Young Fishermen from Lomé, Togo
Interviewed in May 2002
Fishing out the gene pool
Amongst the contributions to the Growing Diversity project was the case of a group called the Young Fishermen from Lomé, in Togo. Abèti Tchao works for this cooperative.
Your cooperative works with fishermen who fish off the coast of Togo. What is the state of the fishery there?
In the past, fishermen along the coast of Togo used to be selective about the type of fish they would catch. But now, due to the decline in numbers of fish as a whole and the decline in many species, fishermen now will take any catch that they can.
What has caused this decline?
The biggest problem has been the poor management of the fisheries. With the general population increase, there is an ever increasing demand for fish, not only for human consumption but also for animal feed. There is also a lot of waste, because fishermen catch everything they can, and any surplus is wasted in the interests of maximising production. Large numbers of foreign trawlers fish both near the coast and further out to sea, often illegally. We are now obliged to fish further and further out to sea, up to 15 kilometres from the coast, where we need to use motorboats instead of sails. Overfishing by the industrial trawlers has decimated local fish stocks and put immense pressure on local fishermen. Some have resorted to the use of illegal fine mesh nets which catch even the smallest of fish. Many fishermen are ignorant of the extra damage they are doing to the fish populations and do not take account of the future.
How are you tackling these problems?
Our cooperative is raising the level of awareness amongst fishermen about the impact they have on fishing resources for the future. So far around 80% of fishermen are fully aware about the value of the fishing resources, but still around 20% are adding to the problems. Education is difficult as many fishermen are illiterate and we first need to teach them how to read and write. We also help with managing their finances.
What about women – do they fish or is it a job solely for men?
There have been one or two brave women who have fished, but it is the exception. Social norms keep women away from fishing itself, but women help to finance fishing activities by lending money to their husbands when they need to buy items such as nets. Men and women in Togo have quite separate finances, and the women are usually wealthier. Women tend to sell the fish or work in other small enterprises, or they work in the fields.