Electronic tools for fish loss assessment and reduction

Partners:
Geography Department, University of Côte d’Ivoire, Côte d’Ivoire
Directorate of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Accra, Ghana
Dept. of Agric Economics & Farm Management, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana
Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), India
Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), Nigeria
Fisheries Division, Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Tanzania
The Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education, UK
Manufacturing Improvement International, UK

Problem:
As soon as fish have been caught, the quality of the fish begins to deteriorate. Such deterioration can be minimised if the fish are kept on ice or, better still, frozen. However, most artisanal fisherfolk do not have the means to cool their catches on-board their boats or after landing. Thus, various processes are used to preserve the fish which include drying, smoking and salting. Once treated, the fish then usually have to be transported to markets some distance from the landing points for sale. Fish bought at the port’s markets may then be transported inland and re-sold one or more times. At each stage of such chains, there are occasions when the fish will be subject to factors that cause further deterioration or damage.

Achievements:
The cluster of outputs concerned means to investigate such losses in both physical and monetary terms and identify the most effective intervention methods. The outputs (“FISHLOSS”) included two technologies packaged on a single CD, comprising a database on fish losses in developing countries derived from the literature; and a computer model for:

1. estimating overall losses, given data for each stage, and
2. for modelling the effects on loss reduction of intervention(s) at different stages on the fish processing and marketing chain.

Interventions which minimise losses will improve the livelihoods of artisanal fishing communities and contribute to food security. In addition, a service was provided by conducting training courses on the model in Ghana, India and Uganda.