Post-harvest fish loss assessment in small-scale fisheries
A guide for the extension officer
By
Yvette Diei-Ouadi and Yahya I. Mgawe
Abstract
The field activities within the regional post-harvest loss assessment programme insmall-scale fisheries in Africa (an FAO regular programme conducted from 2006to 2008) tested and validated three key fish loss assessment methodologies thathave been developed over the past two decades: the Informal Fish Loss AssessmentMethod (IFLAM), Load Tracking (LT) and the Questionnaire Loss Assessment Method (QLAM).
This manual describes these three methods in detail and provides practical guidelines on when they can be used and on how to use them to collect reliabledata, be it for planning for an intervention to reduce losses in a particular area or atthe country level or monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of a loss reductionintervention. While the IFLAM is used to generate qualitative and indicativequantitative post-harvest fish loss data that can be used to inform decision-makingor to plan the use of LT and the QLAM, the latter are quantitative assessment methods. Load Tracking is used to quantify losses at stages along the distributionchain or losses related to specific activities, such as fishing, transport, processingand marketing. Key data related to the cause and effects of losses from an IFLAMstudy are validated using the QLAM before any suitable intervention is introduceda combination of the IFLAM, LT and QLAM could then be used to monitor andevaluate the effects of an intervention. Illustrative examples and case studies arepresented to facilitate the uptake and use of the methods in systematic fish lossassessment.
This fieldwork tool also enlightens the extension officer on how to communicatethe data from the assessments and the design of loss reduction interventions to helppolicy-planners and decision-makers understand important issues facing fishingcommunities.
It is hoped that this manual will be of interest to all those involved in fisheriestechnology and development, field research, data analysis and reporting as well asparticipatory approaches to development.
Contents
1 – Introduction
2 – What are post-harvest fish losses?
- What does “post- harvest fish loss” mean?
- Main types of losses covered in this manual
- Summary of causes of different PHFLs
3 – Planning for the process of PHFLA
- Which loss assessment methods to use?
- Planning for PHFLA
4 – PHFLA using the IFLAM
- Suggested IFLAM schedule
- Practical process of the IFLAM
5 – PHFLA using load tracking
- Objective for load tracking
- Unit of measurement or experimental unit
- Sampling
- Replication
- Response
- Load tracking data analysis
- Case studies
- Reporting
6 – PHFLA and validation using the QLAM
- Locations for using the QLAM
- Respondent
- Enumerators
- Questionnaires
- Pilot testing
- Data analysis and reporting
7 – Report writing and communication
8 – Planning implementation and monitoring of loss-reduction interventions
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