Technology and tradition in west African maritime fisheries : Tombo, Sierra Leone

The primary locus of the study is Tombo, Sierra Leone, a village of about 8,000 inhabitants, situated near the southernmost extension of the Freetown peninsula, on the north shores of Yawri Bay. Separate sections examine the history of West Atlantic peasant fisheries; the historical background of Tombo; the socioeconomic and technological development of the Tombo fishery from the mid-nineteenth century through 1950; and changes to the fishery thereafter, through which Tombo has developed into an industrial center for the production and exchange of fishery products in Sierra Leone. The study concludes that, with the growing participation of the fishery in the capitalist economy, Tombo fishermen have begun to share problems faced by all peasant producers in Africa, namely, lack of postharvest support services, low purchasing power, and difficulty obtaining an equitable return for their labor in the market place.