The Journey Begins

Standard Sierra Leone oyster survey kit

So after spending the last couple of weeks preparing for the trip, the journey has finally begun. Right this moment, I've set up camp for the night in a very generously furnished Nero Coffee shop at Heathrow as I wait for my flight in the morning.

The photo is a culmination of my efforts over the past couple of weeks gathering all the equipment I am going to use. It’s a laboratory in a suitcase - 1 portable oven, 25 scales for weighing oysters in all kinds of ways, a manual vacuum pump, secci disc, pH me

ter, as many water sampling bottles as would fit in my case, a pair of horrendous sandals (which I plan to use as little as possible), and more. Notice that I hadn't even begun to pack my own clothes when the photo was taken. Thankfully, Brussels Airlines has a generous weight allowance, and I was

exceptionally well equipped for weighing my baggage.

My supervisor, Francis Murray, has spent hours over the past week developing my qualitative research skills - turning interviews, meetings, or group discussions into numerical figures that can be easily understood. In the past I have been used to counting plankton and measuring temperature, yet this is a new and intimidating field for me. But I am beginning to get my head around it.

I'll admit that because I have spent most of my time buying equipment and reading about qualitative research, I know shockingly little about oysters and mangroves. Thankfully, there is a 7 hour plane ride to solve that problem.

A comfy camp for the night at Heathrow

But the plan, once I get to Freetown (the capital) will be to hit the ground running. We need to identify the range of products of products sold and where they are sourced. But more importantly, we need to learn more about the lucrative fresh oyster tourist market. All exciting stuff.

 

A quick bio and my role in the project.

As a 22 year old aquaculture master’s student from Stirling University, I found the prospect of developing oyster culture in Bonthe, Sierra Leone as part of the Darwin Initiative project an exciting yet challenging task. Because both my parents work in NGO’s in Southeast Asia and after living in Vietnam from age 11-18, the decision to take part in a development work for my thesis was not difficult. My part in the project will focus on studying the management, property rights, markets, and livelihoods of oyster fishing communities in the Sherbro estuary Marine Protected Area. I will also be modelling water quality within the estuary to determine distribution of oysters and sites where culture could be possible. I look forward to the challenges and opportunities I will find in Bonthe, but will learn a lot from working in a new field and being a new member of the community. 

The Darwin Initiative Project: Can oyster culture in Sherbro evolve into a sustainable livelihood?

Sadly, many of you may know Sierra Leone for the conflicts of its past, depicted masterfully in Edward Zwick's film: Blood Diamond. It has more recently appeared in western media during the Ebola outbreak. However, it is a resilient country where open conflict is a thing of the past, and the recovery from Ebola is underway.

The Sherbro Estuary is a pristine mangrove ecosystem where oyster culture is an important livelihood and source of income for rural communities. Oysters are an important source of protein in the area and is harvested mainly by women.

In 2014 the Darwin Initiative, with funding from Difid (the UK government development agency), set up a project with the aim of developing sustainable livelihoods for fisherwomen in the Sherbro Estuary Marine Protected Area. The intended outcome is to increase income of 40 households and the size of oyster populations by 2018. Sadly, the Ebola outbreak brought project operations to a standstill. Yet things are moving forward as I write.

Oyster fishing at the moment is largely for subsistence, as most members of the community live in a hand to mouth existence. Lack of cooling equipment means oyster meat must be removed from the shell and smoked in order to be preserved, resulting in a substantial loss in value. So it is mainly a source of protein for the local community. One of the intended outcomes of the project will be to develop a supply chain where the value of the fresh product is maintained and can be sold in markets of the surrounding area.

But before a market is developed, more needs to be learned about how the fishery is managed. Sherbro Estuary is a marine protected area, but regulation and enforcement relies on agreements between members of the local community rather than a government enforcement body. It is important to gain an understanding of what these agreements are before trying to develop markets any further.

So far 15 fishing communities have been identified within the estuary, an oyster culturing structure has been set up, and some water quality parameters (Salinity, temperature, pH) are being measured. However, these activities need to be expanded, and the dynamic of the fishery management must be understood.