Women's role in fisherfolks' communities: case study of Elmina in Ghana
by
Irene Odotei,
Sociologist
Introduction
As in many other coastal countries in Ghana, fish is a cheaper and much appreciated source of food. Consequently, fishing holds an important place in the national economy because of the jobs it creates. Women are particularly active in the processing and marketing of fish. Therefore more and more development planners are concerned with their activities.
What are, in detail, women's activities in the fishing community of Elmina? How do they spend their incomes? What could be done to improve their living conditions?
Macro-economic aspects
With a 550km coastline and a continental shelf of 24,300 square kms, Ghana is one of the countries where fishing is a significant economic activity. Marine fishing represents more than 80% of the national fisheries production, whereas continental fishing represents 16%. Continental fishing mainly refers to the Volta lake, one of the biggest artificial lakes in the world.
Whether marine or continental, 71% of the total catch is caught artisanally. The means used are wooden canoes, motorized or not. The most commonly used fishing gears are seines, nets, longlines and lines. Less important than artisanal fishing, industrial or semi-industrial fishing is practiced on board of imported motorized or locally made boats. There is also ocean fishing which is completely industrialized.
Located at the coast, Elmina city is one of the major Ghanaian ports. Fishing industry is a very old activity with a fleet of 235 canoes. Women's socio-economic activities depend largely on socioeconomic and cultural factors particular to this milieu.
Women's activities in the fishing communities of Elmina.
Although women are encouraged by tradition to undertake various economic activities, in Elmina they are considered specialized in post-harvest activities. Almost 50% of the women are involved in the processing and marketing of fish. The main fish processing techniques are smoking, salting and drying. When fish has to be preserved during days or months, it is smoked. Women store and heat it with fuelwood until deshydrated. The Chorkor oven of recent technology competes more and more with the traditional clay made oven.
In Elmina, salting is one of the most used preservation methods. Once salted, the fish is fermented and dried When quantities of fish are large, women use aluminium and wooden drums or baskets. If the fish tends to get spoiled during the smoking process, it is salted and dried. Sun drying is another way used to preserve small species of fish.
Although smoked fish is most adequate for marketing, few women, generally boats owners, are engaged in the marketing of fresh fish. Very often, smoked fish is sold outside Elmina community. Sometimes fishery products are transported beyond the borders of Ghana up to Togo, Benin or Burkina-Faso, usually by road in buses, cars or lorries.
In addition to these fishing related activities, women are also involved in small trading activities, especially the sales of foodstuffs as well as small breeding. However, some Elmina inhabitans derive their income from agriculture and small crafts.
The members of Elmina community, both men and women, are organised in traditional mutual aid associations. They are financed by members' subscription fees. More and more political associations initiated by NGO or government institutions are being created. Unfortunately, women show little interest in them. It should be observed that training in fishery related activities is provided traditionally, from an early age.
Incomes generated by fishing and their use
Women's incomes in the community of Elmina vary depending on whether the fishing season is good or bad. For small tradeswomen the income can increase from 41,280 to 67,200 cedis per month. Fishmongers of relative importance earn between 182,400 and 765,000 cedis. As for important fishmongers, they earn between 700,800 and 3,405,000 cedis. Estimated in terms of monthly earnings, the income of fishmongers seems extraordinary. Nevertheless, it should be observed that the most important part of their annual income is earned during the high season that is from July to September.
The largest part of women's income is spent on family food. The rest is spent on clothing and medical care. As fishing is known as the primary activity of the whole community, very little money is spent on child education. Most processors fund the inputs, mainly the purchase of fuel, principally from their own savings. All of them reinvest another part of their savings in fish trade or even in activities such as house building.
Relations between men and women of the community
The working relationships between men and women is dynamic. It is men when catch the fish while women are responsible for processing and marketing It is women who keep and manage family savings From time to time, when industrial trawlers impoverish the waters, Elmina fishermen are obliged to work as employees for big fishing companies.
Constraints
The main difficulties Elmina women face are financial. Very often, they are obliged to sell their products on credit, while they are not able to enforce their customers to repay their debts. Consequently, they lose money. In addition, women lack refrigerating facilities for the storage of fresh fish. Another problem is the pollution of processing areas and the resulting epidemic risks. Furthermore. women are the victims of a certain discrimination in the granting of bank loans.
Banks prefer to lend to men, who are in charge of the fish production, rather than to women whose activities are limited to post-catch operations.
Recommendations
What should be done to improve women's living and working conditions in the fishing community of Elmina?
It is necessary to persuade bankers to establish special credit granting dispositions for women fishmongers and processors, with reimbursement modalities adapted to their activities. It is also necessary to intensify the popularization of the oven and improved preservation methods, especially the Chorkor oven and new refrigeration techniques. Organising women into cooperatives would make it easier for women to obtain bank loans and to improve their book keeping. Furthermore, functional literacy, public health education and child education should be encouraged.
Conclusion
Thanks to their talent and dynamism, Elmina women play an essential role in fishing activities within their community. Moreover, due to the gender related distribution of labour, women have become experts in fish processing and marketing. These are both flourishing activities in a country where the fisheries sector has an important part in the national economy.
