Category Archives: Pacific, Oceania

A welcome new FAO gender Handbook to support the Small Scale Fisheries Guidelines

Posted on June 25, 2017 | Leave a comment

A very welcome addition to the technical support for the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication – a handbook –  has just been released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).  Called “Towards gender-equitable small-scale fisheries governance and development“, the handbook written by Nilanjana Biswas, of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), is a treasure trove of essential background knowledge on women, gender and small-scale fisheries, combined with practical advice and case examples on incorporating gender equality principles in small scale fisheries work. The target audience is broad – from government officers to fishers and their communities, fish worker groups and researchers, as befits a product of the very participatory development process the Handbook team took.

The Handbook is organised in 3 parts:

  • Part 1: Understanding gender and the role of women in small-scale fisheries
  • Part 2: Responsible fisheries and sustainable development through a gender lens
  • Part 3: Ensuring an enabling environment for gender equality and supporting implementation

Among the rich and varied advice and explanatory boxes are such gems as a guide to tried and tested FAO methods for assessing post-harvest losses, and disaster response and rehabilitation issues to target to help women. Throughout, the Handbook has action points for policy-makers and for community service organisations, offering a few key tips on each subject.

A particular highlight is the set of case studies, each containing a description of the case, followed by a gender-sensitive “Let’s analyse this…” section that gets to the heart of the gender issues.

Here is the list of Case Studies:

  1. Women in fishing communities on Lake Victoria
  2. Tenure rights of traditional fishing communities in Raigad, India
  3. Recognition of indigenous community-owned land in Nicaragua
  4. War-affected women in the fishing villages of the Mannar Coast,
    Sri Lanka
  5. Self-regulation by women harvesters in the Gulf of Mannar, India
  6. Mandira Marine Extractive Region, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  7. Transboundary issues and fishers – learning from India and Sri Lanka
  8. Transboundary issues and fishers – learning from the European Union
  9. Diversifying livelihoods for small-scale fishing communities in Uganda
  10. Pacific Fishing Company on Levuka Island, Fiji
  11. Migrant Chinese women workers employed in oyster shucking in Japan
  12. Growing violence and abuse in small-scale fisheries in South Africa
  13. Reclaiming the Marol fish market in Mumbai, India
  14. Impact of harbour fishing on fish trade in Kerala, India
  15. Impact of competition along Lake Victoria in Kenya and on inland
    fisheries in Zambia
  16. Impact of industrialization on women in small-scale post-harvest
    fisheries in South Africa
  17. Issues of cross-border trade for traditional women fish vendors in
    Cambodia
  18. The risks of neglecting women in policy implementation
  19. Post-tsunami rehabilitation in Aceh, Indonesia
  20. Impact of mine pollution in Buyat Bay, Indonesia
  21. Matsyafed in Kerala, India – an apex cooperative for small-scale fisheries
  22. Impact of seasonal fishing ban on women fish traders in
    Puducherry, India
  23. Marshall Point, a coastal indigenous fishing/farming community in
    Nicaragua
  24. Women fishers fight corruption in the Sunderbans, India
  25. An example of value chain analysis (VCA) (in Malawi)
  26. Public hearing on issues of women in the fish trade in Kerala, India
  27. Enabling women’s participation in meetings in Kigombe, the United
    Republic of Tanzania
  28. Fisherwomen in Brazil organize for their rights
  29. Regional Fisheries Livelihood Programme for South and Southeast
    Asia (RFLP)
  30. Mainstreaming gender in the BOBLME project

Download the full Handbook at this LINK.

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Posted in Advocacy, Africa, Asia, Bangladesh, BOBLME, Brazil, Cambodia, Change, China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Europe, FAO, FAO, UN Women, World Bank, IFAD, UNIDO and other multilateral, Fiji, Fish post-harvest, Fisheries, Gender, Gender and development, Global, Iceland, ICSF, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kerala, Malawi, Mekong, Men, Mumbai, Nicaragua, Nilanjana Biswas, Pacific, Seafood industry, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tamil Nadu, Tuna, Uganda, Value chain analysis, West Bengal, Women, Zambia

Expert panel recommends promoting wider opportunities for women in giant freshwater prawn

Posted on April 10, 2017 | Leave a comment

Drs Malasri Khumsri, Amonrat Sermwatankul and Jarvey Demaine, the expert panel on gender and giant freshwater prawn (Macrobrachium) farming  at the Giant Freshwater Prawn 2017 Conference, concluded that, while women’s involvement in low-cost marginal occupations was well-known, the range of opportunities for women in the value chain was much wider and these had to be identified and promoted. The panel session was the first formal activity of the recently launched Asian Fisheries Society Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section and was supported by the Thailand Department of Fisheries, Asian Institute of Technology and the Giant Freshwater Prawn 2017 Conference.

The panel discussion provided a platform for development of a community of people committed to equitable and effective cooperation among researchers and academics, technicians, fisheries officers and non-governmental organizations in research and practice on gender in aquaculture and fisheries and explore the ways to promote gender equitable and sustainable livelihood opportunities in GFP value chains.

The panel examined the gender arrangements in Bangladesh and Thailand (see the report), and, in the case of Thailand, suggested the way forward.

Read the report of the panel session here.

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Posted in AFS-Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section (GAF), Aquaculture, Asia, Bangladesh, Gender, Malasri Khumsri, Men, Pacific, Thailand, Women

Mapping the action on International Women’s Day ’17

Posted on March 21, 2017 | 1 comment

Map showing the locations (mainly at country resolution level) for events and news about women in aquaculture, fisheries and seafood in honor of International Women’s Day 2017. If you have more events from 8 March 2017 to put on this map, please let us know at: e-mail genderaquafish@gmail.com.

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Click this LINK to view the interactive version of of the above map, created with eSpatial mapping software.

Before, during and after 8 March 2017 (International Women’s Day), news, tweets and posts flooded in relating to the Day. Our group shared these events via two roundup messages. We have now put the events onto the map above, using eSpatial mapping software, and generous assistance from Ciara at eSpatial (thank you Ciara!).

To read the details of any event, click on the marker for it. We have placed the event marker on the country (sometimes city or state) where the event happened, although many have global or regional significance.

This seemed to be the most active IWD ever from a fisheries, aquaculture and seafood industry perspective. Let’s hope it is a sign of an active and fruitful year ahead for gender equality in the sector!

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Posted in Africa, Aquaculture, Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, Conservation, Events, FAO, UN Women, World Bank, IFAD, UNIDO and other multilateral, Fiji, Fish post-harvest, Fisheries, France, Gender, Global, Goa, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Kerala, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Pacific, Oceania, Regional, Samoa, Seafood industry, South Africa, Sweden, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States of America, Women

Women’s voices, gender equity champions and a gender lens all matter – converging messages from GAF6

Posted on February 24, 2017 | Leave a comment
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A Thai woman gets ready to process threadfin salmon for the market. Photo: Supaporn Anuchiracheeva, the Small-scale Fishers and Organic Fisheries Products Project.

In bold outline, the take home messages from the GAF6 full report – Engendering Security in Fisheries and Aquaculture – converge on the following: women’s voices and gender equity champions  can make a real difference; and a gender lens lets us see inequalities and how to remedy them. These points were woven through the 68 rich and varied presentations, panels, posters and workshops of GAF6. Read the full report here, see the take home messages below.

  • Participants were urged to focus on gender relationships, not simply roles, and on intersectionality, as women’s and men’s lives were interconnected and gender interacted with other systems in society, e.g., cultural, political and economic structures.
  • The 2014 Small-Scale Fisheries Voluntary Guidelines are opening up new policy space on gender equality. Yet, in implementing the Guidelines, women have been deterred from taking part in decision-making, are invisible in most fisheries statistics and their interests excluded from national policies – unless NGOs and women’s groups have advocated for inclusion. Even when women’s needs are recognized, money and expertise may not have been allocated. In a hopeful sign, some recent projects are committed to gender equality.
  • Aquaculture is gendered. Gender roles and relationships in aquaculture follow typical social patterns of ownership, rights and power. Unless they break out as entrepreneurs, women are positioned in small-scale, near-home, and low technology aquaculture, or as low-paid labour in medium and industrial scale operations. Nevertheless, small-scale household aquaculture can fulfill important subsistence roles and be improved to better satisfy food security and nutrition.
  • A persistent thread on fair livelihoods in fish value chains was that gender equality and equity must be fought for, and protected by active measures, rather than expecting it to happen through a sense of natural justice.
  • Using a gender lens brings deeper understanding of climate and disaster adaptation. Flexibility, versatility and agency are keys to people’s resilience. Gender-blind efforts to help people adapt should always be challenged.
  • Real progress in securing gender equality will not be achieved unless social norms are transformed.

Read the whole GAF6 report here – Link

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Posted in Africa, Americas, Angela Lentisco, Aquaculture, Arlene Nietes Satapornvanit, Asia, awards, Bangladesh, Change, Climate Change, communication resources, Costa Rica, disaster responses, Dr B. Shanthi, Europe, Events, Events, awards, grants, employment, Fish post-harvest, Fisheries, food security, France, GAF6, Gender, Gender and development, Gendered labor studies, Geography, Global, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, M.C. Nandeesha, Maldives, Marie Christine Monfort, Men, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Nikita Gopal, Norway, Pacific, Oceania, Philippines, Regional, research, Siri Gerrard, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Women, women divers, Zambia

Economics, trade analysis of fish value chains lacking good gender information

Posted on January 18, 2017 | Leave a comment

The 2016 conference of the International Institute for Fisheries Economics and Trade addressed how to incorporate the gender dimension into fish value chain analysis, especially when very limited gender information is available. The report of the gender sessions are now online.

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Woman at Tambak Lorok, Central Jawa, Indonesia, brings two yellowfin tuna ashore. Photo: Zahrah Izzaturrahim.

The 14 presentations and discussions on gender at IIFET-2016 highlighted that sex-disaggregated data and indicators must be improved. Using whatever information they could collect, experts presented gender analyses of value chains in Africa (Malawi and Nigeria), Asia (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand), North America (Mexico) and the Pacific (Solomon Islands), and global efforts on fisheries performance indicators and data sets. The presenters and participants discussed how, in these value chains, women are critical to adding value to fish, although within the household and society, ultimately men still make most of the key household decisions, sometimes despite interventions that seek to empower women. The gender report concludes by making some suggestions to IIFET in its future work on gender in fisheries economics and trade.

Read more the full report on the gender papers at IIFET-2016 here.

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Posted in Africa, Americas, Asia, Climate Change, Gender and development, Gendered labor studies, Global, IIFET, India, Indonesia, Kate Barclay, Malawi, Maldives, Mekong, Natural resource management, Nigeria, Pacific, Oceania, Regional, research, Research, communication resources, Solomon Islands, Stella Williams, Tamil Nadu, Thailand, Value chain analysis

Fiji and Solomon Islands articles feature in SPC’s Women in Fisheries Info Bulletin #27

Posted on December 24, 2016 | Leave a comment
2016-spc-wif27

Market vendor selling seagrapes (Caulerpa racemosa) in Suva. Photo: SPC WIF 27.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community’s 27th Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin features several in-depth reports on women in Fiji fisheries and rural communities, and a one on women in Solomon Island fisheries. In addition, several news items are carried.

The whole issue or individual articles can be found at this link.

Inside issue #27

  • Supply chain and marketing of seagrapes, Caulerpa racemosa (Forsskaål) J. Agardh (Chlorophyta: Caulerpaceae) in Fiji by Cherie Morris and Shirleen Bala
  • Changing patterns in household membership, changing economic activities and roles of men and women in Matokana Village, Onoilau, Fiji by Veikila Vuki
  • Gender issues in culture, agriculture and fisheries in Fiji by Veikila C. Vuki and Aliti Vunisea
  • The participation of women in fishing activities in Fiji by Aliti Vunisea
  • Toward gender-equitable fisheries management in Solomon Islands by Olha Krushelnytska
  • True gender champion recognised
  • Veikila Vuki: Cultivating the sharing of information on aqua women 

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Posted in Fiji, Fish post-harvest, Fisheries, Gender, Men, Natural resource management, Pacific, Pacific, Oceania, Regional, Seaweed, Solomon Islands, SPC, Value chain analysis, Veikila Vuki, Women

Milestones for women in fisheries

Posted on May 1, 2016 | Leave a comment

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2016, Yemaya, the gender in fisheries newsletter of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, collected a set of regional summaries of milestones for women in fisheries. In her overview for this issue of Yemaya, the editor, Nilanjana Biswas, concluded that while we take stock of, and celebrate the achievements, we should also reflect on the long road of struggle ahead—a struggle for the rights of small-scale fisheries; for the rights of women engaged in fishing, fish trade and fish-work. 

Cartoon courtesy ICSF, Yemaya Issue 51.

Cartoon courtesy ICSF, Yemaya Issue 51.

Read these summaries, plus other articles at: Yemaya. Here are the contents.

  1. Counting on Women by Sarah Harper and Danika Kleiber
  2. Women in Aquaculture by Arlene Nietes
    Satapornvanit et al
  3. Women in Fisheries in Africa: 1999-2015 by Jackie Sunde
  4. A Historic Journey by Cornelie Quist and Katia Frangoudes
  5. Profile: A.G. Chitrani: Transforming others’ lives with her courage
    Leader from Trincomalee, Sri Lanka     by Herman Kumara
  6. Milestones: General Recommendation on the Rights of Rural Women by Ramya Rajagopalan
  7. Cooperative Action by Suhas Wasave and Arpita Sharma
  8. Evocations of the Sea by Vipul Rikhi
  9. Women in Fisheries in Asia: 1978 – 2016 by Meryl Williams et al
  10. Q & A: Mercy Antony of Kerala by Venugopalan N
  11. Yemaya Recommends: Film – Oceans, the Voice of the Invisible by Alain Le Sann (translated Daniele Le Sann).

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Posted in Aquaculture, Asia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Fiji, Fish post-harvest, Fisheries, Gender and development, ICSF, India, Indonesia, International Women's Day, Kerala, Maharashtra, Malaysia, Mangalore, Pacific, Oceania, Philippines, South Korea, Women

Coral Gleaning in Lido Village, Papua New Guinea

Posted on January 21, 2016 | 3 comments

By Aung Si

University of Melbourne, Australia, e-mail: aung.si@unimelb.edu.au

The women of Lido Village, on the north coast of Papua New Guinea, have traditionally made an important contribution to their families’ protein intake by gleaning for marine invertebrates and small fish off exposed reef flats at low tide. Unlike their counterparts in many Pacific communities, however, Lido women improve their catch by constructing “gardens” on the reef flat, which are demarcated by metre-high rock walls, and enclose numerous rock pyramids of a similar height. The pyramids provide shelters for delicacies such as catfish and octopus, which are trapped by the rock walls when the water recedes. Crushed pieces of a poison vine are dropped into the water to stun the trapped organisms.

2015 PNG coral gardens Si2015_Chapter8

Fig. 8.2 from the chapter. Aerial view of Lido Village (N. coast PNG) at high tide, showing location of the o lɛ̃ depression in the fringing reef and the approximation of the coral garden belonging to Witepu, the mother of author Lahe-Deklin. The surf zone at the edge of the fringing reef is clearly visible, as is the seaward extent of the reef flat. Image courtesy of Google Maps.

In recent decades, an influx of imported “city” foods has significantly changed the diet of the people of Lido. As a consequence, coral gleaning has declined in importance, and the garden walls and pyramids are no longer maintained. Contact with powerful neighbouring languages, such as Bahasa Indonesia, Tok Pisin and English, has also impacted adversely on the knowledge of the names of numerous reef fish and invertebrates that were once consumed as staples. Many children are no longer able to name these common, culturally important organisms in their mother tongue, called Dumo. In a chapter of the book Ethnobiology of Corals and Coral Reefs (Chapter 8 Coral Gardens of the Dumo People of Papua New Guinea: A Preliminary Account), my co-author Francesca Lahe-Deklin and I have tried to document some of this endangered vocabulary of the Dumo language, as well as describe the cultural beliefs and practices associated with coral gardens. Historically, women would have been the main repositories of this knowledge, passing it onto the children (both boys and girls) that accompanied them on gleaning trips. The open sea beyond the reef flat is the domain of adult men, who catch large fish such as cod and shark. Women, on the other hand, specialised in tending their coral gardens in family groups, with each person in charge of a part of the garden.

Link: Chapter 8: Coral Gardens of the Dumo People of Papua New Guines: A Preliminary Account.

E-mail:  aung.si@unimelb.edu.au

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Posted in Gender, gleaning, Oceania, Pacific, Oceania, Papua New Guinea, Uncategorized, Women

2015: our year in review

Posted on January 1, 2016 | Leave a comment

 

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Group of presenters and attendees at WA2015 Women in Aquaculture and Fisheries Session, Jeju, Korea. Photo: Roy Palmer, AwF.

Wishing all our readers and contributors a healthy, productive and happy 2016!

Looking back on 2015, the Genderaquafish.org website continued to serve a large and very diverse range of people in 163 countries and territories in all regions. Our top 5 countries for readers were: India (2,973), USA (2,673), Philippines (798), Australia (607) and South Korea (537).

Through these electronic means, we hope that more and more people are becoming aware of activity and progress in gender equality in aquaculture and fisheries.

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Where our readers came from in 2015 – 163 countries and territories.

 
Picture1Genderaquafish.org visits by region are shown in the table. You may also wish to read the annual report provides by our hosts, WordPress.com: https://genderaquafish.org/2015/annual-report/.

Regions

You can read our posts by region. Asia and Africa were the regions on which we presented the most information. Check out our stories on other regions also: Oceania, the Americas, and Europe. We also covered a wide range of global themes and information.

Social Media

Although our total number of visitors to the website did not grow from last year, we experienced very good growth in the people “liking” our Facebook page (649 likes now) and starting to follow us on Twitter (212 followers). We invite you to join us on these sites: Facebook GAF, and Twitter @Genderaquafish.

Events

In 2015, we reported on two events that included gender sessions or papers, namely the World Aquaculture Society annual conference in Jeju, Korea and the  Seafood Industry and Social Development Conference in Washington, DC.

In 2016, we will be reporting on the 6th Global Symposium on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries (August, Bangkok), and the gender session at the International Institution for Fisheries Economics and Trade (July, Aberdeen). Keep abreast of planning for these events @ 2016 GAF Events.

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Posted in Africa, Americas, Asia, Australia, Europe, GAF6, Gender, Geography, Global, India, Men, Pacific, Oceania, Philippines, Regional, South Korea, United States of America, Women

Gender roles in Pacific coastal fisheries

Posted on December 12, 2015 | Leave a comment
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Satellite image of Veivatuloa village, Viti Levu, Fiji, showing  its mudflats. Source: Google Earth, in SPC WIF 26, p. 18

The latest Secretariat of the Pacific Community Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin (#26), “highlights gender roles in coastal fisheries and development, and women’s fishing activities in urban and rural communities”, said its editor, Veikila Vuki.

The issue contains the following articles, and can be downloaded here:

  • Guest editorial: Gender in aquaculture and fisheries – Navigating change, by Nikita Gopal and colleagues.
  • Pacific invertebrate fisheries and gender – Key results from PROCFish, by Meryl J. Williams.
  • An ecological study of the sea hare, Dolabella auricularia, on the southeastern coast of Viti Levu, Fiji, by Sandeep Singh and Veikila Vuki.
  • Livelihoods, markets, and gender roles in Solomon Islands: Case studies from Western and Isabel Provinces, by Froukje Kruijssen and colleagues.

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Posted in Fiji, Fisheries, Gender, Gender and development, gleaning, Men, Pacific, Pacific, Oceania, Regional, SPC, Uncategorized, Veikila Vuki, Women