The Winners and Losers in Finfish Trade in Mafia Island: A Value chain analysis

Abstract

Fish trade in Mafia involves several players in the value chain from fishing to the plate either in Mafia Island itself and or mainland Tanzania. This paper investigates the different actors in the value chain to establish how much each of them contributes to the process of adding value to fish as a traded commodity in the markets of Mafia and Mainland Tanzania with the intention of understanding the winners and losers of the fish trade in terms of how much they have to contribute towards the process and how much they gain from it. Study results show that small scale fishers in Mafia are mostly on the losing side by spending long hours preparing for fishing, long hours undertaking risky activity of fishing in their rudimentary canoes plus the cost of fishing gear acquisition and maintenance. Due to their disadvantaged position of lacking the necessary facilities for preservation and storage of their fish catch, they are forced to sell their catch at low prices in exploitative market arrangements to avoid spoilage and therefore loss. The findings of this study points to one major policy implication on improvement of fishers’ welfare. Market access and arrangement for small scale fishers and women fish vendors need to be addressed to remove the unnecessary exploitative arrangements existing in most fish landing sites and selling places. This will help to reward the hard work and risk taken by fishers; women fish vendors and reduce their poverty situation.