The Republic of Ghana is located in West Africa, on the coast of the Gulf of Guinea. More than half of Ghana’s supply of fish for consumption is provided by its traditional artisanal fisheries industry and accounts for over three million livelihoods. Tuna, shark, anchovy, mackerel and Sardines are offshore and inshore pelagic species that are caught by fishermen with hook lines and mixed gears.  Snappers, groupers, dentex and croakers are captured by the purse and beach seines and set nets. 

 (Harrod, O.L., Bell, J., Townhill, B.L. (Ghanaian Artisanal Fisheries Adapting to Climate Change, One Ocean Hub, Global Challenges Research fund, UK Research and Innovation, 2025) 

The fishing is carried out predominantly by men, including  the boat captain and the crew, whose members can be boys as young as eight years old (Far Dwuma Nkodo, 2019, p. 8). Though this varies across communities, women may provide the funding that allows for fishing expeditions to take place (Far Dwuma Nkodo, 2019, p.4). However,  this does not guarantee the women a product to sell, as the fishermen will often sell their catch to other traders regardless of who had provided the funding {Far Dwuma Nkodo. (2019).

Gender Analysis: Ghana's Artisanal Fisheries 2019 (pp. 4–19). ( p. 6).

People interact closely with the fish ecosystem and some human behavior destroys livelihoods and food security in the community through overfishing, illegal fishing practices, pollution, habitat destruction and climate change, which impacts fish distribution and abundance.

In Ada Foah, Ghana,  several generations of women team up to pull in the fishing nets embedded in the rough waters near the windy coastline.  From babies on backs to grandmothers, females of all ages  join the men on the sand  to sort the fish from the garbage collected in the mesh and then pull and roll the nets onto the beach. The tugging is synchronized by the rhythmic calls of the group’s determined leader. 

Female  processors and fishmongers are responsible for preparing, preserving, marketing, selling, and distributing - to both domestic and international markets - the raw fish that is brought to them by their male counterparts. Women that are known as “fish mummies” finance these post-harvest tasks themselves 

(World Bank; FAO; IFAD (2009). Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook. Agriculture and Rural Development, Washington, DC: World Bank)

As fish stocks are being depleted by irresponsible human behavior,  the Ghanaian artisanal fishing villages must now seek alternative sources of food and income. 

To meet environmental performance standards, Meridian Port Services Ltd (MPS), a container operator at Ghana’s Tema Port, supports sea turtle conservation by building a hatchery between Old Ningo and Prampram, Ghana. Here, a woman and mother is paid to house sea turtle eggs relocated from beach nests. The eggs are threatened by natural and human threats such as poaching and  by-catch from illegal fishing as well as  beach erosion and increased sand temperatures exacerbated by climate change. 

Although sea turtles are technically protected by law, tradition and cultural taboos that condemn the killing of sea turtles -- often communicated by the women fishworkers -- are often of greater significance than enforcement by the authorities. But these women may also fall to the temptation of supplementing their livelihoods by selling sea turtle meat and eggs in the black market. In the nearby coastal town of Winneba, a fishmonger confesses with tears that she desperately ate turtle meat because of dwindling supplies  of fish in her area with little government subsidy. 

(Interview, Danielle Berkowitz-Sklar, 2022, Winneba, Ghana) 

She is the woman with the greatest influence at landing sites. While the Chief Fisherman is the ultimate authority in all aspects of the fisheries in the village, the Queen bargains  costs with fishermen, mediates conflicts in processing and trading, and is the voice for the women in the artisanal fishing sector.

{Far Dwuma Nkodo. (2019). Gender Analysis: Ghana's Artisanal Fisheries 2019 (pp. 4–19) pg 12

In Ada Foah, Ghana, the primary fish processing method used by women  is smoking, followed by salting, drying and frying. 

She estimates that her age is 60, and she is one of the few women in Mankoadze, Ghana who never married. Her legacy to her community is her recipes, cooking style and her local knowledge of fishing traditions. She shares these with younger generations.  

(Interview, Danielle Berkowitz-Skalr, Mankoadze, Ghana, 2022)

Fish accounts for more than half of the intake of animal protein and the majority of fish,  like grouper, snapper, sardines, mackerel is smoked, preserving the fish and enhancing its flavor. Women fish processors smoke fish in the famous Chorkor Oven, which originated in this coastal fishing suburb  of the capital of Ghana. A 1960’s upgrade from earlier, more traditional models, the Chorkor oven is more efficient but it continues to cause serious health risks for respiratory illnesses, carcinogen exposure, burns and eye irritations. There is limited access to safer ovens, cold storage, and packing technology or higher salaried jobs because of gender-based constraints that would improve the quality of life of these women and their family members. 

(Sustainable Food Trust, Behind the smoke: The story of female fish smokers in Ghana, July 29, 2022)

Mother coaches her daughter on how to fry fish. Raising her child on the coast in Greater Accra, Ghana, she also takes a moment to share stories of  the fishing boats and the community’s belief that “ If you're in trouble at sea, a sea turtle will save you. “

(Interview, Danielle Berkowitz-Sklar, 2022, Greater Accra,  Ghana; Harper, S., Zeller, D., Hauzer, M., Pauly, D., & Sumaila, U. R. (2013). Women and fisheries: Contribution to food security and local economies. Marine Policy, 39, 56–63.)

A fishmonger and recent widow in Old Ningo, Ghana pays homage to her spouse by dressing in black for a year after his passing. Even in grief,  she  continues to fulfill her duties as a trader and processor of fish. 

(Interview, Danielle Berkowitz-Sklar,  Old Ningo, Ghana, 2022)

Yet, she has no doubt that her smoked grouper is one of the town’s best. The smoking process not only makes the fish very tasty, but it also extends its shelf-life of the fresh fish she buys from the artisanal fishermen. As chairperson of the local association of women fish traders, she is also in charge of distributing the fish to the markets and reselling the unsold smoked goods back to the fishermen. She began to learn her livelihood at just nine years of age from the women in her family. Now, her fish is one of the highest in demand, and she is passing down the trade and traditions of the seashore onto her daughter.  Hands-on mother, resourceful cook, savvy businesswoman and charismatic boss, she is indeed a colorful woman.

(Interview, Danielle Berkowitz-Sklar, Ada Foah, Ghana, 2022)

Women fishmongers display the fish they brought from their local  villages to sell and trade at the open-street fair which is the heartbeat of the community. It’s the go-to-place for food and household needs. 

Awule Suupuu. Giant Sea bass. Awula Afua. Cornish Soul fish. Osene. Chain pickerel. Tantra. Longtail stingray fish. Opete kuukuu. Large mouth sea bass. Ŋshɔŋ waa. Sea snail. Kakadi amaa. Octopus.

For buyers, this salted fish will survive beyond peak fishing season.

Resourceful fish processor transitions the fish bucket to the laundry bucket to allow her “to process” the clothes for her entire family when the work day is finished for everyone else.