Report on Artisanal Fishing Training

in the Peninsula area of Freetown

September 2009

By
Antonia Caramba-Coker
UNIDO
United Nations Industrial Development Organisation

A fisherman from Sierra Leone hauling in a net full of bonga

Photo: Romain Le Bleis

Pêche et Développement
Fishing Background in Sierra Leone

The traditional fishing sector contributes in a crucial way to human

nutrition and to social and economic progress. Fishing and agriculture
provide 6% of the total protein and 16% of the total animal protein
annually consumed by humanity as a whole.
Worldwide, the fishing sector indirectly gives employment to 50 million
people in services, transformation, transport and commercialisation.

Along its coastline of 570 km and the continental shelf area of 25,600
square kilometres, Sierra Leone is rich in marine resources. It is also well
endowed with inland waters (rivers, lakes, and flood plains), which support
a large number of aquatic organisms. The marine waters are fishing
grounds for a wide variety of fish, including high value species such as
shrimps, lobsters, cuttlefish, breams, and snappers. The rivers, estuaries,
and tributaries with their extensive mangrove vegetation provide
favourable conditions of shelter and nursery for penaeid shrimp and fish
such as bonga, croakers, and wild oysters.

Fish provides an important source of animal protein for most people in

Sierra Leone. Over the years Sierra Leone fishing industry makes up the
traditional canoes and modern trawlers.
In the villages, however, canoe fishing is still of great importance and
accounts for over half of the marine catch nationally. This industry
creates a source of food, source of income for these communities and
beyond.
Canoe fishing is done only by men, and fish processing (smoking) is
exclusively the domain of women.

Fishing is a vital source of income for the Sierra Leonean men and women –
around 30, 000 artisanal fishers and 200,000 ancillary workers are
engaged in traditional fish capture, and fisheries represents around 10% of
GDP. Fish is also a crucial component of food security, contributing 80% of
the total animal protein to the country.

It has been estimated that foreign illegal fishing vessels are stealing
around USD29million of fish from Sierra Leone each year; in sub-Saharan
Africa as a whole, the total value of illegal fish is approximately
US$1billion. In recent years foreign fishing vessels have multiplied,
taking advantage of the lack of capacity of the Sierra Leone government
to monitor and control their coastal waters.

The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that 80% of the
world’s fish stocks are fully or overexploited. The high demand for
seafood in Europe is driving the theft and potential collapse of fisheries
resources. It has been estimated that IUU (Illegal, Unreported and
Unregulated) fishing, also known as ‘pirate’ fishing, accounts for 10 – 23.5
billion US dollars a year worldwide, representing between 11 and 26
million tons of fish a year. Scientists believe that at current rates of
fishing by the year 2048 the world will run out of commercial fish stocks.

Why Training and Empowerment

In light of the above, UNIDO‘s EDIP project – Enterprise Development

and Investment Programme has identified groups within the communities
of the Peninsula (Tombo, Lakka, Goderich ,Murray Town and Lungi)to equip
them with relevant business knowledge and post harvest skills.

The objectives are:

• Post fishing competencies-preservation, reducing post harvest
losses etc
• Comprehending the importance of marketing
• Equipping the fisherwomen with new and effective ways of
marketing their products.
• Financial skills- managing profit and maintaining records
• Understand the meaning and importance of business plan
• Acquaint themselves with key components of business plan
• Be able to develop a business plan to facilitate funding

From the many reports and articles written on the fishing industry in
Sierra Leone, the potential in the industry is not fully exploited and most
of the income does not come to Sierra Leone.
As already pointed out above, when assessing the needs of these
fishermen, the main challenges identified were capital and
expertise/skills.
Capital is needed to buy or build better boats to enable the fishermen to
go out further into the richer fishing grounds like the commercial
trawlers.
The technical expertise to handle the gears, better skills in planning,
bookkeeping and marketing.
Challenges and constraints

The sector faces a future full of challenges. Such challenges include:

• Declining fish resources

• Rising fuel prices
• Poaching of the seas by industrial trawlers
• Low prices paid for our fish and sold to the European markets

These challenges has been further analysed in the form of a PESTLE

Analysis overview as aired by the participants during the training.
Political
• Unfavourable government policies,
such as the banning of the use of the
larger fishing net (traditionally used
by most fishermen), when the
recommended smaller type is not
readily available to them;
• Lack of government commitment to
boost fishing activities. The ministry is
not doing much to improve fishing
activities – much paper work with little
action;
• Authorities in the Ministry of Marine
Resources are not in close contact with
fishermen on the ground. It then
becomes difficult for them to
understand the problems they (the
fishermen) face;
• Low incentives to boost export of
fishing products. The export sector is
yet to be revived since the war – all
that is produced is for the local
market;
• Union activities are not properly co-
ordinated for the benefit of everyone
• IEZ –exclusion zones are not being
manned properly and therefore illegal
fishing continues to rise
Economical
• Stakeholders in the fishing
business lack economic resources
(input/capital) to ensure full
exploitation of fishing product. No
money to buy fishing equipment,
processing equipment – some do not
have iceboxes for icing of the fish;
• The general economic situation in
the country is not such that
favours large scale operations in
the fishing industry. Low levels of
employment result to low earnings
and thus low purchasing power of
fishing products;
• Absence of a ready local market
for fishing products;
• Limited loan schemes to boost the
fishing industry;
• High cost of fishing and processing
equipment – machines, iceboxes,
etc; Smoking of fish is done the
traditional way – using wood and
‘Banda’ (smoking iron) – this badly
affects the quality of the smoked
fish, which at the end is not
competitive in the world market;
• Lack of resources to acquire
standard packaging material –
traditionally fishes are kept in
cartoons, baskets, boxes, which are
not free from cockroaches, flies,
and other pests;
• Overall, our fish products are not
considered very safe for
consumption in the world market –
hence EU ban.
Social Technology

• High illiteracy rates among

• Lack of access to state-of-the-art
fishermen and other individuals
vessels. Traditional fishing vessels
and groups involved in fishing
are not enough to make a good
activities, including those who do
catch. These traditional vessels can
the processing job. No proper
only support a sizeable catch;
control of operations (by tracking
• No access to improved equipment
expenditure against revenue), to
for fish processing – the ‘Banda’ is
secure loans etc
the one widely used in smoking fish;
• Social practice of giving gifts.
• Poor communication. Information on
Money meant for business
where to make a good catch is not
operations is used to render
readily available to fishermen as
assistance to friends, support
they have no equipment to survey
family members, without fully
fishing areas. Whilst some are
accounting for such money,
lucky enough to have a good catch
whether they make a profit or not
sometimes, others will always
etc
return with a relatively small catch;
• The habit of saving money in the
• Packaging technologies are not well
bank is less developed among them.
developed;
There is ready access to financial
• State-of-the-art processing
resources in their disposal (usually
facilities are not available;
kept under the pillow or bed) –
• Transportation problems – no
hence there is often no check on
trucks with cooling systems to
spending; Overall, money spent is
preserve the raw fish from the
not properly accounted for;
fishing spot to the market;
• Skilled personnel are not employed

to help boost operations, as a

result there is no efficient

management know-how;
 Environmental
Legal
• Fishing environment is not always
• Most fishing businesses are not
conducive (safety problems) for
registered and this makes it
fishing operations. The job is
difficult for government and other
carried out under relatively
donors to regulate their activities;
dangerous conditions (use of open
• No established contracts between
boats/planked boats). Sometimes
fishermen, those who do
you have high tide and this is a
processing, and marketers. No
problem for those with small make-
receipts given and this is an
shift boats;
indication of poor management
• Processing areas are not healthy
practices;
• enough. Often processing of fish is

done on the sea shore (wharf area)

which is also sometimes used as a

waste disposal zone. At times the

fishes are not properly cleaned –

scales not properly removed,

contain sand. This cripples the

fishing industry.

• Deforestation of our trees

• Smoke inhalation by smoking fish

causing serious health problems to

the women

Size of fish is getting smaller and smaller

Woman preparing fish for sale in Lumley market
The above analysis depicts that these artisanal fishermen and women

have many constraints that have continued to prevent them from

improving their operations. Such constraints can be summarised as

follows:

• Technical training as well as business skills that would

improve their fishing methodologies and post-catch activities;

• Credit opportunities to enable them to acquire improved

post-harvest equipment, expand their operations; and

• Proper infrastructure and social conditions to manage and

process their catch.

Tombo fishing village- Woman drying fish

The Way Forward- Sustainability Measures

1) Post harvest Methods - Post harvest activities within the artisanal

fishing communities as already identified are poor and undeveloped. This
is due to the lack of preservative equipment such as cold storage/rooms,
Blasts freezers and ice).Most of the catches are sold fresh at fishing
sites upon landing either directly to consumers or to fishmongers other
wise they will get spoilt before the day is over.
Fresh preservation by freezing or icing is normally not carried out as it is
done by the industrial trawlers. The following methods are carried out if
all the fish are not sold:

• Sun drying;

• Salting; and

• Smoking.

Smoking however has environmental and social issues such as

deforestation of trees; inhalation of smoke on a constant basis affects
the long term health of the women. Since fishing is the main source and
cheapest protein for Sierra Leoneans there is a need to improve the
preservation and post-harvest conditions that will stabilize the food
security situation and increase the livelihoods of the people.

Solutions
a) Ice boxes - encourage the use of ice boxes or insulated containers.
Some of the participants I trained did not use these containers which
will help in preservation of the fishes.
b) Ice - was also another issue for them .Electricity is a major
problem in Sierra Leone but with the onset of Bumbuna Hydro by
the end of this year, this will be an opportunity within the fishing
community to set up as a business on a small scale (freezer and
producing ice). On a larger scale, more ice plants can be set up to
cater for these communities.
Using insulated fish containers and training people on their design and
construction has enabled many countries to increase fishing trip duration,
while keeping fish iced for a longer period of time. For instance,
nowadays, many West African countries send by air to Europe fresh fish
caught using pirogues equipped with insulated containers. Likewise, many
countries have extended the concept of insulated containers to the
distribution system. Some use local insulating materials such as coconut
fibre, sawdust or rice husks for building containers transported on
bicycles or mules.
C) Processing - FAO programmes have also aimed to improve handling
practices, especially in small-scale fish landing sites, and fish
preservation methods such as smoking, drying and salting. In this respect,
FAO was able to adapt and ameliorate drastically the traditional fish
curing methods used in many developing countries. For instance, a
traditional fish smoking oven from Ghana, called the Chorkor, was
adapted and re-designed to improve fuel efficiency, working conditions of
the women who smoke fish and the quality of the finished product. The
Chorkor oven is now widely used in many other Africans countries. Over
the last 10 years, many NGOs have taken an active role in disseminating
these appropriate technologies in developing countries.

The Chorkor fish smoking technique has been proven to be more efficient in terms of cost and energy
utilization than the other designs used in West Africa. This technique was developed in 1970 with the help of a
FAO project in Chorkor, a small coastal village on the outskirts of Accra, the capital of Ghana. It grew out of
the traditional cylindrical oven made from compacted clay, used for the smoking of sardinella. The cylindrical
form was modified into a rectangular oven, which was further developed into the now famous Chorkor oven.
This oven has mud, cement, and red-brick walls with stoke holes for fuel wood inlet and fire control. (FAO
Report)
d)Introduction of solar dryers to dry fish during the rains.

Fish processors should have easy access to credit and low-interest

loans. Such access is particularly critical for women who often make
up a majority of the fish smokers in communities throughout western
Africa. From speaking to banks I found out that they often
prefer to lend money to groups (risk issues) – a practice that could
impede the ability of individual women to obtain the capital they need to
purchase these equipments or expand their businesses.

In addition fish processors should be able to visit one country to

another within the region to familiarise themselves with the new
technologies and to receive the necessary training to ensure that
equipment is operated efficiently. Countries such as Gambia, Senegal and
Ghana are at a higher level than Sierra Leone in terms of better
equipment, preservation and handling expertise form which our fishing
people can learn from.

2) Marketing Channels- there is a lack of proper depots built around the

country with preservation facilities to handle the processing and sales of
fish. At present the World Bank and ADB (African Development Bank) are
constructing depots with landing jetties, cold storage and processing
facilities etc at Tombo, Goderich,Shenge and Bonthe villages in Freetown
and the South of Sierra Leone - four of the largest fishing villages There
are further plans to construct centres in Konakridee. These channels if
properly organised with marketing structures will eventually lead to
international/export marketing channels. I am not fully conversant of the
Government and donors plans but more depots will need to be constructed
around the country for the impact to be effected.
From my observation and talking to the participants, the main marketing
channel consists of just walking and selling around town, at markets,
restaurants or carrying on the head. Despite its strenuous demand this
market has been identified as the bigger market and revenue valued.

3) Marketing Associations – I am not aware of any big marketing

association for fishing groups. From my interaction with the participants
they could not identify any either. There are however smaller individual
fish mongering groups or cooperatives operating within fishing
communities and markets under marketing corporations that could be
transformed into associations;
These groups have some marketing skills and only need funding and
the infrastructures to motivate them and improve their livlihoods;

The union which could be classed in the category above is not

efficient enough to advocate for these communities.

Active participation of small-scale fishing communities in the planning

and formulation of development activities should be encouraged so as

to ensure their successful implementation. These could be achieved under

the associations.
These development programmes should also recognise that women play
often an important role in fishing communities, both in trading and
processing, and provision should be made for enhancing that role as
this is not being enhanced at present.

4) Aquaculture/Fish Farming- The sustainable development of Africa’s

natural resources is today increasingly linked to human security. As we
have seen, food security is the foundation for human security in the
region and as such, it has become an imperative for investments in natural
resources such as fisheries. This is particularly true in the fisheries and
aquaculture sector in our region, where the majority of the population
depends on fish-based resources for their daily sustenance.

Unlike in Asia where the tradition of “farming fish” dates back thousands
of years, it is only in the last few years that the development of
aquaculture as a source of income and food has begun to be exploited in
West Africa. Sierra Leone and West Africa as a whole offers an
attractive investment destination for aquaculture because of its rich
coastal ecosystem and inland rivers. We have high value market species
such as shrimps and catfish. Previously, attempts have been made in
setting up these fish farming but they have not yielded many results. The
government is planning on transforming the aquaculture in Bo into a
training centre for aquaculture farming.

Aquaculture is concentrated in the South (mainly Bo), in the North

(mainly Tonkolili and little in Bombali) and in the East (Kailuhun, Kenema
and Kono) The rationale behind aquaculture development is to make
available good quality fresh fish that will provide affordable fish protein
to the poor and our fast growing population. This will also reduce the
pressure on capture marine environments.
Aquaculture is largely a subsistence activity that provides much-needed
protein to significantly large numbers of rural households and constitutes
an important component in the food basket. Although its contribution to
food security and sustainable livelihoods is currently undermined by its
restriction in terms of distribution and pond size, the practice has vast
potential in Sierra Leone.

Conclusions

From the above analysis, I have tried to capture the sector as it is today
and also gaining a perspective into the communities and the constraints
and challenges they face. There are various factors that affect the
artisanal fishing folks apart from illegal fishing; the rising costs of
equipment and fuel are equally prohibitive. As artisanal fishers are forced
to travel to more distant fishing grounds, many are motorising their
canoes at a time of rising fuel prices. The increasing price of electricity
also has an impact on the price of ice that some operators use to store
their catch while at sea.
On land, deforestation means that the wood that has long been used to
build traditional canoes is becoming scarce and more expensive. Some
fishermen have resorted to imported fibreglass canoes, which last longer,
but the initial investment and maintenance
costs are higher. Deforestation is also
affecting the processing of fish (smoking)
All of these factors are affecting the
profitability of many family businesses as
well as threatening the food security of
entire communities and their livelihoods.

NO 2 BEACH
REFERENCES

• Sierra Leone DTIS Paper

• FAO Reports: Aquaculture
Fishing country sector papers
Fishing for alternatives –FAO A Jallow
• Sustainable fishing livelihood Programme-Isaac D Flowers
• Dirty Fish – EJ Foundation.org
• OECD Paper on Aquaculture in West Africa
• Pictures: BBC World Service by Hassan Arouni
• Personal views from participants around the Freetown Peninsula
fishing communities
• Allafrica.com