A model for evaluating interventions designed to reduce post-harvest fish losses

A general compartmentalised model which follows the fate of fish entering and leaving discrete stages between capture and sale at retail markets and the consequent changes in potential revenues at different stages is presented. The model can be used as a first step for evaluating the economic effects of different interventions designed to minimise post-harvest losses and was designed to be capable of expansion, to include progressively more complex situations, or to be contracted for adaptation to specific fishery systems and so become a useful tool for policy-makers and fisheries officers. The potential usefulness of the model is described using an example of an abridged version.This compares the results of transporting Nile Perch (Lates niloticus) caught in three different ways at Lake Victoria, Tanzania, and transported either by rail or by air to markets in Dar-es-Salaam, in a sequential chain with the highest losses occurring at the processing stage. It is concluded that to catch fish in beach seine nets and to transport them by air results in the best monetary return amongst the six comparisons made. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.