Locodjro landing site, 18 October 2021. Usually, this time of year symbolises the end of the artisanal fishing season in Abidjan. “Usually”, because this year has been anything but usual.
Beyond the effects of COVID-19 on the actors of the fishing industry in Côte d'Ivoire since the beginning of the 2020 pandemic, the women fishmongers have had to face another challenge: the fish did not turn up.
"It is only now that the first fish are starting to turn up," says Monique, pointing to black carp and yellowtail (a species locally known as salmon) kept in ice in tanks along the landing site.
Lying on her empty stand, Léonine, a fishmonger, confirms: “All season long, we have not worked, it is only now that the fish are turning up. But it's not going to last, maybe two months at most.” Two months is much less than the approximately four months of the traditional fishing season, which is already a short window of time on the scale of a whole year.
For the women of USCOFEP-CI, the main reason for this is climate change. At least its first concrete signs. But the women also blame the use by some fishermen of fish aggregating devices (FADs), a practice that is not regulated by law, despite the fact that their use has been a concern for several years now. According to the Union's president, Micheline Dion, the use of FADs prevents fish from reaching the mangroves. This is another problem that professionals and experts in the sector need to stand up against, including international organisations such as the FAO: “The use of FADs goes totally against any sustainable fishing effort, the FAO needs to help us stop these practices.”
These first brutal manifestations of climate change on marine resources seem to vindicate the predictions of a recent study published by Bread for the World "How climate change has changed fisheries" (only available in German). A worrying prediction. The small-scale fishing season, however short, allowed women to support their families and prepare for the next year's fishing season. In addition to the warming of the waters, which could cause fish to migrate to colder waters, the actors in the sector fear that certain already visible phenomena will worsen, such as coastal erosion, which is increasingly eating away the coasts at the expense of coastal populations.
Today, USCOFEP-CI's main strategy is adaptation. The Union has started a market gardening production project integrated with fish farming with the aim of generalising it in all the cooperatives of the Union. Photo: Andréa Durighello for USCOFEP-CI.
Today, USCOFEP-CI's main strategy is adaptation. The Union has started a market gardening project integrated with fish farming, to provide fish all year round as well as untreated vegetables. A project that it plans to extend to all the Union's cooperatives across Côte d'Ivoire. "We can't wait for solutions to be found for us, we have to anticipate. This is our mission as a Union." (M. Dion)
Note: This article was published originally on the USCOFEP-CI website, and has been translated by CFFA and reproduced with USCOFEP-CI authorisation.
Banner photo: The women of the Abobo cooperative. Andréa Durighello, for USCOFEP-CI.
Although the protocol does not allow European fleets to fish for small pelagics because they are overexploited, at least 4 European vessels have reportedly reflagged to Guinea-Bissau and are fishing for these species in the region, jeopardising the region's food security and competing with small-scale fisheries.