalese women processors of Joal.

Relationships between women and men in the Joal fishing sector

It is difficult to speak of an associative or partnership relation between women and men of the Joal fishing sector. Native women are not obliged to buy fresh fish from their husband (a fisherman). However, exclusive contracts are sometimes signed between some women and fishermen because these women have provided either the means of production or the working capital. In addition, commercial relationships exist when for instance a man hires a refrigerating van from a woman.

Sometimes, there are relations of confidence between a woman processor who sells her products on credit to a tradesman. However, there are dependence relationships when a woman works with an oven owned by a man, or when she is employed for menial jobs like fish peeling, salting and storing. Another aspect of dependence relationship is observed when a woman employs a man to carry out heavy tasks.

Constraints and recommendations

Nevertheless, Joal fishing community has its constraints Women often complain about the number of intermediaries between them and fishermen Moreover, with the competition of the highest bidder, they are placed in a position of weakness Added to the precariousness of processing techniques is the smallness and insalubrity of storage areas which reduce the profitability of Joal women's activities. The lack of transportion means increases the problem of fishery products distribution. Some women also face fierce competition of fishmongers who are very well equiped and who supply the inland market with fresh products.

To overcome these difficulties, it is necessary to facilitate women's access to credit, to provide them with material more appropriate than the traditional trays processors use and to make them sensitive to the use of healthier processing techniques It is also necessary to improve the sanitary environment and access to processing areas, to train women in management and to build warehouses suitable for preservation.

Conclusion

Engaged in an activity as important as the processing of fishery products, Joal women contribute significantly to the development of the fisheries sector. The precariousness of both techniques and equipment as well as the difficult access to ownership of the means of production are obstacles which must be overcome in order to increase the contribution of fishing activities for the well-being of Joal community.