Fishmongers: The fish managers

Her hands were stained black with fish residue. She wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her right hand. Her eyes red and teary from the smoke as she keeps turning the fish to keep it from burning, yet she manages a smile and says “it is coming out fine.”

Maame Sarah is a fishmonger who has done the work since her youth. Now in her mid-50s, she says it has been worth all the effort.
Women are usually in charge of the kitchen traditionally. And for where they operate as experts and masters, fish is a cherished companion. What they do in the kitchen almost always includes fish.

And usually a good soup or stew is because of the kind of fish used. They are also arguably the best fish eaters.
In Ghana, women have contributed immensely to the fishing industry, not as fisherwomen going to sea, but as fishmongers.
Fishmongers cannot be taken out of the fish industry. Over the years, they have supported the fishermen to sustain the fishing industry in the country.

What they do

The word fishmonger is usually erroneously used to refer to women fish smokers. But a fishmonger does not only refer to fish smokers.

Fishmongers deal or trade in fish and are usually intermediaries between the fishermen and the consumer.

They go to the beach, play second fiddle roles and ensure that fishermen are comfortable just to get their basins full of fish. Their roles, though very crucial in the fishing business, are restricted to the shore. Women in Ghana do not go fishing. Not yet.

They stay ashore and wait for their male counterparts (fishermen) who go to bring the catch, then their work begins.

Their operations

When you look from afar these women seem unorganised. But they are not. Don’t be deceived; they are organised into groups with leaders called Konko hemaa.

A careful look indicated that fishmongers at the Elmina fish harbour are one organised lot. Every fishmonger knows the exact spots where they have to sell.

Though there are no weighing scales for these fishmongers, the prices are almost the same for the specific quantity of fish around the market. No huge differences.

There is a system operating in the midst of all the noise and squalor. Indeed, fishermen groups have specific fishmonger groups to whom they sell their catches.

Various women groups buy fish from particular fishermen. They know their customers and the system provides ready markets for the fishermen.

Many of the women who belong to these groups buy the fishes in huge quantities and in turn sell them to individuals and even other fish sellers. It’s basically a woman’s world. Only a few men brace themselves and join the business.

Fishmongers as microfinance agents?

According to some fishermen, fishmongers usually serve as their microfinance agencies.  They often help fishermen with monies as new fishing season begins.
When they get the fish, the work begins. They decide whether to sell the fish fresh, smoked or fried.

Maame Sarah spends a lot of time washing the fish she has bought to get it ready for smoking. She has the usual mud-made smokers which she uses to smoke the fish.
She sells her fish at the Mankessim market and says she does not want to leave the business any time soon.

Usually the smoked fish is taken in huge trucks to big, known fish markets across the country. Some of fishmongers send their fish to markets at Denu, Anloga and Keta in the Volta Region, and Techiman and Mankessim in the Brong Ahafo and Central regions respectively.

The cry

Despite the role of the fishmonger in the fishing industry, not much attention has been given to her over the years. They have always lived in the shadows of the fishermen.
They lack money to expand their businesses. “More money so we can buy more sell more and get more profit,” Aunt Araba, another fishmonger, stated.

The fishmongers say they have been marginalised over the years in respect of support for the fishing industry.To add to the situation, harvest have not been too great.

At the Elmina fishing harbour some women carried empty basins tucked together. The low harvest this season has not affected only the fishermen.
The fishmongers have their own share of the negative effects of the low catch. The effects on the families, considering the fact that many of these are breadwinners for their households, can only be imagined.

A revolving fund

Recently, the President, John Mahama, during a visit to the Central Region, promised that fishmongers would be supported through a revolving fund.
The Minister in charge of Fisheries, Ms Sherry Ayittey, also at a meeting in Cape Coast recently, told fishmongers that the fund would ensure fishmongers received funding to expand their business and support their families. She said the government was working on supporting the fishmongers, particularly the fish smokers, with wire mesh for their work.

The fishmongers said they had heard about the promised revolving fund and called on the government to ensure that it became a reality.
Aba Yaa, a fishmonger in Cape Coast, says she is excited about the idea of the revolving fund.

She supports her three children with income from her fish business and says any financial support will be more than welcome.
"Our business is very important. We are the fish managers but we don't get much support from government and the people who have been put in charge," she stated.
“If we are getting such a fund all the better for our business, but we hope it comes soon,” she added.