Scientists in search of climate-smart techniques for fish preservation and value addition

It’s midday and heavy clouds lurk in the horizon. Fish mongers at Sindo fish drying centre in Homa Bay County are a worried lot —  they are just about to make losses. Rainfall at this time of the year means that their omena (silver cyprinid), which is drying under the sun, must be retrieved immediately. Most of the catch will go to waste if it does not dry further. But during this rainy season, the sun doesn't shine much.

"These are some of the challenges we have always grappled with simply because there is a change in weather conditions," said Florence Akinyi, a fishmonger and the chairlady of Sindo business self-help group.

However, something positive could be on the way. The group, among many others within fisher communities of Homa Bay and Migori counties, is trialing a new method of drying fish using solar tent driers—a greenhouse-like structure fitted with shelves as chambers for drying the fish.

This is in response to an intensive study conducted by WorldFish in collaboration with Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)-Africa Center, the Gender Impact Platform and the two county governments to examine the impacts of climate change on the livelihoods of fisher communities in the Lake Victoria region through a gender lens.

"We wanted to understand how fisher communities adapt to the impacts of climate change, especially when there is drought or floods and when temperatures are high or low," said the lead researcher, Prof Dorothy Amwata.

"The study found that within the two counties, large volumes of fish are landed every day, but a lot of it is wasted due to challenges related to post-harvest handling," said Prof Amwata, who is also an associate professor at Murang'a University of Technology and the Dean of the School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

She noted that omena, also referred to as dagaa, quickly depreciates in value when it doesn't dry well, and therefore most of the catches are thrown away due to the offensive stinking smell they produce.

Under normal circumstances, omena requires nearly the whole day under the sun to dry properly. "But when rainfall interrupts, chances of making losses are very high," said Ms Akinyi.

"Such loss of income, particularly for women who solely depend on fish mongering, has a huge social and financial impact on their  livelihoods," said Prof Amwata.

 The study further found that there was a lack of cold chain facilities and other preservation and processing technologies, an unreliable power supply, and a lack of proper marketing systems and networks.

Based on these findings, WorldFish in collaboration with partners has embarked on another phase of the study to find acceptable climate-smart techniques that can be used by fisher communities to adapt to the impacts of changing weather.

"We have so far identified equipment that is climate-smart and can help address issues of post-harvest losses and value addition for the fish to minimise waste while improving income, especially among women," said Dr Rahma Adam, the social inclusion and market scientist at WorldFish.

One of the interventions was the introduction of solar tent dryers. The dryers are made up of a strong transparent polythene sheet worn over a wooden or metallic frame. They work through evaporative drying using the greenhouse principle. When set up in the sun, heat from the sun passes through the polythene. Still, it gets trapped within it, thereby raising the internal temperature. Cool air flowing in through an opening gets heated up and moves out moisture from fish put on shelves inside the dryer.

"Unlike direct sun drying, which takes at least eight hours to dry omena, fish in the solar tent dryer dries in just four hours, and in case of rainfall, there is no need to retrieve them," said Ms Akinyi, noting that the new dryers are more hygienic and safe from predators such as birds that always prey on the drying fish.

The scientists are also testing other technology and value-added innovations such as renewable energy (solar) freezers for cold storage, roasting and smoking kilns, and appropriate fish display boxes. "These technologies and innovations reduce post-harvest losses and are likely to address climate change impacts, especially among women along the value chain who process and trade in fish," said Dr Adam.

"We are therefore working to develop better policies for the two counties regarding climate change and its impact on the fisher folks, with a huge focus on the gender aspect, empowering women and youth," she added.

According to the African Great Lakes Information Platform, Lake Victoria supports the largest freshwater fishery in the world, producing one million tonnes of fish per year and employing 200,000 people who support the livelihoods of four million people.

According to Dr Adam, addressing the challenges at the nexus of climate change, gender and aquatic foods can also advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on climate action, which calls for urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.

"Such interventions can also boost SDG 5, which aims at achieving gender equality and empowering women and girls, as well as SDG 14 on life below water with a strong focus on aquatic foods, which is central to the livelihoods, food and nutrition security of more than 800 million people in developing countries," she said.