Fisherwomen are given EO knowledge to safeguard their investments and lives

Women involved in marine artisanal fisheries in Ghana were engaged and trained on the Safety at Sea Service of GMES and Africa. This happened at the annual meeting of the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners Association of Ghana (CAFGOAG) on the 6th of December 2022. It was an opportunity to educate them on how the ocean state information provided by the Marine and Coastal Areas Management in North and West Africa (MarCNoWA) can save their investments and properties, increase revenue, and above all protect the lives of the fishermen, most of whom are their husbands and workers.

  

Representatives of women's leadership engaged in the meeting

Present during the meeting were women canoe owners, fishmongers, and fish smokers among other influential women living in the coastal communities. They hailed from communities of all four coastal areas regions of Ghana, namely the Volta, Greater Accra, Western and Central regions. These communities are classified as risk-prone communities in terms of their exposure and susceptibility to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. Unfortunately, the most affected people in such communities are often the youth, the aged, and the women. Most women devote their monies, time, energy, and skills to the well-being of the family within the artisanal and informal fishing industry, yet, their resources are not secured.

It was observed that the use of earth observation (EO) information by women who are directly impacted by coastal issues is largely not felt, as many stakeholders in the various workshops and forums of Phase 1 of GMES and Africa pointed out. To address this, the second phase of GMES and Africa has set the goal of 30% female representation in EO-related fields and encourages knowledge exchange, best practices, and full participation of women in EO initiatives.

It is part of its sustainable development agenda and focus on the marginalized groups as well, that the consortium led by the University of Ghana, has started engaging directly with the women in fisheries. The meeting was led by the Gender and Youth Advocacy Officer, Ms. Phyllis Akua Amamoo, and the National focal point (NFP) from the Fisheries Commission. Mrs. Eunice Ofoli-Anum. They educated the women on accessing the 3-day ocean state forecast information using their phone via the USSD code *920*88# or the GMES-UG mobile application. 

Phyllis Akua Amamoo, guiding participants to access ocean state information

The women expressed their excitement about the engagement and requested that such engagements should be extended to all women in fisheries on the coastal belt of Ghana. They wish GMES and Africa Programme supports them to educate their peers as much as possible.

The NFP. Mrs. Ofoli-Anum addressing a section of the gathering

The MarCNoWA consortium supported the 2nd Annual General Meeting of CAFGOAG dubbed “IYAFA, Sustaining Ghana’s Artisanal Fisheries in the face of Economic Challenges: Leadership, Networking, and Resilience”. The Coordinator of the MarCNoWA project was the main guest speaker as well. The United Nations General Assembly had declared 2022 the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022).