It is midnight in Kru Beach, Robert sport, Grand Cape Mount County, and many families are already fast asleep, but Nana Nadge, 32, is out, locked in a battle against exhaustion and choking smoke.
The mother of five, who now considers a full night's sleep a luxury, is a fish dryer--and had to spend countless sleepless nights standing guard over her rudimentary mud oven stacked with trays of fish, tending to it while relentlessly battling the sting of the thick smoke emitting from the burning wood that preserves her fish. "I have no choice," she says, her voice hoarse and weary. "If I stop, how will I take care of my family? she said.
In Liberia, fishmongers like Nadge make up more than half of the fishing workforce. Around the world, they make up a huge percent of the industry. Their lives as fishmongers are a grueling reality, a round-the-clock struggle that leaves little time for rest. But this sacrifice comes at a cost, as studies have shown that prolonged exposure to smoke from burning wood, charcoal, or other fuels used in the fish-drying process can lead to severe health complications.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), pollution from open-fire cooking or drying methods causes respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular diseases, eye irritation, and even lung cancer. The health implications, as WHO warns, are something Nadge knows all too well, as she now suffers from regular eye irritation.
"Sometimes they suffered from respiratory illnesses such as asthma, breathing difficulties, and eye irritation," said Dr. Emmanuel Ekyinabah, a physician at John F. Kennedy Medical Center and professor at A.M. Dogliotti College of Medicine in Liberia.
A 2022 study published in Environmental Health Perspectives argued that poor eyesight, burning eyes, and dizziness are all strongly correlated with fish smoking, corroborating findings of previous studies that show that smoke exposure causes or exacerbates poor eyesight and other chronic respiratory diseases, as well as severe ocular complications.
"My eyes can burn badly time I am exposed to the smoke," Nadge says. "When the fish come at night, we dry them until the next day--sometimes two or three days straight. We don't sleep. We don't rest. We must keep putting fire under the fish, or it will spoil."
Although the study was carried out in Ghana, its findings are applicable to Liberia, as almost all fishing communities in West Africa and other regions share a similar tradition--using rudimentary, wood-fired mud ovens with trays of fish stacked on top for smoking. The fish are then checked regularly--every 15-20 minutes--so they do not burn.
And since refrigeration is not widely available in most fishing communities in Africa, the traditional method remains the only affordable means to preserve their catch, despite the long-term health risks. According to the WHO, smoke inhalation--primarily from burning solid fuels like wood and coal for cooking--is responsible for approximately 4.3 million premature deaths annually, with the majority of these deaths occurring in developing countries, making it one of the most significant environmental health risks globally.
The complications, according to experts, start subtly: constant coughing, eye irritation, and shortness of breath. Over time, the damage becomes irreversible.
Yet, the underlying effects of poverty--which affect more than 50 percent of Liberia's population of 5.5 million--leave these fisherfolk with no choice but to continue the hazardous job as a desperate means of survival.
While the traditional fish-drying method using open-fire smokehouses or makeshift ovens is inexpensive, it is a double-edged sword. On one side lies the promise of regular income, albeit meager, and on the other, a threat to personal health.
According to a2024 report by Sida on multidimensional poverty in Liberia, 70% of Liberians are poor when the middle-income poverty rate of US$3.65 per day is used as a threshold. Beyond financial poverty, the report states that the majority of Liberians also face challenges in at least one, and often more than one, other dimension of poverty.
This stark reality leaves hundreds of fisherfolk with the brutal choice of risking their lives just to survive. And so, for Teta Kerkula, the thought of not having enough to feed herself and her growing family--let alone care for them--is more worrisome than the health risks associated with her work.
Teta's experience encapsulates the heart-wrenching dilemma many fisherwomen face daily, since 47 percent of Liberians are food insecure, with particularly dire situations in rural areas, ranking Liberia among the hungriest countries in the world, according to the Global Hunger Index.
"The smoke has affected my eyes. At the same time, I now struggle with breathing difficulties. But I cannot stop this work," says Teta, who has over a decade of experience as a fisherwoman in Small Fanti Town, Grand Bassa County. "If I stop now, how will my children eat, go to school, or even go to the hospital? So, I cannot stop. I just have to keep going, no matter what."
Teta's worry is a common theme among the dozens of women interviewed for this story. Another is the grueling work experience, which takes a toll on their physical and mental well-being. The lack of better employment opportunities leaves little room for quitting, as doing so would make life even harder. The problem is compounded by the disproportionately high illiteracy rate among fisherfolk, especially among women.
"Life as a fish dryer is tough and risky. You have to wake up early in the morning most days--as early as 2 a.m.--if you want to buy good fish when the fishermen return from the sea with their catch," says Jessica Thompson, who lives in Popo Beach, New Kru Town, Montserrado County.
The hard work, Jessica says, starts from there, as the fish must be thoroughly cleaned before being stacked on top of the ovens, which are constantly fueled by wood to keep the fire burning until they are perfectly dry.
"As a practice, wood is essential for drying the fish. It gives the fish a brownish color and a salty odor, so it's almost unavoidable," she says, who has over a decade of experience in the business. "When the fish don't have that color and scent, people do not buy it."
"So, serious attention has to be given when drying the fish, or you encounter losses due to mistakes. Because of this, you have to spend a night or more if that is what it takes to get the fish perfectly dry for the market."
Liberia's air quality falls short of the World Health Organization guidelines. Smoke emission negatively impact both health and the environment, releasing carbon into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. Additionally, the country's mangroves and forts are gradually depleting due to illegal logging and deforestation.
Dr. Emmanuel Olatunji, director of environmental services and climate change, graduate program at the University of Liberia, explained mangroves and forests provide essential ecosystem services to communities. He emphasizes that cutting them down for fish drying not only harms the environment but also disrupts ecosystems and biodiversity.
"Fisherfolks are employed by nature, " he says, and mangroves provide habitat for fishes. If they are destroyed, fish populations decline, hindering catches and placing a burden on the government for employment."
He acknowledged that mangroves have been used for decades in fish drying due to the brownish color they impart. "To discourage this practice we must understand the motivations behind it," Olatunji argued. "Only then can we effectively reframe the message and offer viable alternatives."
Unlike theirUgandan counterparts, and those in Togo, Lome, many fishmongers in Liberia do not have access to advanced fish-smoking kilns that reduce health risks and make the process more efficient for women. In Uganda, the National Agricultural Research Organisation developed and made available a kiln with a smoke filter that removes impurities from the smoke generated during the fish drying process. This reduced the drying time to 12 hours--a fraction of the more than 24 hours previously required.
Chimène Afaya, a fish dryer in Togo, Ameho, and her group were privileged to a modern drying kiln oven from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Before now, she suffered from the smoke while drying her fish.
Unlike Nana, and her peers in Robertsport, Chimène and her colleagues received this modern oven from the FAO in Lomé, Togo
Photo credit: Tina S. Mehnpaine
"Our fish smoking problem is a bit complicated because the smoke is making it difficult for me to read. I'm hoping that with the FAO's modern oven, it will improve a bit," Afaya, a mother of four, said.
Participants of the Regional Women's Community of Practice Participatory Forum held in Lome, Togo, in February 2025 visited Chimène to talk about the impact of climate change on women. (Photo credit: Tina S. Mehnpaine)
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While thegovernment and the World Bankhave a US$40 million project for the development of Liberia's fisheries sector, little has been done to mitigate the health risks associated with the traditional fish drying process, despite these risks being acknowledged in the project documentation.
Since 2021, the project has focused more on establishing an industrial and an artisanal fish landing site at the Mesurado Pier in Monrovia, as well as other artisanal landing sites in Margibi, Maryland, Grand Bassa, Sinoe, and Grand Kru counties. also supported aquaculture development and strengthened the management and governance of the fisheries sector, developing human and institutional capacity and improving policies, strategies, institutional frameworks, and legal frameworks.
The lack of support for advanced fish-smoking kilns leaves Kula Sheriff, who has been a fisherwoman for over three decades--a trade she learned from her mother--with no choice but to rely on outdated and dangerous, rudimentary ovens.
"We can be up during the day and night just drying fish on the beach; some people take it home, but no matter where the drying takes place, it involves sleepless nights and inhaling a lot of smoke. Temporary protections like nose masks do not help either," says Kula.
While Kula had not heard of the Ugandan fish kiln until the interview, she says fisherfolk in Liberia would be "more than happy" to get such equipment, as it would reduce their waiting time and health risks and improve the quality of their dried fish.
Back in Robertsport, Nadge's drying rack of fish is finally ready. She rubs her eyes, exhausted, and prepares for another restless night. The smoke lingers around her, a silent predator, but she has no choice but to endure.
For her, and for countless women, the quest for survival takes precedence over their health. But each day spent in the smoke brings them closer to an uncertain fate. The question remains: How long must they keep paying this price?
This story was produced with support from the Louise Behan Grant, an initiative of the World Federation of Science Journalists.
