Strengthening the role of women in fisheries and aquaculture

Almost half of the 120 million people who work in the fisheries industry and associated value chains are women -  often poor women.

Men and women usually work in different parts of the value chain. Whereas men work in capture fisheries, women perform preparatory work, fish processing and trade. Women dry and smoke fish, and sell this from a basket they carry on their heads from village to village in the beating sun.

Poor women and children gather shells and crabs, and cultivate seaweed in the inter-tidal zone. Altogether 38 million people work in aquaculture, but there is no breakdown of these statistics by gender. In aquaculture many women work in the production of fry to fingerlings, manage fish ponds and produce fish feed.

Increasing awareness and knowledge of women’s roles is essential, so that women are not marginalized in development projects. It is a must that women also should derive benefits from fisheries and aquaculture projects.

What is Norway doing

Norad has conducted a study of women’s roles in value chains in the fisheries industry and aquaculture in Mozambique. The study established that women in the fisheries industry had no access to credit. Women worked under dreadful conditions and had no influence on decisions made in the fisheries sector. This study is now being followed up by the Norwegian Embassy in Mozambique in collaboration with local authorities and the Royal Norwegian Society for Development.

Norway has supported an international network of researchers who work on gender and women’s issues in aquaculture and fisheries. Norway has provided backing for two conferences arranged by the network where researchers, mostly women, presented and discussed their research. In 2014 a conference was held in India (GAF 5). The conference partly dealt with promoting work on women’s rights and gender equality in relation to the activities of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) and the Asian Fisheries Society (AFS). The former has an active website. Women’s participation was prioritized at other fisheries and aquaculture conferences that received support in 2014.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) carried out a gender equality review of in 2014 the EAF Nansen Programme. The aim of the review was to strengthen the gender dimension in programme. Altogether 19 recommendations were suggested on how focus on women could  be reinforced in the programme.  Gender sensitive project management and dissemination of information were central points.

Norway has supported the International Coalition in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) since 1986. ICSF targets artisanal fisheries and has played an active role in the work to put in place voluntary guidelines for sustainable artisanal fisheries. ICSF publishes Yemaya, a newsletter on gender and fisheries.