Assefa Ayalew, Abunna Fufa, Biset Wubet, Leta Samson
Sekota Dryland Agricultural Research Center, P.O. Box 62, Sekota, Ethiopia.
Addis Ababa University, College of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, P.O. Box 34, Bishoftu, Ethiopia.
Heliyon. 2018 Nov 19;4(11):e00949. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00949. eCollection 2018 Nov.
Fisheries play a significant role in food security, livelihood, and source of income in developing countries. The annual fish production potential of Ethiopia reaches up to 51, 000 tones, however, the actual production is much less than the potential that the country has. The fisheries sector of Ethiopian is not well developed regarding pre and post-harvest handling practices. Besides, post-harvest loss in the fisheries sector is not yet well-studied. This study objective aims to assess causes and extent of post-harvest loss associated with fish in Lakes of Hayq and Tekeze. Post-harvest loss assessment was conducted using a simple random sampling approach from October 2017 to May 2018. The study was conducted based on FAO recommendations of qualitative and quantitative field assessment methods. These methods include Informal fish loss assessment method (IFLAM), load tracking (LT) and the questionnaire loss assessment method (QLAM) methods were used to assess the causes and to estimate the amount of PHL of fish. The data generated by these methods were analyzed descriptively as well as a GLM model was used to understand the causes of fish loss in the two study lakes. A total of 140 randomly selected participants were included in the interview process. From these participants, 85 of them were from lake Tekeze while the rest were from Hayq. Results indicate that high environmental temperature, absence or delayed marketing, harvesting immature fish, predators, and flood are the most important causes of post-harvest loss of fish in the two Lakes. Besides a GLM model predicted that study lake, boat type used, boat ownership, species of fish harvested, preservation method used, distance to market (Km), Maximum catch/day (Kg), Minimum catch/day (Kg), and Fishing experience were essential predictors for post-harvest loss incurred by fishermen on daily basis. Based on secondary data from agricultural office, the monetary value of the post-harvest loss of fish was estimated to be 10,934,000 Ethiopian birrs (397,600 USD) for the last six years in the study areas. A considerable product loss in the fisheries sector indicates the need for intervention by stakeholders. Provision of support services and assets such as freezers, electricity generators, boats, legal net and on job training about proper handling practices may play a tremendous role in decreasing post-harvest loss in the fisheries sector of the study areas.
渔业在发展中国家的粮食安全、生计和收入来源方面发挥着重要作用。埃塞俄比亚的年鱼类生产潜力高达5.1万吨，然而，实际产量远低于该国的潜力。埃塞俄比亚渔业部门在收获前和收获后的处理做法方面发展不完善。此外，渔业部门的收获后损失尚未得到充分研究。本研究旨在评估海克湖和特克泽湖鱼类收获后损失的原因和程度。2017年10月至2018年5月，采用简单随机抽样方法进行收获后损失评估。该研究是根据粮农组织关于定性和定量实地评估方法的建议进行的。这些方法包括非正式鱼类损失评估方法（IFLAM）、负荷跟踪（LT）和问卷调查损失评估方法（QLAM），用于评估鱼类收获后损失的原因并估计损失量。对这些方法产生的数据进行了描述性分析，并使用广义线性模型（GLM）来了解两个研究湖泊鱼类损失的原因。共有140名随机选择的参与者参与了访谈过程。其中，85人来自特克泽湖，其余来自海克湖。结果表明，环境温度高、销售缺失或延迟、捕捞未成熟鱼类、捕食者和洪水是这两个湖泊鱼类收获后损失的最重要原因。此外，广义线性模型预测，研究湖泊、使用的船只类型、船只所有权、捕捞的鱼类种类、使用的保存方法、到市场的距离（公里）、每日最大捕捞量（公斤）、每日最小捕捞量（公斤）和捕鱼经验是渔民每日收获后损失的重要预测因素。根据农业办公室的二级数据，研究区域过去六年鱼类收获后损失的货币价值估计为1093.4万埃塞俄比亚比尔（39.76万美元）。渔业部门相当大的产品损失表明利益相关者需要进行干预。提供诸如冰柜、发电机、船只、合法渔网等支持服务和资产，以及关于正确处理做法的在职培训，可能在减少研究区域渔业部门的收获后损失方面发挥巨大作用。
