Monrovia- Gloria Togbah turns the fish on her zinc dryer one after the other as the wood burns, producing smoke. Her eyes are blurred from the heat due to the small size of the kitchen, which has little ventilation. She says it is risky to leave the fish unattended.
By Tina Mehnpaine, contributing writer
Togbah, now 39, has spent most of her life in this kitchen. She was a teenager when her mother introduced her to fish smoking. Twenty-eight years later, she now owns a fish dryer and uses wood to prepare the fish for sale.
When asked why she confines herself to the kitchen, despite the health implications, she answered: “What to do? We just have to sit by the fish because you do not want the fish to spoil when you leave.”
Smoking fish to sell is a regular business for Togbah and many women in fishing communities like Small Fanti Town in Grand Bassa County, where she lives. Women make up 60 percent of the fishing workforce. From drying, storing, and selling the fish, they supply 80 percent of all seafood along the fisheries supply and value chains, according to the Environmental Justice Foundation gender report 2023.
Despite the significant role women play in the fisheries sector, they still use traditional fishing and smoking methods to smoke fish because they lack advanced smoking and freezing storage facilities. This exposes them to respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis, asthma, eye itching, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The traditional smoking method in Liberia includes using wood to set the fish ablaze for days to dry. The fish turns out to be smoked with a black texture and is used for sale and consumption. This method is also practiced in other countries in Africa. Air quality is a major concern, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 Health and Environmental Scorecard for Liberia. It found that 52 percent of deaths from stroke and heart disease were caused by air pollution.
Dr. Philip Z. Ireland, a public health specialist at the John F. Kennedy Medical Health Center, says prolonged exposure to smoke affects the lungs and leads to death.
“If you are exposed to a huge volume of smoke, it affects the respiratory system,” he said.
He recommended smoking fish in open, well-ventilated areas to reduce exposure to harmful smoke.The women use a variety of wood for smoking fish, which can release toxic fumes resulting in potentially serious health consequences.
“Because of the long exposure to smoke, these women will come down with breathing difficulties and asthma attacks,” he said.
Smoke released by burning wood does not only affect health; it also contributes to climate change. When wood is cut down to burn, it releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, which causes global warming. Liberia’s 6.6 million hectares of forests and mangroves are threatened by illegal harvesting to smoke fish.
Nathaniel Blama, former Executive Director of Liberia’s Environmental Protection Agency, expressed concern over the declining state of Liberia’s mangroves and forests that have been cut down for smoking fish. He is worried that if nothing is done to halt the illegal harvesting of mangroves and trees the country might lose its habitat that is home to some of the world’s endangered species.
Mangroves play an important role in absorbing carbon, protecting coastlines, and providing habitat for fish and other aquatic species. Cutting them down to smoke fish can destroy ecosystems and lead to deforestation, exacerbating climate change. Women who are involved in fish drying bear the brunt of these impacts, both in terms of health as a result of the smoke they inhale and their vulnerability to flooding, underscoring the need for women’s leadership in fisheries and governance, where their voices are currently underrepresented.
A report published in 2023 by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) titled Leaving No One Behind stated that although the fishery sector is dominated by women, there is little visibility of women in the fisheries leadership, especially when it comes to who decides the fish price from the sea. For instance, many canoes are owned and operated by men. Only a few women own canoes. Even so, they cannot go to sea to catch fish. They have to partner with the men and share the funds; in this case, the woman decides the fish price when the canoe arrives on shore. She sells and shares with the men. For those fishermen who have canoes, their wives manage and sell the fish for them.
These hurdles lead women to engage in smoking fish at a cost to their health. Men are not involved with smoking fish. Instead, men’s needs and interests are centered around ownership, control over and management of fishing inputs, and access to fish landing sites, according to the EJF report.
The report, which focused on the roles of men and women in the fisheries sector, revealed that women are less involved in decision-making processes than men. Limited laws, policies, and traditional norms are factors that stop women from participating in these processes.
The report recommends addressing gender inequalities in the fisheries sector to enable women to participate fully and improve growth.
Many of the women involved in selling fish are single mothers who depend on businesses to survive. Some are wives of fishermen. Others were incorporated by their mothers into the business, who passed it on to continue the practice and support their families.
In 2021, the EJF, with funding from the European Union, introduced the Village Savings Loan Association (VSLA) in 24 fishing communities in four coastal counties, including Grand Bassa, Cape Mount, Margibi, and Grand Kru Counties. VSLA is a managed financial scheme that supports members through credits and savings. It is mostly done in rural areas.
Musu Dorley London, EJF’s Technical Officer for Gender, and Community Participation, said for so long, women were not included in fisheries governance, adding that VSLA is a platform that empowers women in fisheries governance.
“There are a lot of women that own canoes now due to the VSLA,” she said. “Women initially did not have money, so when they started to save, they started to gain relevance, and it even helped to bring them together.”
For Monica Wood, another fish seller from Small Fanti Town in Grand Bassa County, she said the smoke has affected her eyes, and she struggles to breathe sometimes.
Evelyne Wah laying her fish on the zinc dryer in Popo Beach, New Kru Town
Photo Credit: Tina S. Mehnpaine
Evelyne Wah, another fish seller who resides in Popo Beach, New Kru Town, says the smoke is not her only problem. She says waking up as early as 2 a.m. to buy fish from fishermen has been the greatest barrier. “It’s tough and risky for us. Waking up early, sitting in the cold.” She said.
After purchasing the fish, she either stores it in the freezer when electricity is available or immediately smokes it before it spoils. Evelyne has been engaged in the business for more than ten years.
Using the traditional method, the fish is sometimes prepared in unhealthy and unsanitary conditions that are breeding grounds for rodents that transport diseases. Some dryers are close to dumpsites. To address the health and environmental impact due to traditional methods of smoking fish, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has built two modern state-of-the-art fish processing facilities in Grand Bassa and Margibi Counties.
Titled “Livelihood Empowerment of Women Small Scale Fisheries (SSF) during and after COVID-19,” the project is worth $749,000, with the Government of Japan identified as a “Resource Partner.” This provided at least 1,000 women fishmongers and processors in Montserrado, Margibi and Grand Bassa Counties with resilient livelihoods, income, food and nutrition security during and after the pandemic.
Fish processing facilities such as FAO-Thiaroye Processing Technology (FTT) that includes an oven have been constructed in Margibi and Grand Bassa Counties. The facilities were accompanied by two tricycles and ice boxes. Unlike the traditional method that uses wood, these new facilities use charcoal. It is fast and produces minimal smoke. There is space to wash and clean the fish before putting it in the oven. It has trays to lay the fish in the oven. Once heated, the trays are placed on top of the oven and covered to smoke.
Dorcas Weah, Chairlady Fanti Town in Marshall, Margibi County, described the area as a boost to help them leave the traditional way of smoking fish. “The old way is not good for us. This one is fast, and it can’t take a long time,” she said.
However, she added that they use the facility based on orders from customers. She complained that the area is too expensive to use due to the materials they buy, including the bag of coal, packaging rubber bag, oil, and seasoning.
Weah, who still uses her traditional oven, says their group, Women of Vision, have a planning meeting to discuss how they can raise money to take care of the place. They want to hire a security guard and a cleaner and decide how they will manage the facility.
Oretha Nimely echoed Weah’s challenge. One of the FAO-FTT facilities was turned over to her group—Fish for Living Women VSLA in Grand Bassa County. She expressed concern about the maintenance and sustainability of the facility. “What if something spoils here? We need to fix it.” We need money to buy the fish and material to use to dry them.”
Launched in 2021, the World Bank-funded Liberia Sustainable Management of Fisheries (LSMF) Project is a $40 million (20 grant, 20 loan) project implemented in Liberia. It will provide grants to women fishmongers and processors to support them boost their businesses.
“Support capacity development for women and in women entrepreneurship:
It will comprise training and demonstration in adopting climate-smart practices,
including using energy-efficient equipment and solar-powered chill storage in
better product handling, especially in fish smoking and drying technology as well
as packaging to enhance shelf life with solar-powered cold storage,” Ruth Gbatoe, LSMF Communication Officer, said in an email.
Under Component 2. 2 of the LSMF, Weah and Nimely can apply for grants to improve their businesses. Their members are also eligible for the grant. The essence of the grant is to empower women grantees to grow their businesses. It aims to enhance women’s climate adaptation capacities, mentor women-owned businesses, and help transition them into small- and medium-scale enterprises with proven credit absorptive capacities. Additionally, it seeks to integrate these businesses into the formal financial market.
The grant is categorized into small grants: $200 to $2,000 and large grants: $2,000 to $15,000. The grant is being managed by Conservation International (CI).
“The overall budget for this component is $2 million, with $800,000 allocated to grants (direct cash to women fishmongers) and $800,000 for building their capacity and skills. Overall, it is envisioned that 70% of the funds will be for small grants and 30% for large grants. The project targets approximately 2,000 women fishmongers in four counties: Montserrado, Margibi, Grand Bassa, and Grand Cape Mount,” said Mike Olendo, the Director of the Blue Ocean Program of Conservation International.
With the cost that comes with using the FAO-FTT facilities, Weah and Nimely desperately need the grant. They claimed it would help boost the financial status of their group members, who are mostly single mothers and widows.
Both Weah and Nimely say the CI-LSMF grant is their only hope. They plan to use the grant to boost their businesses using the FAO-FTT facilities to generate profit.
The grant exclusively targets women-led and women-owned businesses that are members of the CMAs. It enhances the viability and profitability of their business, with a clear plan on how the grant will boost operations. The use of environmentally friendly practices, ensuring their projects do not harm the environment or communities, potential to attract future investments, and sustainability of the proposed business or project in all aspects.
The primary objective is to empower women fishmongers by helping them transition their businesses from nano to microenterprises.
Weah and Nimely, who are leaders of over 500 women from different VSLAs in their communities in Grand Bassa and Margibi, have begun applying for the grant. Nimely says they are applying as a group. Weah’s members are applying as a group VSLA.
With the financial constraints highlighted by the women, the grant will enable them to improve their businesses, use the facilities by buying fish for overseas customers, and open supermarkets. They intend to increase the visibility of their products in all public markets. However, some are worried about meeting the criteria and making it to the final stage.
The grant, which has reached the final stage, will improve Weah and Nimely’s businesses if they are successful. They plan to use the grant to invest more into the FAO-FTT facilities that boost their health, environment, and communities, which will positively impact their health and environment, thereby reducing the demand to cut down mangroves for fish drying and saving ecosystems, forests, and mangroves.
