Little attention has been dedicated to investigating the status and relevance of shellfisheries in Sierra Leone. This country assessment aimed to document the importance and contribution of shellfish resources to food security and livelihoods of women shellfishers in Sierra Leone.

The assessment used a participatory approach and involved identifying shellfish resources in the country, communities that depend on such resources and their socio-economic status, methods of exploitation and processing, and opportunities for improved governance. The assessment also looked at comparative quantities of species harvested, their value and ranking as a source of livelihood to the resource users.

15 out of the 20 shellfish harvesters interviewed in the assessment were women, and 5 were men. A total of 425 shellfish harvesters/processors were reported to reside in their communities. Of these 425 reported shellfishers, 220 were men or boys, and 205 were reported to be women or girls. However, this high number of men shellfishers is perceived to be partly a result of fishers incidentally catching shellfish as bycatch being reported as shellfishers.

Women harvesters, in particular, were 40% of reproductive age (15-49), while the remaining 60% were between ages 50-70 years old.

Women harvesters are reported to target sedentary or slow-moving species (oysters, cockles, razor clams, periwinkles, crabs and crayfish/baby shrimps), with men targeting motile or fast-swimming species.

Eighteen out of the 20 resource user participants interviewed do five of the six shellfishing activities of harvesting, transportation, processing, marketing/retailing and consumption. This indicates that there is no specialisation in the shellfish value chain in Sierra Leone, and it is highly vertically integrated, implying that improvements at any node can directly benefit harvesters and incentivise behaviour change for sustainable resource management.

There are more than ten species of shellfish that are economically important and exploited for food and other uses. The most important species, as captured in survey responses, are crabs, oysters, shrimps (4 species), lobsters, cockles (2 species), clams (2 species), snails (3 species), squids, and octopuses.

Harvesting of marine swimming crabs, lobsters, cephalopods and shrimps at the industrial scale and using pots and seine nets in the artisanal fisheries is dominated by men. Freshwater crabs, crayfish, and coastal juvenile shrimp are harvested by women and girls using pots and scoop nets. Women and girls dominate the processing of harvested shellfish (mainly smoking/drying).

Some shellfish species (e.g., crab, snails, lobster, squid, and octopus) are available and exploited throughout the year, while others (e.g., oysters, shrimp, cockles, and gastropod snails) are seasonally available mostly in the dry season.

All reported shellfishes harvested in Sierra Leone are used for human consumption, and the shells of a few species are used as feed for livestock, whitewash paints, tiles, ornaments, internal decoration, jewellery, ashtrays, road works, and as aggregate in the construction of houses.

Water bodies where shellfish were reported to be harvested by study participants were the Scarcies River Estuary for the Konakridee and Yongro communities, the Sierra Leone River Estuary for the Tagrin and Pamronko communities, the Sherbro River Estuary for the Kabawokor community, Nyandehun community, King Jimmy community, Domkobor new site community, and Gbongboma community.

There is no standard measurement method for daily or weekly shellfish harvests across participant communities, challenging estimates of total harvest volumes and values. Estimates are provided based on best guesses of kilogram equivalents of each of the different units of measurement used across communities. The average monthly income per shellfish for their primary exploited species is US $71.82.

Market outlets for shellfish in Sierra Leone include local markets in the coastal communities, while smoked products are taken to more remote and higher-paying market centres in the country's interior.  Participants reported that smoked snails are packaged for the US market at Tombo, but these are harvested by industrial trawlers and bought and processed by women.

Governance of the shellfish resources is currently weak in Sierra Leone, with open access by fishers at the small-scale level. In contrast, industrial operators that target shrimps, lobsters and cuttlefish do pay a license that is more expensive than finfish.

The small-scale harvesters of shellfish in Sierra Leone operate as individuals and do not belong to any organised groups. However, there do exist general fishers’ organisations, such as the Sierra Leone Artisanal Fishermen’s Unions/consortium and the community management Associations, that claim to seek the interest of all fishers, including shellfishers.

National and local laws governing fisheries, forestry, wetlands and protected areas management apply to shellfish exploitation, with much overlap and confusion in the management regimes.

The mangrove exploitation rate is high given its multiple uses locally, but participants also regarded these habitats as very important in climate change mitigation.

Major challenges to the sustainability of shellfishery livelihoods in Sierra Leone include safety regarding accidents at sea, cuts on hands and feet during harvest (particularly for oyster harvesters), the perishable nature of shellfish product, diarrhoea and cholera associated with shellfish consumption, and heavy metal accumulation in some shellfish, particularly sedentary species and those located in estuarine habitats experiencing discharge from mining areas.