To mark International Women's Day, and taking advantage of her visit to Brussels as part of the Fisheries and Oceans Dialogues organised by the European Commission, we interview Raïssa Madou, a fish processor in Côte d'Ivoire.
The message from African artisanal fishers to the FAO: "Sardinella should be reserved for small-scale fishers, for human consumption, not for fishmeal"
The FAO organised a workshop in Accra (Ghana) from 5 to 7 December on the theme: "Optimising food and nutritional security and the benefits of small pelagic species production in sub-Saharan Africa". In a joint presentation, CAOPA and CFFA warned of the impact of the decline in sardinella in West Africa on fishers, women fish processors and consumers.
Côte d'Ivoire: "Thanks to this refrigerated container, women processors and fishmongers in San Pedro are able to get by"
Two years after receiving funding from the EU-Côte d'Ivoire SFPA to buy a refrigerated container, we examine how the women of the Société Coopérative de Femmes Mareyeuses Grossistes et Détaillantes in the fishing port of San Pedro are faring. Beyond fish preservation, enabling women to become autonomous remains a challenge.
"The European Union must be credible and demonstrate that EU taxpayer’s money is well spent in support of sustainable fishing”
From 8 different African countries, representatives of coastal fishing communities participated to a seminar on the external dimension of the CFP hosted by the EU Long Distance Fisheries Advisory Council (LDAC) in Sweden and then travelled to Brussels where they exchanged with decision-makers from the Commission and the European Parliament.
"Conservation is not for conservation's sake. Conservation is for us: we need a fair place for communities."
Driven by a local NGO, which is committed to community development as well as turtle protection, Côte d'Ivoire's first marine protected area (MPA) is an example of how conservation can be achieved while respecting the rights and access of artisanal fishing communities to their traditional fishing grounds.
To go far, you have to be together. The Ivorian women in artisanal fisheries can tell you how
This article by Andréa Durighello analyses, through the example of the Ivory Coast, the value of women's cooperatives and associations in African artisanal fisheries: in the professionalisation of the trade, in strengthening capacities, in representing women in professional organisations and, above all, in responding unitedly to the hazards of life.
Doors wide open for the San Pedro cold store
The 40-foot container is the first real impact perceived by fishmongers and processors from the sustainable fisheries partnership agreement between Côte d'Ivoire and the European Union, but the women face another challenge: access to credit and thus to the liquidity needed to build up working capital, which is necessary to buy fish.
A local initiative to save turtles to turn into the biggest co-managed MPA in Côte d'Ivoire
The Grand Béréby Marine Protected Area will cover about 2400 square kilometers of ocean and will include a 54 km stretch of coastal water, to be “free from industrial fishing”. Besides vital fisheries, the area is home to endangered populations of leatherback, olive ridley and green sea turtles and threatened populations of sharks and rays.
“Our business is to create jobs for our communities”
Something cool for Côte d'Ivoire women fish processors will give them more power in the marketplace
Access to refrigeration is difficult for women in fisheries in many West African countries. With a first trial in San Pedro which has guaranteed the supply of fish to women in Abidjan, now it’s the Grand Béréby women fish processors who are expecting a refrigerated truck, a container and an ice machine. An article by Rich Press.
“By coming together, we have been able to make women’s voices heard”
In Abidjan, women in the artisanal fishing sector offer work to young people
Affordable social housing to improve the living conditions of women fish processors in Côte d'Ivoire
USCOFEP-CI's refrigerated container guarantees a continuous supply of fish to Abdijan
"This is the first time fishing communities are seeing a concrete positive impact of the agreement with the European Union"
Through a fund set up under the EU-Côte d'Ivoire SFPA, the women fish processor cooperative purchased a refrigerated container and placed it in San Pedro, a fish-producing area in the west of the country, which lacked conservation facilities and where large quantities of artisanal fisheries landings were lost as a result.
Hard hit by the Covid-19 crisis, Ivorian women in artisanal fisheries also see it as an opportunity to address long postponed issues
After weeks of meetings with national authorities and partners, USCOFEP-CI suggests a plan to improve living and working conditions for women fish processors, and asks for some of the EU Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) sectoral support funds to be redirected to the fight against Covid-19.
