Y1 Progress report | Miriam Ameworwor

Sustaining the Livelihood of Women Fishers Along the White Volta River in Northern Ghana

Research activities started with the application for ethical clearance in July 2025. The ethical review process lasted for three months. Clearance for the social aspect of the research was received from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Institutional Review Board (CSIR-IRB) on 8th October 2025. While awaiting clearance, other preparatory activities were undertaken, including procurement and community engagement. Also, fishery data collection was commenced.

Procurement

All equipment needed to undertake the research has been procured. The initial procurement included ice chests for the fish samples, plastic buckets and bowls, hand gloves, paper towels, and sample bags. A water quality meter and an electronic weighing scale were procured after contacting several vendors to obtain the best offers.

Community Entry

Upon initiating the project, the beneficiary communities, Dipale and Nawuni, were visited in August 2025 to introduce the project and seek their acceptance. At Nawuni, 16 fisherwomen and 9 fishermen were in attendance, including the chief fisherman. 9 women and 18 men attended the community meeting at Dipale, all engaged in fishing and other fishery livelihoods, including boat-making, fish processing, and fish trade. The project was well received in the two communities. They shared their expectations and concerns with the research team:

Community’s Expectations

• The research team’s expectations of the community regarding information should be outlined to them.

• The research team should make the research findings known to them, unlike in previous projects.

• The research should produce tangible outputs that will benefit the community.

• Community fisher groups should be registered with the necessary government authorities with the project's help, which could increase their chances of gaining government support for food production.

Community’s Concerns

• The women’s fishing season peaks from May to November. Fishing activities are greatly reduced in the lean season (December to April) due to very low catches.

• The spilling of the Bagri Dam in the neighbouring country, Burkina Faso, causes high water levels and sometimes flooding, disrupting fishing activities.

• The traditional authorities of the two communities have also been visited to inform them of the project in their community. The two chiefs pledged their support for the project. The community's concerns about the fishery's seasonality necessitated a change in the proposed sampling frequency. The sampling frequency was readjusted from bimonthly to monthly, considering the seasonal availability of the research specimens, particularly the women’s fish catch.

Fish Data Collection

Fish samples have been collected monthly from August 2025 to date. Fish samples will be collected for 12 months. So far, eleven months of sampling have been done. Fish samples were collected from both the women’s and the men’s catch. Samples collected were weighed in the field, preserved on ice, and transported from the study site to the CSIR-Water Research Laboratory in Tamale. Samples were sorted by species in the laboratory, and the number of each species was counted and recorded. The standard length, total length, and body weight of each fish species were measured, and sexual maturity was determined.

Based on data collected so far, 8 459 individuals, made up of nine fish species from four families, have been sampled from the women’s catch at Dipale. At Nawuni, 3 484 individuals representing 11 fish species from six families have been sampled. From the men’s fishery at Dipale, 633 individuals comprising 46 fish species from 19 families have been sampled. Comprising 38 fish species from 18 families, a total of 532 individuals were sampled at Nawuni. Data collection from the men’s fishery, which was undertaken over a period of 6 months, has been completed. Data collection from the women’s fishery, however, is yet to be completed.

Water Quality Data Collection

Data on the quality of the White Volta River is collected monthly alongside the fish sampling. The parameters being measured include temperature, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, turbidity, pH, and salinity. Measurement of the parameters, except turbidity, is done in situ using the AZ 86031 Water Quality Meter. Water samples are collected for turbidity determination in the laboratory.

Social Data Collection

Focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted in the two study communities to explore factors that favour shifts in gender roles within fisheries, in fishing practices, and in resource conflicts. Discussions were held separately for men and women to allow women to express themselves freely on the issues. However, to validate each other's outputs, the two groups were brought together after the discussions. One member from each group then presented their group's output to the combined group. During the validation of the men’s output, one point concerned women using fishing as an excuse to deny their husbands their conjugal duties. This sparked a heated debate among the men and women fishers. According to the women, the effort put into fishing was to support their husbands, and their husbands were not being fair in using fishing to accuse them of wrongdoing. The debate ended with the women asking the men (their husbands) to fully meet all their financial and other family needs, so that the women (as wives) can fish less.

Other Stakeholders Engagements

Engagements have been held with the Fisheries Commission, Ghana's government regulatory authority for fisheries resources. The regional office of the commission established rapport between the officers in the research communities and the research team to ensure swift communication and participation. Engagements with individual fishers occurred during sampling visits to communities to learn about their fishing experiences and the challenges women face. Also, I have joined a woman fisher on an experimental fishing expedition to learn about the fishing process.

Data Quality and Management

A monthly collection of fish data is being conducted to reduce the effects of seasonality on data quality and to enable easy identification of trends. To reduce errors and bias in the data, the length and weight of each specimen in the men’s catch and each individual of any other species in the women’s catch, except the dominant species, are taken. Also, length, weight, and maturity data are collected on 100 individuals of the dominant species in the women’s catch for every sample collected. In effect, a total of 200 individuals of the dominant species are worked on monthly.

In ensuring that the water quality data is representative of the quality of the river water, in situ measurements are taken at three points of the river, upstream, midstream and downstream in each community and the mean is calculated.

During the FGDs, voice recorders were used to record discussions. The records were transcribed to validate the notes taken. Again, to validate data entered into Excel sheets, the Principal Investigator cross-checks it against the data notebook. Data collected so far has been backed up to an external drive and Gmail and has also been shared with other team members. After completion of data collection, the research data will be uploaded to the UP data management platform.

Transdisciplinarity

Initially, my understanding of transdisciplinary research was that stakeholders were informed of the research objectives and their expected roles, and then played those roles. However, engagement with community members in my research process has improved my understanding of transdisciplinary research. I have come to understand that transdisciplinary research involves co-creating research with your stakeholders, sharing ideas with them at every step of the process, and treating them as part of the research team. Stakeholders in my research ask me, as the project lead, for updates from time to time to know how far the process has come, how far it has to go, how best to get things done, and whether they are playing their roles as expected. Stakeholders are integral to delivering on the research objectives; they are part of the research team, and their views, concerns, and input must be given the necessary consideration, respect, and appreciation to make them feel part of the team. The success of the research process depends on it.

Annual report submitted by Dr Miriam Ameworwor

(summarised for publication by Heidi Sonnekus for the FAR-LeaF Programme)