Improved fish smoking: Ghana

Abstract

Fish is an important source of food and income to many people in the developing world. In Africa, some 5 percent of the population, about 35 million people, depend wholly or partly on the fisheries sector, mostly artisanal fisheries, for their livelihood. Various traditional methods are employed to preserve and process fish for consumption and storage. These include smoking, drying, salting, frying and fermenting and various combinations of these. In Ghana, smoking is the most widely practised method: practically all species of fish available in the country can be smoked and it has been estimated that 70-80 percent of the domestic marine and freshwater catch is consumed in smoked form. The advantages of smoking fish are manifold. Fish smoking prolongs shelf life, enhances flavour and increases utilization in soups and sauces. It reduces waste at times of bumper catches and permits storage for the lean season. It increases protein availability to people throughout the year and makes fish easier to pack, transport and market.