Wives and Traders: Women’s Careers in Ghanaian Canoe Fisheries
Canoe fishing is extremely important in Ghana, both as a source of protein and income on the family level, and as a national source of revenue. Women play a crucial role as intermediaries in the processing, distribution and exchange of fish. They have also played an important role in the introduction of new technology into the artisanal sector as creditors, financing canoes, nets and outboard motors. And an increasing number of women are owners of means of production and managers of fishing companies. This article focuses on women’s careers and how they become fish mammies in Moree, a Fante fishing town in the Central Region. A particular attempt is made to explain how women use their roles as mothers, wives and daughters in their strategies in the fishing economy. It is argued that there is a clear correlation between their economic success and their domestic position.
