Godfrey George writes on the daily struggles of some Niger Delta fisherwomen
The tiny bush path leading to the Wilbros Waterside Akiama Community, Bonny Island, Rivers State, is quiet except for the occasional chirping of birds and some crickets singing in the afternoon breeze.
A pear tree decorated with red clothes, white chalk and some carvings stood rightwards and another tree overflowing with dry leaves, leftwards, forming two pillars. It is a long walk to the once busy Wilbros River named after the Wilbros Group Incorporated.
Many villagers, who spoke to our correspondent, said that fishing activities, especially by women, have reduced drastically in the past year.
Arriving at the river bank, it looked somewhat different, almost dry. A resident of the community, Miracle Morgan, told Saturday PUNCH that it was an unusual development that has left many wondering what may be responsible.
“The river comes and goes with the tides. It is not anything new but we recently noticed that whenever the river comes, it doesn’t get as full as it used to before now. We don’t know why but we know that something must be affecting the flow somewhat,” he said.
Two young boys and two older women were seen washing their nets in reparation for fishing.
It is quite an unusual sight to see women go fishing, but it has become the norm in many Niger Delta communities as a result of poverty and underdevelopment plaguing the region for many years. Despite the abundance of many natural resources such as crude oil and gas, the region has suffered many woes.
The first fisherwoman at the river, who gave her name as Mma Ala, told our correspondent that life has not been rosy since the death of her husband in 2008.
The 67-year-old widow said her husband went fishing in the nearby Dema community for days as usual but never returned.
“They said his boat capsized and that the sea was bad. Some other people said it must have been some kind of spiritual attack. I haven’t even come to terms with what to believe. The people he went with returned to tell us the story of how they were all fishing from different boats but could no longer see my husband as he had fallen into the river.
“My husband, like many fishermen, can swim, so the story was not clear at all. I think I agree the theory of attack because no other explanation fits best.
“We found his corpse four days later in Macauley (another community in Bonny Island), mutilated by crabs and other animals, and as is the culture, he was buried in the mud there,” she said, holding back tears.
Since he was the breadwinner of the family and she had five children to take care of, Ala said she had to look for something to do to fill the vacuum created by his absence.
“I used to go into the bush and pick periwinkle, cook and remove it from the shell before selling it at the Bonny Cool Beach and around the Bonny Main Market. I used to also sell other sea foods. Then, my sons used to help me. Now, they have become something else. It is these two young ones that live with me with my younger sister, Comfort. Life has been really difficult for us,” she added.
Comfort told Saturday PUNCH that she joined Ala a few years after her husband’s death to assist her sister, Ala.
She also noted that she had lost her husband after a brief illness a few years earlier. The young widow said, “I was in Andoni, Rivers State, with my husband, and we were only married for about seven years when he suddenly developed an illness and died a few days later.”
She said, “We had no children so his in-laws began to accuse me of having a hand in his death. I went through hell. I had to run away for my life. I now work as a cleaner at one of the schools on the Island and fish during the weekends.’’
On what the experience has been on the rivers, Ala said, “We are women. We cannot have it as easy as men. I know how I fight cold and fear whenever we get to the middle of the sea before I cast the net.
“Sometimes, the sea will be rough and I have to steady the boat before I am able to cast the net. After the struggle, sometimes, I end up with little catch. Sometimes, I come back with nothing. I have to wash the net and set out again the next day. It is not an easy task. I have to be honest with you.”
Recounting one of her worst experiences, she said, “I had set out to fish like other days and I heard gunshots. I was alone at the time because Ala was not feeling too well.
“I was in my canoe, setting the net and the gunshots persisted. Confusion set in. I was at the middle of the river and could see the speedboat approaching. I had to lie down flat in the canoe and hope not to be shot.
“I was so lucky. The speed boat passed, still shooting and I quietly got up, paddled calmly back to the shore in tears and retired home only to resume my fishing the next day. What will I do? It is not like I have a choice. Ala was sick. Someone needed to do it. If I don’t come out there, I will not feed.”
Plenty struggle, little catch
Ala also complained that the catch has not been as promising as it was before now. She noted that oil spillage and other environmental issues had driven the fishes away from the river.
“Sometimes, we toil for hours before we are able to get something small. It was not like this before. The oil and gas people have spoilt our river for us. We cannot even make a living at all. We don’t work in the oil companies; the little one we are managing, they are spoiling it for us.
“Before now, if you get to the middle of the water, you can use it to ‘drink’ garri because of how clean it was. But now, with the level of waste and pollution, if anyone tries that, one is inviting problems to one’s self,” she lamented.
She also said that crime and insecurity had made many young women move away from the trade.
She added, “Fishing used to be lucrative, but not anymore. All we manage to get, we eat part and sell just a few only to use the money from the proceeds to buy food items. It is not something one should do for long. But I am old, and I am not complaining.”
On why she chose to be a fisherwoman, she said, “It is like a legacy. Look at me na! What else can I do? I don’t see myself doing other things. This is something my late husband and I used to do together.”
A former fisherwoman, Mrs Eremina Pete, told our correspondent that she abandoned fishing in 2015 due to dwindling catch after 20 years in the trade.
She added that fishing, especially for women, was tasking and required more than physical energy.
“I fished for almost 1o years in Bonny Island. Before I got married, I was fishing in Kalabari Town, Rivers State, with my mother and sisters in the early 90s. At thet time, there were more women in the river. It is not the same thing now. Even the men are leaving the creeks.
“The marine fishers who do fishing on a large scale are also a problem for us who do it on a small scale. You set your fishing baskets in the river and by the time you go to check it, some ship or boat may have scattered them. I can say that I was frustrated out of fishing,” Eremina said.
She also noted that the activities of illegal refineries and oil spillage contributed to why she left the profession for catering.
“I am now a caterer. But, fishing was lucrative then. The water was clear and the catch was good. My husband and I used to go together in one boat. I assisted him in arranging the fishing gears and all that, and he would cast the net. I used to set the basket. I was good at that. I also used to mend the fishing net when broken. I also dried the fishes and set them out for sale. It was what I used to raise my children.
“But since the activities of oil bunkers and other gas flaring activities intensified, we have known no peace. They have polluted our waters and caused us to suffer. That was why many other women and I left fishing. Sometimes, I miss the profession because it was such a peaceful one, but what do I do? People like us have no voice,” she added.
An elder in the community, who gave his name as Pa Dan, told Saturday PUNCH that women did not use to fish in the community in the 60s and 70s. He claimed that fisherwomen became a regular sight after the Nigerian Civil War of 1967-70, where women had to take care of their families while their husbands went to the war front.
“The women you saw on the Wilbros River are strong women. Not many women, these days, would do what they are doing. Many have left. When you see women at the river, it is either they are swimming or there to take pictures or make videos for social media.
“I see the fisherwomen sometimes when they pass and I am really proud they are doing something for themselves and not begging from house-to-house as many in their shoes would do.
“When I was strong and used to fish, we met a few women in the sea and helped them in ways we could. But fishing is not really something women are disposed to doing anymore. Many prefer farming cassava, picking periwinkle and other sea foods than doing the hard job of setting traps for fish or using the net to get them,” he said.
Fishing in Omoku, other areas
It was a short walk from the Obohia Junction, Omoku, Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, to the river named after the junction.
It was an almost a lonely walk except for the naked children who walked past with pails of water on their heads.
A resident of the area who gave his name as Confidence Olodi told our correspondent that the river held a history for the people as many believed that it was a source of sustenance to the people of Omoku during the civil war.
“The river is a historical symbol. Many believe it is sent from the gods to help the indigent people of Obohia as they have turned to it for dependence,” he said.
Omoku is estimated to have a population of about 200,000 people. Located near the boundary of Delta and Imo states, it is the headquarters of the Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area.
The town enjoys a relatively stable power supply. Lately, the oil firms which provide the services free-of-charge, have voiced out challenges linked to the many crises facing the town.
One which quickly comes to mind is the Don Wani (Don Waney) crisis which left a lot of families in pain to date.
In 2018, 22 people were allegedly murdered by a notorious kidnapper and cultist from the area, Johnson Igwedibia, aka Don Wani.
Though said to have been killed by the army, many residents who spoke to Saturday PUNCH still expressed fear.
A fisherman and indigene of Omoku, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear attack, said he and his wife left the creeks because of the crisis then.
“They kidnapped many fishermen and women. It is not like we have money. They kidnapped our members and demanded millions. When the crisis raged, I ran with my family to Port Harcourt. It was a terrible time. Things have never been the same for the fishing profession,” he said.
His wife, who earlier declined to speak to our correspondent, reached out a few days later to make comments on the issue.
She said she that she escaped being raped by armed men in the river on two occasions, noting that another colleague of hers, whom she identified only as Nne, was not lucky.
According to her, Nne was killed on her way back from picking periwinkles sometime in 2012.
“No one heard anything about her until we found her body. Some said she was raped. Some said she fainted inside the creeks. Others said she missed her way. She was not from the area. So, when it happened, we learnt her family relocated to Port Harcourt. I am trying to be safe here. Everyone is afraid for their lives although we all pretend everything is back to normal,” she said.
Through the help of a source, our correspondent traced Nne’s family to a popular street in Port Harcourt.
On contacting them, Nne’s youngest brother, who refused to give his name, told Saturday PUNCH that ‘we have move on,’ and he blocked our correspondent number from further contacting him.
Teacher, fisherwoman combined
Our correspondent met a 56-year-old teacher, who gave her name only as Martha, during the second visit to the Obohia River. Martha who said she worked as a primary school teacher in one of the government-owned schools in Omoku said she found time to fish after school ‘to keep body and soul together.’
She said since she had a lot of time on her hands after school, she used it to check on her fishing traps earlier set in the morning before leaving.
“I set the trap in the evening and check on it in the morning before school. Sometimes, I set it in the morning and check back after school. It is not easy o. It is catfish fishing and it can be stressful, but it helps me to pay some bills. The salary from teaching is barely enough. I used to organise after-school lessons but my husband told me to stop because it was taking a toll on me,” she noted.
On challenges facing her as a fisherwoman, she said, “People tend to look at you like you don’t know what you are doing. But I am glad many women like myself are now realising that fishing is for everyone both male and female.”
Source of livelihood
After an interview with Martha, a relatively older woman walked to the river bank set to get on a canoe.
She tied a faded wrapper around her waist and her headgear had seen better days. She also held a wooden paddle.
As she loosed the chain she had used to fasten her canoe to a stick ashore, she hummed a popular gospel song.
Speaking to Saturday PUNCH, the 74-year-old widow, who gave her name as Mrs Ngo Ngigba, said fishing had become a big trade for her.
She said, “Look at me. I am old. What else am I expected to do at this age? I am not educated and I am not complaining about being uneducated either. I started fishing many years ago. Those who knew me in my youth knew I was among the earliest women who began to fish catfish and crabs around here. I left the fishing scene for a while after I got married but I returned almost immediately because I don’t see myself doing anything else. I have set my traps and I just want to check them.’’
Speaking on how she had fared so far, Ngigba said, “Fishing is not as it used to be. It is like the fishes have disappeared. Before now, with garri and oil, one could get a basket full. It is not like that again.
“We spend hours on the river, toiling for a single catch. Everyone has abandoned fishing yet they all eat fish. Fishes have also become expensive, and people prefer eating fishes from trawling because of how cheap they are. They only come to us when they want something ‘fresh’ and cannot use the frozen fishes for their needs.”
She also noted that poverty was the major challenge many fisherwomen in Omoku were facing.
She added, “Many of us are poor and if we don’t go out to fish, we will not eat. Some of us have lost husbands. Mine died a long time ago. I have also lost some of my children. It has not been easy at all.
“There is also flooding that comes in almost every year around September and can be on till December before it completely dries up. By that time, it must have destroyed farmlands, making farmers harvest almost prematurely. It renders many homeless as we may have to run to other places.’’
Speaking about the flood, Olodi said, “The flood comes with a lot of reptiles, running all over the land. At least five kids were reported missing this year alone, carried away by the flood. The challenges are enormous.’’
Nigeria’s fish demand
Fisheries production especially from marine is important for the socio-economic development of Nigerians and its contribution to the nation’s economic growth. Nigeria is blessed with enough marine fisheries resources that can enhance increased fish production. Yet, fish supply from domestic production is far below the fish demand of her citizens.
Nigeria is a maritime country where nine of its 36 states have a coastline. The coastal states include Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, Edo, Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Cross Rivers in the southern part of the country. The importance of the fisheries sector to individuals and the economy of many developed and developing countries cannot be overemphasised. It is notable that fish provides more than 60.0 per cent of the world’s supply of protein, especially in developing countries.
A research by the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta indicated that the aquaculture and fisheries value chain was one of the most important sectors in Nigeria, employing 8.6 million people.
“With an annual demand of 3.2 metric tons and total production of 1.027 MT, aquaculture contributes 31 per cent to national fish production at 316,727 MT. This leaves a supply and demand gap of over two million MT,” it noted.
Two lecturers at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Olalekan Olaoye and Wahab Ojebiyi, in a paper titled, “Marine fisheries in Nigeria: A review,” noted that in Nigeria, fisheries, particularly as an important subsector of agriculture, contributes about 3.00 – 5.00 per cent to the agriculture share of the Gross Domestic Product.
The report also noted that the importation of fish and fish products accounts for over 56.0 per cent of fish supply in the country.
According to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, a 2015 report indicated that Nigeria spent over N125bn per annum on the importation of 1.90 metric tons of fish.
In 2010 alone, the country was said to have spent N97bn on fish despite the endowed marine resources; rivers, lakes, and creeks.
In a 2019 report by Feed Strategy, quoting from the Food and Agriculture Organisation, Nigeria’s aquaculture sector in 2017 produced more than 296,000 MT of fish, crustaceans and mollusks worth more than $848m.
Several species are produced in significant volumes, the most popular being the North African catfish (155,325 MT), other catfish (30,650 MT), carp (25,227 MT), tilapia (22,534 MT) and Nile perch (16,470 MT).
A Nigerian PhD researcher at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture, United Kingdom, Suleiman Yakubu, noted that despite the fact that fish is one of the cheapest sources of protein and a major contributor to the growing Nigerian population, the industry is overlooked.
Nigerian aquaculture, from the foregoing data, appears to have been undergoing a period of stagnation. In 2016, the FAO put the country’s total comparable output at more than 306,700 MT valued at around $876m.
A nonprofit organisation, WorldFish, estimated that the total fish production in Nigeria was “just under one million MT per year, of which almost 760,000 MT is from small-scale fisheries, and 313,213 MT is derived from aquaculture. To meet demand, fish valued at around $1m is imported according to the report.
Domestic fishing
Domestic or artisanal fishery refers to the harvesting or capturing of fish from natural water bodies such as rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds by small-scale fishers using both traditional and modern fishing gears.
According to Olaoye and Ojebiyi, stakeholders in artisanal fishery include local fishermen and women such as Ngigba and Martha, who fish either on a part-time or full-time basis employing several techniques, which may be cheap, and locally sourced.
It is usually operated at a subsistence level (though some are for commercial purposes) in rural areas. It is a nonindustrial fishery that covers the activities of small-scale canoes operating in coastal areas, creeks, lagoons, inshore water, and inland rivers.
Artisanal fishing involves the use of crude fishing tools and implements, little or no credit and a lack of infrastructural facilities, and a lack of skills. Due to its operation at the subsistence level, it is known as the small-scale fisheries and traditionally occupies the most important component of domestic fish production, contributing up to 90 per cent.
According to them, artisanal fisheries employ 18 times more fishermen than industrial fisheries while supporting the welfare of over 100 million persons globally.
World fish production has drastically been affected by marine fisheries production globally and in Nigeria. An FAO report noted that total fish production in the world was only 19.3 m MT in 1950 and it increased to 163 m MT in 2009.
Throughout history, marine fishing has always been the largest contributor to global fish production. As of 2009, marine capture fisheries contributed about half (49 per cent) of the world’s fish production, in comparison with mariculture (21 per cent), freshwater aquaculture (23 per cent) and inland capture fishery (six per cent).
The highest marine fisheries production was 87.7 m MT in 1996, while the production recorded globally was 79.5 m MT in 2009.
This implies that though global fish production has increased, marine fisheries’ contribution to total fish production had been on the decrease since 1996.
Environmental issues
An environmentalist, Mr Michael Simire, who spoke on the issue of pollution, noted that pollutants such as crude oil and gas could affect marine life.
He noted that oil pollution especially was one of the major ones in the Niger Delta region.
Simire said, “When there is an oil spill or leakage, it finds its way into the water bodies. Ultimately, marine life will take this oil into its system. So, it affects them as well and how they breathe and function. In the long run, some of them die off and those who live have reproduction issues. One of the major problems is that most of the toxins from the pollutants do not just go away even after they are cooked. Humans eat these fish and it impacts of their lives negatively.’’
He said plastics affect marine life, noting that the fishes mistake plastics for food and it affects them negatively.
He urged the government to be more responsible in its duty, stating that a huge population depended on the fish economy to survive and thrive.
PANDEF, agric experts react
The spokesperson for the Pan Niger Delta Forum, Mr Ken Robinson, in an interview with Saturday PUNCH, stated that fishing in the Niger Delta has been impacted negatively.
He said, “What the fisherwomen raised about the environmental issues and pollution abound. The aquatic life is depleting and there is also the issue of insecurity and harassment of the innocent fisherwomen by sea pirates, and this has affected the fishing economy.
“Women who are into fishing will continue to drop because of this concern. The dwindling rewards from fishing and harassment by young people who have become jobless and involved in illegal refining or piracy are major factors for this drop.’’.
He cited an incident three years ago when several dead fishes were found floating on the rivers and shores of most areas in Rivers and Bayelsa states.
“As we speak, we are not aware of the interventions or findings that the government did concerning the situation. The agencies of government concerned with the supervision, enforcement and monitoring of the laws regarding oil operations in the Niger Delta have also not lived up to expectations. The laws in this regard are weak as well.
“Government seems to be more concerned about revenue maximisation from oil business but neglecting other responsibilities in terms of enforcement, regulations and monitoring of how the operations are carried out to the detriment of the local economy. This has to stop,” he noted.
An agro-economic analyst, Mr Ade Oladayo, noted that for some of the regions that were mostly marine-based, fishing was a crucial aspect of their economy. This, according to him, is because fishes also attract buyers from outside the communities.
“Most of these fishes are mostly sold by women who buy from other fishermen and women. This is how they manage their own economy. Sometimes, the fishes are processed into higher-value commodities and sold to make more money to feed their families and send their kids to school.
“Fishing contributes to the economy of the communities and to that of the nation, and translates into development. Government must consider them because all of this has an incremental value that they add. If their children go to school, they are going to be exposed to better methods to further do fishing and promote the economy of the community,” he said.
On his part, a German-based Nigerian agricultural economic researcher, Mr Usman Musa, noted that there were policies, decrees, and acts put in place by successive Nigerian governments to regulate the stocks of marine fisheries resources in the country. He stated that the laws had been neglected by fishermen, women and the government who enacted them.
“These regulations include the Sea Fisheries Act of 1971, the Sea Fisheries (Licensing) Regulations of 1971, the Sea Fisheries (Fishing) Regulations of 1972, the Exclusive Economic Zone Decree of 1978, the Sea Fisheries Decree of 1992, and the 1995 Sea Fisheries Regulations,” he stated.
He also noted that globally and in Nigeria, overfishing was the primary human activity which posed a threat to marine fishery resources.
“In Nigeria, overfishing is caused by several interrelated factors such as an increase in population, ghost fishing, and problems associated with the creation of EEZ, and inadequate data and high-interest rates on loans.
“Environmental factors affecting the availability, adequacy and affordability of fish demands of Nigerians as a result of the deplorable state of the marine fisheries resources include pollution of aquatic environments and destruction of habitat.
“Pollution of the aquatic environments is a major threat to marine fish populations all over the world. Dumping of toxic waste in the sea and emptying of ballast water from ships into the sea are other human activities polluting the aquatic environment. The problem of the invasion of exotic fish species is linked to ballast water from ships.’’
He added that in Nigeria, the sources of pollution of the aquatic environment were industrial waste, raw/untreated domestic sewage, run-off of fertilisers and pesticides, sand mining, construction of canals, oil spills and climate change.
