PART II
PROCESSING FOR EXPORT OF TRADITIONAL FISHERY PRODUCTS ALONG THE VOLTA LAKE IN GHANA

by

Emmanuel Mantey Mensah
Fish Technologist, Department of Fisheries, Ghana

and

Yvette Diei-Ouadi
Fishery Industry Officer
Fish Utilization and Marketing Service
FAO Fisheries Department

1. INTRODUCTION

FAO conducted a study on "Dynamics of exports of traditional fish products in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana" in May and June 2002. This study revealed that the socio-economic importance of export-oriented traditional fisheries was actually more substantial than indicated in official figures in both countries. Another key finding was that operational constraints due to inappropriate processing capacity of the export units limited their ability to meet the increasing demands from the European Union (EU), North American and Japanese markets, generally known as "ethnic" markets. Within the framework of international sanitary regulations on handling and processing of fish, there has been a drastic drop in Ghana in the number of exporters of traditional fishery products. Figures from the Ghana Export Promotion council (GEPC) indicated that from nearly 200 exporters (more than 80 percent exported to EU markets) in 1997, 16 remained in 2001, among which only two units were registered for EU exports. It was noted that in most cases, artisanal community fish processing centres, especially inland fisheries, were the major suppliers to these exporters. Between 70-75 percent of exports of smoked and salted-dried products is estimated to be made up of freshwater fish processed from the Volta Lake. Some exporters purchase the end products, mainly smoked and salted-dried products, at indirect marketing centres and pack them for shipment. These figures demonstrated clearly the involvement of small-scale fish operators predominantly the women in the international trade.

The international trade, as a result of globalisation is faced with new priorities; henceforth the key measures to be put in place are rules governing public health and safety of fisheries products and rules to ensure that fishing and aquaculture are compatible with sustainable development. The framework of the prevailing rules places the liability for food safety on the producer. It is clearly established that the conditions of production and marketing should be monitored and controlled throughout the fish production chain from farm and fishing boat to consumer. Furthermore, these conditions should meet established health standards.

Considering the contribution of the lake fisheries to that trade, foreign currency earnings and increased incomes of small-scale fishers, sustainable artisanal fish production for export should be a major concern.

To this end, the Fisheries group of the FAO Regional office for Africa conducted a field mission to take account of the practical conditions under which the operations were taking place. This aimed at assessing the level of compliance to the sanitary provisions by identifying the strengths and weaknesses and making proposals for improvements to sustain the supply chain and livelihoods for all the stakeholders.

This document is a presentation of the issues raised during the mission along Lake Volta in Ghana.

2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON LAKE VOLTA FISHERIES

The Volta Lake is one of the largest man made lakes in the world. It has a surface area of 8 482 km² and a shoreline of 4 880 km. The lake formed from 1964 to 1968 and changed the fishing from river fishing to lake fishing. The fishermen had been fishing on the main Volta, including the Black Volta and the White Volta, the Afram and the Oti rivers and other tributaries of the Volta before the lake was formed. Many of these fishermen migrated from the Lower Volta areas, in particular from Tongu, Bator, Sokpe, Tefle, Mafi, Bakpa. The situation caused the formation of new settlements by the fishermen around the lake and initially about 1 500 villages sprang up in the whole Volta Lake basin.

In the late 60s/early 70s there were about 14 000 to 15 000 fishing canoes on the Lake and approximately 25 000 fishermen. These fishermen adapted well to the lake conditions since they successfully applied their experience gained over the years in the river and marine fishing. Fishermen in the marine sector along the coast for example, the Anlo, the Ga-Adagme and the Fanti also settled on the lake.

At present according to the village survey carried out by the Directorate of Fisheries (MOFA) in the year 2000, the number of villages is 1 232, the number of canoes is 24 035 and the number of fishermen is 71 861.

Many of the villages are remote and have no road connections to the existing road heads to the urban centres and the surrounding towns. This gave rise to a new marketing system with lake side markets spontaneously springing up at strategic points, which served as gateways from the lake fishing villages to the urban centres and other towns in the country.

There are more than 100 species of fish in the Lake Volta system. About 16 are commercially processed and marketed, but landings are dominated by tilapia species, Chrysichtys sp., Synodontis, Mormyrids, Heterotis, Clarias sp., Schilbeide, Odaxothrissa mento, Bagrus sp. and Citharinus. The minor species in quantities are grouped under others.

Total fish landings declined from 36 000 tonnes in 1971 to 28 373 tonnes in 1998, with annual decline in catch per unit effort estimated at 0.255 kg/boat/day. Of the total inland fish production for 2002 of about 88 000 tonnes, the Lake Volta contributed 85 percent. It accounts for about 16 percent as national output.

These fish species are landed from small planked canoes, which use mainly gill nets, traps, hook and line. Generally only 25 percent of fishing villages on the lake use outboard motors and only 4 percent of all boats are equipped with engines. The 1998 Volta Lake frame survey suggest that the 24 035 boats of all types were equipped with 973 outboard motors and no inboard engines. The nets are set in the evening or late afternoon and inspected in the morning to remove the fish. Bigger canoes have been introduced called "winch net" canoes which mostly do illegal fishing by using banned nets like purse seines and beach seines or drag nets. These nets are used in marine fishing and are not allowed in the freshwater system.

2.1 Fish preservation

Since there is no electric power supply to most of these remote villages, icing and freezing are not popular methods of fish preservation on the lake except in very few areas where fresh fish can easily be marketed due to access to bigger urban centres or towns where mostly tilapia are put on ice and transported by road to the urban centres. Fish caught are mostly processed by the traditional methods of drying, salting and smoking. The processing method is chosen according to species and consumer preference. Most of the tilapia species caught are salted and sundried. Heterotis can be salted and sundried. Most of the fish landed on the verge of spoilage are also salted and sundried as fermented products. The rest of the species are smoked. Smoking is therefore the major method of fish preservation on the Volta Lake. It is estimated that over 80 percent of the lake fish is smoked. The traditional drum and clay ovens are mostly used in the fishing villages. The clay or mud ovens are used on the lake and are in the majority. Drum ovens are normally found in the lakeside marketing centres. The rectangular clay oven, which has been modified to carry more trays, and is called the "Chorkor" kiln has been poorly adopted along the lake.

The processed products are stored in the villages on smoking ovens, stores or kitchens to get the quantities which can be economically transported to the lakeside markets by transport launches powered by outboard motors on market days. These market days are in five days cycle or operate on weekly basis.

2.2 Marketing systems

Most of the fish on the lake are marketed by water transportation. As already stated the fish are carried by transport launches, which are powered by outboard motors, mostly 40 horse power. These launches are designed to make them suitable for operating in very shallow depth, which is necessary for serving the numerous villages. The number of these launches operating at any lakeside market depends on the number of villages, which are served by that market. The services of these launches are augmented by fishing canoes owned by the fishermen who take their produce and some other passengers to the marketing centres (Map 1).

This system of transport launches and canoes doing the criss-cross from one village to the other and to a marketing centre is a very important factor in the Volta Lake fisheries and forms the live-wire of all the fish marketed on the lake. These launches also carry agricultural commodities. There is another transport system involving the large ferryboats, which transport goods from South to North and bring down mostly agricultural commodities. Some few fishermen and fishmongers transport fish to Akosombo en route to Accra for sale.

Map 1

On the lake, the eastern, southern and the northern part have major roads passing through these areas, which led to the development of the major lakeside markets. The state of the roads therefore has effect on the performance of these markets. On the Eastern shore, six lakeside markets sprang up namely Dzemeni, Wusuta, Kpandu Torkor, Kwamekrom, Abotoase and Dumbai. Wusuta died off due to poor road connection. Yeji and Buipe came up on the northern sector. On the southern sector, Kwahu Adawso, Nketepa, Dedeso and Akate came up. The deterioration of the road network at the southern sector has lowered all activities in these markets. The activities of these markets have drastically shifted to Dzemeni due to the improvement of the trunk road passing through the area.

In addition to the centres mentioned above, there are other lakeside markets most of these are nearer big towns. These markets are serviced by the small fishing canoes. There are footpaths leading to some of these markets. All the major landing lakeside markets and the smaller ones contribute to effective evacuation of fish from the lake area. The sizes of the lakeside markets are not static; they are subject to changes around the lake in addition to social and economic changes.

2.3 Prices and factors affecting prices

The pattern of pricing depends on many factors and that makes it difficult to obtain reliable wholesale prices. There is considerable price variation depending on the season, location, trade conditions, etc. Prices offered to fishermen depended greatly on their location in relation to the lakeside markets and the inland markets. Prices obtained by the fish traders also depended on their bargaining powers and how far they could travel into the lake area. Map 2 shows the different flows of the catches.

The present socio-economic condition in the country had changed this pattern. Fishermen, their wives or partners in the fish trade travel to the lakeside markets themselves to sell their fish either directly or through their hosts. Some of them travel to the major consumption centres like Accra and Kumasi to market their fish. They even connect to the exporters themselves. The fish mammy traders who used to travel to the lake villages now prefer to be at the major lakeside markets or be in Accra or Kumasi to receive the fish. This affords them the opportunity to compare prices to avoid incurring losses by buying expensive fish on the lake only to come and meet lower prices on the fish markets. There is therefore competition to produce a better product to attract higher prices especially when the product qualifies for the export market. Some processors process according to specification for the export market while others produce products, which can be sold in any market.

Map 2

2.4 Projects

Three projects could easily be identified which had made significant contributions to the development of the Volta Lake namely:

(i) Volta Lake Research and Development Project;
(ii) Integrated Development of Artisanal Fisheries (IDAF-Yeji) project;
(iii) Fisheries Subsector Capacity Building Project (National Project).

VOLTA LAKE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROJECT

At the formation of the Volta Lake, the Government of Ghana had assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to carry out research on the Lake since it was a new man made lake and the river conditions changed to lake conditions. Since it was artificially formed it swallowed mountains and valleys and that gave it different depths. It also passed through different geographical zones from north to south. On that basis the lake was divided into eight strata so that it would be easy to compare data collected in the different geographical zones of the lake. FAO was the Executing Agency for the UNDP project and sent down experts in the various fields of fisheries, Agronomy, Socio Economy and collaborated with World Health Organization (WHO) in health matters. The Volta River Authority (VRA) was the Executing Agency for Ghana Government. There was a team of Ghanaians who formed the counterpart staff to the FAO Experts. The team was formed from staff of VRA, Aquatic Biology of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Fisheries Department of Ministry of Agriculture, Volta Lake Basin Project of the University of Ghana, Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Department of Game and Wildlife and others. Each Department performed its functions as mandated under the laws of Ghana but in close collaboration with the others. After enough scientific and socio-economic data had been collected the Project moved into another phase and the name of the project was changed from Volta Lake Research Project to Volta Lake Research and Development Project. The project which started in 1968 finally closed in 1979.

The fisheries sector researched into stock assessment, gear technology, limnology, fisheries statistics and fish processing and marketing.

The Fish processing and Marketing Section of the project developed new fishery products, new and innovated fish processing equipment and made studies for the development of the lakeside markets. Kpandu Torkor was developed as a pilot improved lakeside market. Kpandu Torkor was chosen due to its nearness to the project headquarters at Akosombo and its size, which was neither too big nor too small. The pilot project was aimed at the improvement of the landing and marketing facilities at Kpandu Torkor market in order to make marketing commercially more attractive, technically easier and hygienically cleaner than it was. UNDP funded the construction of the Kpandu Torkor complex.

INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT FOR ARTISANAL FISHERIES IN WEST AFRICA (IDAF) PROJECT, YEJI

Yeji lakeside market was the next to be developed. After a time lapse the UNDP again assisted the Government of Ghana in the development of Yeji in the northern sector of the lake. That was the IDAF project, which the FAO was the Executing Agency for UNDP and the Fisheries Department was the Executing Agency for Government of Ghana. The Project started January 1989 and ended March 2000.

The project engaged in fisheries studies in that part of the lake and the development of the Yeji lakeside market. UNDP funded the preparation of the ground for the construction of the lakeside landing and market. The Japanese Government assisted Government of Ghana to put up the market structures.

THE FISHERIES SUB-SECTOR CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT

It was a World Bank assisted project, which started 1996 and ended 2002. It was a national project and funded activities on the lake. These included stock assessment, biological studies, a frame survey of the Volta Lake system to update the map of the lake and estimated the number and types of gear to assist updating the statistics of the lake.

3. METHODOLOGY OF NEEDS ASESSMENT ALONG LAKE VOLTA

The main supply sites were identified during the first study on the Accra-based fish export units in June 2002. Abotoase, Dzemeni, Kpando Torkor, and Kumasi were the main locations mentioned by the exporters. The result of investigations with the Directorate of Fisheries which is the national institution in charge of monitoring the Lake fisheries showed that these locations were in fact landing sites of already processed fish and that marketing of fish and sometimes packaging of consignments took place there. The zonal members of the Ghana National Inland Canoe Fishermen Association confirmed this statement during the meeting held in November 2002 at Adabraka, their Headquarters in Accra. This meeting was an opportunity to select the primary production villages to be visited.

The two-week mission took place from 9 to 20 December 2002 in the four regions bordering the Volta Lake (Volta, Eastern, Brong Ahafo, Northern). Given the large number of villages along the Lake (about 1 230 villages), it was agreed to make the selection according to established indicators. The major criteria that enabled the selection were the size/population of the village, the importance of fishing activities and to a lesser extent, the availability of communication facilities. The representativity of the sites was cross-checked to prevent any biased selection by fishermen attempting to insert a given village to take advantage of the expected outcome of the study. The list was therefore validated with the assistance of fisheries field officers. Table 1 presents the list of the villages visited and their marketing connections.

Table 1: General information on the fishing villages.

A programme was drawn which was submitted to the zonal members, to convey the message to their respective areas of operations. They were also requested to make arrangements prior to the mission, establishing contacts for transportation, especially boat hiring, finalising the period of visit with the Chief fishermen or Heads of villages to ensure that the maximum number of people are gathered during the visit (market day excluded). The method adopted in the field can be outlined as follows:

- gathering the villagers;
- presenting the objectives of the mission;
- collecting background information on the village;
- discussing with the fishing communities on general data related to their fishing activities;
- interviewing 2 to 4 women known to supply fish to exporters who send the fish to overseas and visiting the landing and processing facilities.

3.1 Fishing and processing

Fishing along the Volta Lake is the activity of men, while women mostly process the catches. However, some women are indirectly involved in fishing as they supply fishing inputs (gears, outboard motors, etc.). At least 2/3 of the women in a given village is involved in processing and trade outside the village. They get involved in the business in their early age, sometimes helping their relatives (mother, aunt, cousin, etc.) in fish processing and marketing. The contribution of the activity to employment is remarkable. As described in Table 2, each woman is assisted with at least 2 persons. Those who handle large quantities of fish and have an expanded business can employ up to 10 assistants.

Table 2: Information on the fish operators.

The main types of gears reported are gillnet, cast net, beach seine, traps, hook and line, "winch net", bamboo traps and "Nifa nifa". Though not widespread along the Lake, bamboo and "winch net" fishing known for their destructive effects on the resources were common practices in the Northern waters. The study noted that they were predominantly used in some villages located in that part of the lake.

The set/gillnets were laid in the evening (around 4 to 6 pm) then removed early the following morning. This leads generally to loss in quality of fish caught in the early hours of setting the net. This post-harvest loss is intensified due to the lack of on-board preservation method. In effect, none of the fishermen met uses insulated box or ice to keep the fish fresh since ice is not available at most fishing villages due to lack of electricity. The sunny climate and the distance between the fishing ground and the village also contribute to fish spoilage. The promotion of insulated box by the former IDAF Project at Yeji area has not been successful, because it was not combined with an effective ice production component.

The main species reported during the study are presented in Table 3. The order was established based on the frequency the specie was cited by people interviewed.

Table 3: Main fish species used for processing.

Fish caught is landed from the canoes in aluminium pans. None of the primary fish landing sites are equipped with adequate facilities and the landing is done in the open, muddy or sandy beaches.

The purchases of fish along the Lake follow several schemes.

• Fresh fish

- Women buying fish from their husbands
- Women buying fish from other fishermen
- Women buying fish from middlemen
- Women buying fish from fishmongers

All the combinations are possible, but the first three are more common. The quantity purchased varies according to the financial capacity of the buyer and availability of the fish due to the season (major fishing season or the lean fishing season). The average purchase of fresh fish, per working day and per woman ranges from half a pan (off-season) to 20 pans (in season).

• Fish landed in the head pan is brought home for preparation before processing, which includes:

- sorting and grading, according to the size and quality of fish (spoilt fish is generally put aside to be salted-dried for domestic markets);

- de-scaling (if needed);

- degutting;

- cutting into chunks, depending on the destination of the fish products. This operation is necessary since bigger chunks are preferred in Kumasi and smaller chunks are sent to overseas markets;

- cleaning with Lake water, using shore water is common practice. In all villages visited there was no provision for potable water and no treatment was done to the shore water, which was used. The same water was used for drinking and food preparation;

- slight salting is done on fish meant for overseas export.

This additional treatment measure is done on special request from the purchasers themselves. It improves the taste and quality especially the appearance of the fish. Species like Hydrocyon are curved soon after they are sorted/graded and cleaned with water.

It could be noted that these operations take place within the vicinity of the household together with food preparation hence the materials (knives, containers, chopping boards) are used in both cases. Fish processing is done at a place not far from their living premises.

Three types of smoking ovens were in use; the most widespread were the round and rectangular clay or mud ovens. These are known for their high fuelwood consumption, their low-holding capacity and difficult fire control, leading to non-uniform end-product quality. The Chorkor oven, which is one of the most effective ovens promoted in the past decades by extension agencies and FAO is not widespread in the Lake area. Whatever the type of ovens in use they were in most cases placed in thatched houses. The unsafe situation was a serious threat for the village, especially with a combination of factors like wind, inadequate oven design and performing other activities (preparing food or caring for kids) when fish was being smoked. Reports of a whole village burnt were made during the study. The study team witnessed even a case of smoke house's fire during a meeting in one village.

Depending on the desired texture, fish smoking can take 1 to 3 days. The longer the smoking the lower the moisture content of the end product and the longer the shelf life. Overseas fish is normally smoked-dried. In general fish loses 60 to 80 percent of its moisture content at the end of the process. The smoked fish is stored on other ovens for re-smoking (every 2 to 3 days) until the necessary quantity for the market is gathered.

The processed fish is packed in three types of baskets weighing respectively 140 pounds (64 kg), 125 pounds (57 kg), and 90 pounds (41 kg) full flat.

Women normally overload the big basket with a quantity equivalent to at least 3 small or medium size baskets for an easy handling of the product to the market. The women interviewed stated that they normally sent an average of 2 to 4 baskets once a week (Yeji market) or 4 to 10 baskets twice a month (Kumasi and Accra markets). The quantity however depends on the season.

A little part of fresh fish is salted and sun-dried. This is mainly for the Tilapia, and to a lesser extent, Heterotis niloticus. Fish on the verge of spoilage or of lower quality is salted and sundried as a fermented product exclusively for the local market.

3.2 Processed fish

Through some marketing arrangements some women collect already processed fish from other processors. In this case fish is bought from the processors at a lower price than in the main cities but the transaction has the advantage of saving them time and energy as they do not need to transport their goods to the market.

Fresh or processed fish can be purchased either in the same village or in adjacent villages, by feet or by canoe.

3.3 Transportation and trade routes of processed fish

Fish processing and marketing is a dynamic activity that takes place beyond the lakeside. Fish processed in villages is collected by transport launches or ferry to the landing sites. Few of the consignments is either bartered (mainly noted in Abotoase), or sent by cars to the larger market centres (Yeji, Kumasi, Accra). In the case of barter, fish is exchanged with cassava, maize or sweet potatoes. The fish traders based in the main cities go down the lakeside marketing centres to purchase the fish. It was noted that the majority of the processed fish brought from the fishing villages is sent to the cities because of the high purchasing power there. Transportation to the final destination follows different schemes; the key channels were seen in Map 1.

Once in the market, women either hire a stall from a local seller, or let their customers (women traders) sell the products in their presence. Each woman has between one to four customers in each city, seven is the maximum recorded. Their customers can sell fish more than the price agreed upon with the lake processors. The profit belongs to her in addition to her share for selling the consignment of fish.

3.4 Fish exports

Freshwater fish is a delicacy in Ghana. High quality fish are, however, expensive and out of reach of the average Ghanaian when the price is compared to marine fish. The main customers of this type of fish are therefore the higher strata of the population and the export units based in Accra.

According to the fishing communities met, the return is higher when transporting and marketing fish in the main cities, such as Yeji, Kumasi and Accra, than in the village or at the landing sites (Abotoase, Dumbai, Kpandu, Dzemeni, Yeji, Buipe, etc.), unless the processor has an arrangement with the buyer for a supply at these places. Different pricing patterns are applied between fish meant for local consumption and fish meant for export. The women interviewed are unanimous in stating that it is more profitable to sell fish to exporters than on the local markets. They confirmed the statement made by the private exporters that fish is purchased at a price 30 to 50 percent more than the wholesale market’s price for domestic consumption.

The pricing of export fish (Abrotsiri fish) is determined by the quality of the product, the size of the chunk and the type of fish species.

The following are the indicators for the women to notice that the product is being purchased for export market:

- The purchaser informs them of the intended use or the destination of the product. Some of the women interviewed cited London, America and Holland as some of the overseas destinations of their products.

- Purchasers request for special treatment of the fish: good quality raw material, slight salting before smoking, cutting into chunks, big sizes of the salted sundried Tilapia ("Koobi") are preferred.

- Type of packaging: some of the purchasers bring their packaging materials to the market and proceed to package the fish once the sale transaction is over.

There seems to be no limitation to the quantity purchased for export. The important factor is to have the suitable products according to the specifications above. Some women stated that provided the purchaser’s requirement is met they could sell as many baskets of fishery products brought to the city markets as they could. Owing to the selection of products pieces in a given basket and the variety of species loaded, most of the women interviewed were unable to estimate the quantity of fish sold to the said overseas buyers, however, few asserted that they could sell at least two full baskets per market day.

The frequency of purchase by the exporters was assessed to be once a month to once every 2 to 3 months. The women have however experienced cases where the purchasers had failed to come back as promised. The study team interpreted that it might be a result of a bankruptcy on the part of the Exporter. One reason could be the failure of the Exporter to deliver the products at its destination because of detention or rejection by overseas health authorities at the entry points. Export of fish to overseas countries is governed by rules and sanitary regulations, that the exporter has no control but only to comply from production to sending off the consignment. His export products are therefore subject to rule and regulations in force.

On the issue of the use of their incomes, the women stated that part is used to buy the raw material (fish purchased from their husbands or any other fisherman). The rest is used for household and family expenses.

4. WEAKNESSES AND NEEDS FOR IMPROVEMENTS

It should be noted that the traditional fish processors along the Volta Lake are indirectly involved in international trade. This trade provides substantial revenues and sustains employment within the sub-sector. The return of 30 to 50 percent more than that on the local market is an indication of the importance of this activity for the small-scale fishers.

In the previous study conducted by the authors on Accra-based traditional fish exporters, a note was made of the involvement of these fish processors in the supply chain. A statement made by some exporters that they pay higher prices than the local customers were confirmed in the present study.

The regular exporters to the EU and some occasional exporters also send their products to North America, mainly to the United States and Canada.

Owing to the involvement of small-scale fish processors in the international trade market, it is necessary to screen and improve the operations of this fishery sub-sector if the objective of sustaining it is to be met. This needs to be done because the framework of the prevailing international rules and regulations established the mandatory principle of monitoring the conditions of production from harvesting to marketing and to the distribution of products. It places the liability for quality and safety on the producer and stresses that fishing and aquaculture are compatible with sustainable development. As far as the evaluation made during these studies is concerned, number of factors threatens the effectiveness and the sustainability of this marketing channel. Fishing activities, production facilities and fish handling practices as were noted were definitely out of compliance to the provisions, which favour the industrial sector. The issues, which needed attention, were:

- irresponsible fishing practices: bamboo traps and "winch" fishing well-known for their destructive effect on the resources have been noted on many parts of the lake. Some villages are known for these practices. This justifies their conflicting relations with the fisheries field officers and their sabotage of any programme aiming at discouraging this illegal fishing. The use of these gears was noted especially in the northern waters, and it is said to be intensified during lean fishing season. Small size fish are not allowed in the export systems under current circumstances (demands for chunks from big specimen), but the resource depletion effect of these illegal fishing methods affect the sustainability of the whole fisheries sector;

- inadequate on board fish handling: fishermen do not use insulated fish box or container, and fish is laid bare in the wooden canoe;

- lack of fresh fish preservation facilities;

- fresh and processed fish landing sites are not equipped for the purpose;

- lack of potable water: no treated shore water is used for fish processing;

- inadequate design and layout of the fish preparation and processing premises;

- no partition between household, processing facilities and materials;

- inefficient smoking ovens;

- inadequate refuse facilities and waste disposal facilities;

- almost all the processing villages do not have access to electricity and basic health facilities except very few who are near some large towns;

- no provisions for record keeping and quality management.

These are indeed weaknesses in many artisanal fisheries within the region.

There should be a scheme or project to address the assessed needs of the subsector to upgrade its performance from production to marketing to avoid the worse from happening which might collapse the fish trade and affect the Inland Fisheries which a number of fishing communities depend upon for their living. There is a need for a stepwise approach based on the development of cluster production. Key villages selected according to the volume of production and other relevant criteria can be used as pilot sites to upgrade the facilities. Products obtained from these improved sites, as a result of good hygiene and manufacturing practices adopted by the fishermen and processors through educating them in improved handling practices would be registered for official export. These products would be promoted through an agreement with the Accra-based exporters.

5. CONCLUSION

Lake fisheries plays a major role in employment and income for large fishing communities most of whom are within the poor and the disadvantaged section of the population. The fact that inland fishery products are a delicacy and relatively expensive, places them out of reach of the average Ghanaian hence they are valued mainly in export channels. There are great potentials to develop these market outlets and keep them up on a sustainable basis. Achieving this objective requires that illegal fishing and the non-compliance to sanitary requirements raised be effectively addressed. Since the number of villages involved is over 1 200 and the level of investment required is high, it would be cautious to adopt a stepwise approach in a programme for upgrading the situation. There is a need to mobilise donor agencies for such assistance.

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