Assessment of post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana, Ethiopia
Fish are essential for ensuring food and nutrition security; and economic growth. However, post-harvest loss poses a significant challenge in the value chain due to the perishable nature of fish. This study aimed to address the information gap on post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lak...
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The Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic Science
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
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| Online Access: | http://www.e-fas.org/archive/view_article?doi=10.47853/FAS.2025.e4 |
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| author | Solomon Birie Minwyelet Mingist Mulugeta Kibret |
| author_facet | Solomon Birie Minwyelet Mingist Mulugeta Kibret |
| author_sort | Solomon Birie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Fish are essential for ensuring food and nutrition security; and economic growth. However, post-harvest loss poses a significant challenge in the value chain due to the perishable nature of fish. This study aimed to address the information gap on post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana. Data were collected through direct field observation, questionnaire-based loss assessment, and load-tracking methods. Assessment results revealed that fishers incur three types of losses, namely: physical, quality, and market forces, at different points in the value chain. The main causes of loss were identified as delays in net hauling, poor post-harvest handling, and the absence of a market for open sun-dried fish. An average of 1.45 ± 0.51 kg of raw fish loss was estimated per fishing trip. The physical loss of raw fish resulted in an annual loss of 5,121.85 Ethiopian Birr ($102.43) per fisher, representing a total percentage loss of 6.32%. The estimated annual mean financial losses due to both physical and quality-related factors in dried fish products were valued at 1,178.5 Ethiopian Birr ($23.57), representing 11.32% of their total income. To mitigate the extent of post-harvest losses, the fishers used different methods, like drying poor-quality fish rather than discarding it. The findings of this study revealed that post-harvest fish loss was not as severe as compared to other water bodies in Ethiopia. This is a good trend showing proper resource utilization to ensure food security, where other fishers from different parts of the country can learn from. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5c732e47623b4ae1bf8930daac0ce89f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2234-1757 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | The Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic Science |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-5c732e47623b4ae1bf8930daac0ce89f2025-02-10T08:20:28ZengThe Korean Society of Fisheries and Aquatic ScienceFisheries and Aquatic Sciences2234-17572025-01-01281304110.47853/FAS.2025.e4Assessment of post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana, EthiopiaSolomon Birie0Minwyelet Mingist1Mulugeta Kibret2Department of Fishery and Aquatic Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar 79, EthiopiaDepartment of Fishery and Aquatic Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar 79, EthiopiaDepartment of Biology, College of Sciences, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar 79, EthiopiaFish are essential for ensuring food and nutrition security; and economic growth. However, post-harvest loss poses a significant challenge in the value chain due to the perishable nature of fish. This study aimed to address the information gap on post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana. Data were collected through direct field observation, questionnaire-based loss assessment, and load-tracking methods. Assessment results revealed that fishers incur three types of losses, namely: physical, quality, and market forces, at different points in the value chain. The main causes of loss were identified as delays in net hauling, poor post-harvest handling, and the absence of a market for open sun-dried fish. An average of 1.45 ± 0.51 kg of raw fish loss was estimated per fishing trip. The physical loss of raw fish resulted in an annual loss of 5,121.85 Ethiopian Birr ($102.43) per fisher, representing a total percentage loss of 6.32%. The estimated annual mean financial losses due to both physical and quality-related factors in dried fish products were valued at 1,178.5 Ethiopian Birr ($23.57), representing 11.32% of their total income. To mitigate the extent of post-harvest losses, the fishers used different methods, like drying poor-quality fish rather than discarding it. The findings of this study revealed that post-harvest fish loss was not as severe as compared to other water bodies in Ethiopia. This is a good trend showing proper resource utilization to ensure food security, where other fishers from different parts of the country can learn from. http://www.e-fas.org/archive/view_article?doi=10.47853/FAS.2025.e4FishLake TanaLoss reductionPost-harvest lossValue chain |
| spellingShingle | Solomon Birie Minwyelet Mingist Mulugeta Kibret Assessment of post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana, Ethiopia Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences Fish Lake Tana Loss reduction Post-harvest loss Value chain |
| title | Assessment of post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana, Ethiopia |
| title_full | Assessment of post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana, Ethiopia |
| title_fullStr | Assessment of post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana, Ethiopia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Assessment of post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana, Ethiopia |
| title_short | Assessment of post-harvest fish losses at the fishers’ level in Lake Tana, Ethiopia |
| title_sort | assessment of post harvest fish losses at the fishers level in lake tana ethiopia |
| topic | Fish Lake Tana Loss reduction Post-harvest loss Value chain |
| url | http://www.e-fas.org/archive/view_article?doi=10.47853/FAS.2025.e4 |
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