Engagement with fishmongers in other markets from December 2012 to February 2013: Results, constraints and opportunities identified
After working with wholesalers in the Kermel market in September 2012 and due to the interest expressed by wholesalers in other localities, the local Mundus maris team in Senegal has extended its campaign for respect of the minimum size of fish. Beyond the wholesalers themselves, some fisheries administration officials - especially those in charge of ensuring size compliance - also expressed great interest and have worked with this campaign. The different partners involved are:
At the Central Fish Market in Dakar
The Central Fish Market was built a few years ago as part of the Senegal-Japanese cooperation. Some 500 to 600 wholesalers are present on a daily basis. More than 80% of these are women-fish mongers who, having sold their produce, return home daily. It is a marketing hub with fishery products coming from all the landing places of Senegal, and even including those from neighbouring countries, such as Gambia, Mauritania and Guinea. The wholesalers supplying the market are men.
For the campaign itself, we relied on three different actors as potential partners and profile each other.
It is first of all the checkpoint team, a service representing the fisheries department. This team is responsible for statistics, the control of origin and safety, but also to ensure strict compliance with size limits, although we note on the basis of our own observations that this is not respected. The team leader, Mr. Issakha, and colleagues assessed the fish ruler. They found it revolutionary as the only ruler that the team had at its disposal is made of paper and can hardly be used in the wet conditions of a market like this. The team only regrets the fact that the water-resistant ruler is expensive and that it would take a large amount of money to introduce it considering the number of wholesalers operating daily in the market.
Then we worked with one of the associations of wholesalers headquartered in the market: the National Collective of Wholesalers in Senegal. Collaboration between Mundus maris and the association of wholesalers is facilitated by Babacar M'baye, co-founding and member of the national office. Mr. M'baye, better known under the name M'baye Rokh, is the first to have worked with Mundus maris in Senegal as part of our pilot activities with fishmongers (see website). He greeted us at the Central Market in the name of the group of wholesalers.
The president of the association, Mr. Babacar Ndiaye, granted us an interview after which we went for a dip in the market. Two important remarks made by the women on site need to be highlighted, namely
(i) the ruler is easy to understand and can be used, because the key for them is to recognize the species, but
(ii) for effectiveness and impact, they propose some additional actions to be included in the agenda of wholesalers' organisations active up-stream in the Central Market and at other locations along the Senegalese coast.
The big wholesalers responsible for the supply of domestic markets in the country in turn wish to deploy other means, e.g. to help them publicise the regulations on the allowable size of marketed species during their movements. In the opinion of the big wholesalers, beyond these supports, it will important to consider other activities, including meetings between wholesalers and the fisheries administration at the most important landing centers. According to them, the ruler raises the question of law enforcement. The simple demonstration of this tool alone may not achieve the expected results.
At some sales points of fish in the city of Dakar
In the last few years we have witnessed a proliferation of sales outlets of fish in the city of Dakar and the suburbs, usually at major intersections of bigger roads, where households who can not go to traditional markets, can get supplies. The success experienced by these outlets is mainly due to the fact that they help save time in a growing city where mobility is increasingly becoming problematic.
So we expanded our awareness activities to some sales outlets of fish, such as exchange market at the bridge towards Hann, the Soumbédioune market and the bridge of the Patte d’oie. At these outlets, the success experienced by the fish ruler is related to its easy understanding by the micro fish vendors, especially since all species sold on site are illustrated on the ruler.
However, there is the recurring question of how to provide each woman or small groups of women with enough rulers. According to the women interviewed, namely the more numerous ones in Soumbédioune, the simple fact of not having a measuring instrument - especially for those who do not want to make any effort - could be an excuse to ignore the regulations on the size of the species.
Fish landing places in Mbour and Joal
Our work in Mbour was facilitated by Mr. Mame Ousmane Gueye, member of the National Office of UNAGIEMS (National Union of Economic Interest Groups of Wholesalers) and also Chairman of the Inter-GIE (Legally established groupings of fishermen, fishmongers and fish processors in Mbour). The two fish rulers we put at the disposal of Inter-GIE allow for demonstrations with wholesalers and micro-fishmongers.
These tests started in December 2012 making their way and hopefully we shall meet the wholesalers responsible in the near future for an appreciation. The same exercise is underway at Joal, in collaboration with the responsible wholesalers operating at the loading dock and with the collaboration of Messrs Mbaye Fall et Amadou Samb, members of the local association of wholesalers.