Fishing and Marketing

Fishing represented and still represents a significant economic activity in Zanzibar. Fish consumption is 80 percent of the consumption of food protein, followed by vegetables 13 percent, beef 6 percent and chicken only 1 percent.⁵²⁸ Since the late 1980s, the Government has been less strict with the controlled market policy such that fish marketing and distribution have become easy and straightforward. When the fishermen arrive at a landing site, fish is sold by auction, depending on the quantity of fish and nature of the landing site. From the auction, fishmongers take the fish for distribution to consumers at different places. In the marketing process, fishmongers normally sell fish by lots or pieces as opposed to weights.

In general, with regard to fish sold during the period of free market economy, this study can summarise the trend of fish supply in Zanzibar by the following fish marketing and distribution patterns. The fishermen followed three main categories of marketing to expose of their daily fish catch as shown in the table (see Figure 4:1). One of the marketing strategies involves selling the fish to the retailers only, the retailers then distributes the products to the consumers. Fisherman retains some amount of fish       

527 Tindall et al., Fisheries in Transition, 12.

528 Hamza Z. Rijal, Narriman S. Jiddawi, Juma M. Akil, Ali U. Basha, and Hamad O. Juma, "The Social Assessment in the Coastal Community of Zanzibar (Menai, Mnemba-Chwaka and PECCA Conservation Areas)," (Prepared for the Marine and Coastal Environmental Management Project - MACEMP, Zanzibar, August, 2009), 14.

for home consumption (see number 1). Another marketing channel is that the fisherman sells his catch either to retailers or consumers and retains, however, some amount for his own family(see number 2). Another marketing plan is selling the product to the wholesalers who sell to the retailers and consumers (see number 3). One thing to note here is that it is difficult to collect records of that portion of fish catch, which the fishermen send home directly (see Map 5.1 at 'Home consumption' part) and therefore, it is only based on estimation.

Figure 5.1 Fish market at landing site - Wesha, Pemba Source: A. R. Mkumbukwa

1. 

2. 

3. 

There has been an increase in women participation in fish marketing in Zanzibar (see Figure 5.1). Such new marketing phenomenon was uncommon previously.

Consumers Home consumption  Retailers

Fishers

Consumers Home consumption Retailers

Fishers

Wholesaler/  Auction 

Consumers Home consumption  Retailers

Fishers

Numbers of women participating in the distribution and selling of fish have increased mainly because of two factors. First, there is "lack of alternative economic activities"⁵²⁹ that the women could engage in, and secondly, there is a "need for all family members to contribute to household income."⁵³⁰ Nevertheless, there are some differences that make women disadvantaged over men counterparts in a fish market field. For example, women have little access to variety of transport facilities that could ease trade over distance and time. While most women depend on local public transport (dala dala buses), male traders have variety of means of transport from dala dala, bicycles to motor bicycles for movement from one fish auction to another or for selling fish to different customers.⁵³¹ Very few fish sellers occasionally use motor vehicles to supply the products. Many women traders operate by roads in environs of Zanzibar Town and close to their households partly because of their commitment to other household activities.⁵³²

Men fish traders have a variety of choices for their market, including tourist hotels, which women were not able to access especially because of social traditions, norms, values and customs, which do not allow women to freely contact men.

Therefore, male dominate the fish market in places such as the main fish market in Zanzibar Town, hotels and restaurants.⁵³³ Additionally, most men engage in selling fresh fish while women sell either sun-dried, smoked or deep-fried fish. In addition to their engagements in fish trading, women have other reproductive responsibilities (such as caring for children) and other household works that make them more engaged for many hours of work than men who have time for socialisation.⁵³⁴ Therefore, men are relatively freer on communications and movement than women and they are easily facilitated with fish trading activities.

529 Sara Fröcklin, Maricela de la Torre-Castro, Lars Lindström, Narriman S. Jiddawi, "Fish Traders as Key Actors in Fisheries: Gender and Adaptive Management," in Ambio, Volume 42, Issue 8 , (Springer), 954, http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs13280-013-0451-1 Accessed 20 December 2013

530 Fröcklin, et al., Ibid., 956.

531 Fröcklin, et al., Ibid.

532 Fröcklin, et al., Ibid., 954.

533 Fröcklin, et al., Ibid., 956-7.

534 Fröcklin, et al., Ibid., 951 & 957.

Markets for fish export have never been good for Zanzibar due to a number of factors. Among the contributing factors that hinder the export of fish from Zanzibar embody a relatively low quality and quantity of fish production. Many factors have contributed to the low fish exports:

...the main cause of low catch of the inshore water fishery is due to lack of capital among the fishermen to procure and operate large fishing boats in distant waters. Also investors do not get convincing offshore data on status of stocks to invest in fisheries. Low fish exports are attributed also to quality products that are unable to meet international export standards. The poor quality of fishery export products from Zanzibar is largely due to inefficient fishing methods, improper handling, lack of storage, and processing facilities.

However, fish, lobsters, octopus, squids, dried sea cucumbers, hard shells, shark fins and skin of groupers are among the most valuable species exported to Kenya, European countries, United Arab Emirates and others. ⁵³⁵

Also related to the fishing as well as marketing issues was the question of onshore cold storage. In 1987, the Revolutionary Government is reported to have had four onshore cold storage facilities, which had storage capacity of 81 tonnes. Three of the facilities provided services in Unguja that included two cold storages of thirty tonnes each and one with twenty tonnes storage capacity. This means eighty out of eighty-one tonnes cold storage facilities serviced Unguja and only 1ton cold storage facility served Pemba.⁵³⁶ This made the fishermen in Pemba vulnerable to perishable fish and fish products, and therefore the fishers had to quickly sell their products⁵³⁷ or acquire private cold storage that were also expensive to purchase and maintain especially with the unreliable electricity in Pemba compared to Unguja. That contributed to different prices of fish between Unguja and Pemba, the price in Unguja being comparatively higher than in Pemba and that of Pemba was unstable.

535 Jiddawi, Vuai and Suleiman, Status of Fisheries, 20.

536 Ministry of Marine, Tourism and Forestry, "Pre-feasibility Study," 6.

537 According to the fishermen, this condition contributed to a low price of fish in Pemba compared to the same in Unguja. Interviews with Khamis Ali Haji and Masoud - 16.06.2011, Vitongoji - Pemba

5.3.3 Management of Fish and Mangrove Resources: Utilisation and Conservation