Oyster is an important and unique sub-industry of the artisanal fisheries industry and it is of significant economic importance in The Gambia because it provides employment and income, food and revenue. Oyster harvesting is an important source of income for people and important food source in The Gambia.
Oyster harvesting communities
There are nine major oyster harvesting sites within the Greater Banjul Area namely: Abuko, Ibo Town, Old Jeshwang, Faji Kunda all in the Kanifing Municipality, Kamalo in Banjul, Kubuneh, Kartong, Lamin and Mandinary all in the West Coast Region.
Oyster provide employment
Men dominate fishing while the harvest and collection of oysters is dominated by women who carry out all the different operations of harvesting, processing and marketing.
Many of the women are first and second generation migrants from Guinea Bissau and the Senegalese southern region of Casamance and occasionally men assist in the harvest in partnership with closely related women, but processing and sales is entirely women.
Oyster harvesters exploit oysters for commercial purposes. The oyster meat when extracted from the shell is sold out to consumers and fetches income for the producers.
The meat has high protein content and is an important source of dietary protein. Oysters are harvested seasonally, normally in the dry season i.e. from March to June when mature oysters are removed from the wild, processed and marketed.
Oysters are found in the wild attached to mangrove growths in the estuarine areas, on both banks of the River Gambia and its tributaries in many localized areas.
Improving livelihood of Oyster business entities
Members of the Try Oyster Women’s Association shelling oysters for sustainable livelihood and Try Oyster Women’s the Associationis a community-based organisation with a membership of over 700 women who harvest oysters and cockles in The Gambia was formed in 2007.
The aim of the organisation is to enhance sustainable livelihood opportunities for women along with improving and raising their standard of living. Coastal erosion and degradation coupled with unemployment were challenges that require surmounting.
Through action and education, Try Oyster Women’s Association members were empowered and taught how to balance sustainable harvesting of oysters and cockles with the management of delicate mangrove ecosystems.
Reason/s of formation of TOA
Try Oyster Association was formed to enhance sustainable livelihood opportunities for women along with improving and raising their standard of living. Membership has grown exponentially to 15 communities, each with their own organised leadership and the women’s association is made up of over 700 members
This has resulted in a network of communities with organised leadership at community levels and at the apex. 15 different communities exist and efforts to improve local incomes have been complemented by efforts to reduce anthropogenic impacts on the Tanbi Wetlands ecosystem, the workplace that sustains the majority of the harvesters.
Before, people were not aware of the great benefits associated with oyster businesses in the country. The Try Oyster Women’s Association has a president to lead and other affiliated groups who now belongs to the Association.
Before the Association was established, the women struggled independently to make a living in poor working conditions. In 2007, Fatou Janha with the help of other 50 women oyster harvesters joined together to form TRY Oyster Women’s Association in the country and have been moving forward ever since to achieve a common goal.
In 2009, USAID lent its support to the programme, providing much needed funding and management to help the women move that much closer to realising their goals. The support is part of a five-year Gambia-Senegal Sustainable Fisheries Project, or Ba Nafaa, which means “benefits from the sea” in the local Mandika dialect. With USAID/Ba Nafaa support, TOA expanded training programmes for women in both aquaculture and business management.
As a result, the Association members now learn fishery management and oyster cultivation techniques, such as how to build racks and floating baskets to improve yields.
They participate in community meetings to learn their roles in, and responsibilities for, managing the fishery. They help develop co-management plans and learn techniques to resolve conflicts among oyster harvesters and other resource users.
Ba Nafaa is also working with the TRY Oyster Association to develop credit and saving schemes for its members and to help the Association with fundraising and business strategies.
TRY founder’s skillful fundraising
Through the skillful fundraising the Association has been transformed from a single community organisation of 50 women into a model of coastal co-management in West Africa that includes over 700 members from 15 communities.
In describing the challenges they faced in developing the Association, Fatou Janha pointed to the difficulty of organising women from different backgrounds and often marginalised communities to work together. But she also credits those women with having the vision to organise the Association and the dedication to make it work. “Although they lack formal schooling, these women are very intelligent and receptive to new ideas and technologies,” she said.
“When given the opportunity to participate in the Ba Nafaa project, they should quickly embrace it with conviction and dedication. Now they are realising the economic and social benefits from their activities.”
With expanded access to credit
Those benefits include better equipment for oyster harvesters and an increased capacity to manage a profitable fishery. With expanded access to credit, the women have been able to purchase canoes, gloves, and life jackets, allowing them to safely harvest oysters.
They also bought processing and storage equipment to diversify oyster products and transport them to regional markets.
The Ba Nafaa/TRY Association partnership also provides environmental benefits by maintaining the ecological integrity of the Tanbi National Park mangrove ecosystem and associated fisheries. Mangrove trees provide a critical habitat for oysters, which grow on their roots. With Ba Nafaa support, TRY members are developing an oyster fishery management plan that will include community-managed, exclusive-use zones for oyster harvesting.
“These women are in tune with nature and realise that their livelihoods depend on conservation of the mangroves.”
Sponsored by the USAID/West Africa Regional Mission, Ba Nafaa aims to develop sustainable artisanal fisheries through an ecosystem-based management approach that includes local citizens and stakeholders in decision-making processes.
Ba Nafaa provides economic, social benefits
In this way, Ba Nafaa seeks to provide economic and social benefits to local communities, while maintaining the integrity of the coastal ecosystem. The Ba Nafaa project is implemented through a cooperative agreement with the University of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Center and the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Western African Marine Eco-Region programme, in cooperation with The Gambia Department of Fisheries.
USAID hopes the project will serve as a model of co-management that empowers women to directly manage their own fishery, while protecting the mangrove ecosystems of coastal West Africa.
The British Embassy in Banjul also lends their support to the award winning Gambian ‘TRY Oyster Women Association’ as one of its project partners.
The embassy has provided funds to TRY Oysters Women Association to develop sustainable oyster production in 5 communities throughout the Tanbi National Wetlands Park.
The funds will taught 5 different communities how to grow oysters on sustainable bamboo structures located within the river Gambia, eliminating the need for the female oyster growers to harvest and damage the fragile mangrove ecosystem.
It is estimated over 300 female oysters growers benefited from the project with communities at Abuko, Kartong, Ebo Town and Faji Kunda all involved. The sustainable eco-friendly method of harvesting oysters can increase oyster production by more than 10 times resulting in significantly improved livelihoods for the female oyster growers.
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