Local Sama-Bajau do not passively accept the conservation regulations imposed upon their communities. Instead, they continue to access marine and coastal resources for their culture and livelihoods in ways that they consider to be morally fair. Despite much ‘women’s work’ being made illegal by the protected area, and social stigmatization, the women are important providers and contributors to household livelihoods.

Dried fish is considered a ‘hidden’ sub-sector within small-scale fisheries, and is particularly important in Asia and Africa. Women make up a significant portion of the workforce in this sub-sector. A new framework may reveal a thick description of gender relations.

Career development and promotion for Indian women in science are important issues. Barriers to successful entry and re-entry to science or a sustainable move of a women researcher can be accomplished by providing more fellowships and funding programs for women – in other words, targeted affirmative action.

Vietnam has seen its economy undergo many drastic changes during the past 40 years, going from a centrally planned economy to a market-driven one. Since the transition to a market-driven economy, many studies on the economics of commodities have been conducted but this story reports on the first study of women in the purchasing node of tuna.

Seaweed farming is an important livelihood source for tens of thousands of families in the Southeast Asia. Using a gendered analysis in the Philippines, this story reveals essential gender aspects of production and risk mitigation strategies.

The recently completed project, USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership (USAID Oceans: 2015-2020) had human welfare and gender (HWGE) in fisheries as one of its workstreams, along with technology development for an electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability system (eCDT), Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM), Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Regional Collaboration.

Despite evidence of women’s contribution to the sustainability of fisheries worldwide, their roles in fisheries remain poorly understood and most often unrecognized altogether. The main hurdle in assessing women’s contribution is the lack of gender disaggregated data in fisheries, a well understood and nearly universal impediment to understanding women’s participation.

Women work in all stages of the fish value chain, producing, processing and selling fish and through their work support the economy, their households, and communities in rural and coastal regions. They are said to make up half the fisheries workforce, yet their work goes unrecognized in most official Read more about Latest special issue of Gender, Technology & Development examines new learnings on women and fisheries ...

Small-scale fisheries are recognised for the important opportunities they provide in terms of livelihoods and food and nutrition security. Women, men, the young and elderly, are engaged in different aspects of fisheries value chains, from assisting with preparations for fishing trips to fishing and gleaning, through to processing and marketing the resulting catch. At a household level, fishers harvest fish which can be consumed at home, or barter, exchange or sell the fish generating goodwill or income which can be used to acquire other foods.

Social relations are important in small-scale fisheries value chains. This study addresses the question of how social relations affect engagement and outcomes of women who participate in the fish value chains. The social relations approach was useful to the study as it helped in understanding the social relations within the household and between the actors in the fish value chains.

All actors are needed to reach the goal but especially women are a key starting point By Maricela de la Torre-Castro, Stockholm University maricela (at) natgeo.su.se In my recent article, I used the concept of inclusive management to represent “any management strategy that consciously and explicitly considers gender and the whole diversity of actors” dealing ...

GAF-India was held in Kochi, Kerala, India from 21-24 November 2017. Previously, the prize winners of the M.C. Nandeesha Photo Competition were announced (link). Now we are happy to announce the student prize winners for GAF-India presentations and posters, and the winner of the first Asian Fisheries Society Indian Branch Prof. M.C. Nandeesha Gender Justice and...

The film is based on my ongoing research on the effects of climate change on women living in the villages of the Sundarbans, focusing on how they are facing up to the challenges thrown by the rising sea levels, higher tidal surges that...

A recent paper: “Homestead pond polyculture can improve access to nutritious small fish” published in the journal Food Security1 investigates an aquaculture production system in Bangladesh which is tailored towards improving nutrition and is accessible to and can be managed by women. In Bangladesh, and many parts of rural south Asia, women’s movements outside the homestead...

The May 2017 issue of Yemaya, the gender in fisheries newsletter of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, is now out. This issue is full of stimulating and diverse articles from around the world – Mexico, India, Fiji and more, many with a focus on the implications of Sustainable Development Goal #5 on gender...

Dr. Mudnakudu C. Nandeesha (1957-2012), who instigated many women/gender in aquaculture and fisheries initiatives, passed away on 27 December 2012. On the 4th anniversary of his passing, we pause to remember him and acknowledge his contributions on many fronts, including on gender awareness and action. Dr Nandeeshabegan his work in aquaculture research and development in Karnataka...

Women may be numerous on the factory floors of top seafood producers but, at the top of the companies, their numbers are small. Marie-Christine Monfort, a seafood industry insider herself, conducted a follow-up survey to track changes since she authored an earlier report for FAO (see our previous post). The recent study found that the Read more about Still few women leaders in 100 top seafood companies...

Mrs. M. Usha belongs to the Indian Scheduled Irular tribal community. She lives in the remote area of Kulathumedu, a Scheduled Tribal village, Palaverkadu (Pulicat) Post, Ponneri Taluk, Tiruvallur dt.,Tamil Nadu, South India. Reaching her farming site is quiet tedious. Either you need to trek to these remote villages or go in by boat.

Wishing all our readers and contributors a healthy, productive and happy 2016! Looking back on 2015, the Genderaquafish 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...

Presented at the International course on Advanced Lessons on Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics: A Tribute to Prof. M. C. Nandeesha (1957 – 2012) held at Santander, Spain from 22 to 26 July 2013. By Piyashi DebRoy I begin with expressing my heartfelt thankfulness to Prof. Josè Fernández Polanco for having provided me with the humble opportunity...

On 27th December 2012, Dr M.C. Nandeesha, who initiated the first efforts to address gender in aquaculture and fisheries in Asia, passed away. We honor his memory and achievements and hope that his legacy will continue to grow through the gender efforts of the Asian Fisheries Society and other professional and grassroots groups. In collaboration with...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its GLOBEFISH unit on international fish trade, recently released a report – “The Role of Women in the Seafood Industry” – that highlighted the contributions and constraints on women through all levels and scales of the fish industry. The report, written by Marie-Christine Monfort, ...

The latest issue of Yemaya, the newsletter on gender and fisheries put out three times a year by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, is full of interesting and thought-provoking articles, several centered around International Women’s Day and continuing struggles for decent lives and rights around the world. The whole issue or individual Read more about Latest ICSF Yemaya Newsletter Now Out ...

A new report from the CGIAR Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) research program picks out some early lessons from the floodplains of Bangladesh and Zambia where the gender transformative approach is being tested in the field. The approach, which the AAS program seeks to apply, tries to go beyond simple gender approaches and checklists that usually...

Our Genderaquafish website continued to grow in popularity in 2014, with visits to the site increasing by 9% over the 2013 level, reaching 18,454 visits from people in at least 162 countries, covering all regions. Our top 5 countries for visitors were: India (4,734), USA (2,528), Philippines (941), Malaysia (831), UK (696). REGIONS Posts from Asia and Africa were...

On 27 December 2012, we lost Dr M.C. Nandeesha, who brought awareness to the importance of women in Asian and global fisheries, and who initiated the first substantive activities to address gender inequality to the work and the considerations of the Asian Fisheries Society. Beginning with the 1990 Women in Fisheries in India Workshop, held...

The August 2014 issue of Yemaya, the newsletter on gender and fisheries of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) is full of interesting articles. It highlights the gender implications of the new Small Scale Fisheries Guidelines, plus articles on Japan, India and The Gambia. Download the issue at this link. Articles Editorial: Nilanjana...

We are pleased to highlight this recent Indian technology award to a team of largely women professionals. Congratulations to Dr Leela Edwin, Dr Nikita Gopal and Dr Meenakumari and their colleagues! CIFT Press Release, July 2014 A team of researchers from the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT), Kochi, received the 4th National Awards for...

A new CGIAR report, “Bangladesh small and medium-scale aquaculture value chain development: Past trends, current status and likely future directions” by Niaz Ahmed Apu reviews a wealth of recent information and and also endeavours to do justice to available knowledge on the contributions and opportunities for women in the value chains. Gendered knowledge is still Read more about Bangladesh aquaculture value chain analysis...

Dr. B. Shanthi, Principal Scientist (Home Science), and team, Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA), Chennai (India), recently won the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Award for Outstanding Interdisciplinary Team Research in Agricultural and Allied Sciences – 2011-12, for work done under the Department of Bio-Technology funded project on Diversification of Livelihoods among Women...

“So though Nandeesh is not with us physically, his thoughts and deeds are there to guide us through these difficult times” Rajeswari Dayal B. (his loving wife) . This marks the first anniversary of the passing of our dear friend Dr Mudnakudu C. Nandeesha, who was the person who brought gender awareness to the Asian...

The Bay of Bengal Programme has created a rich interactive website containing information on all the fish markets of Chennai in Tamil Nadu State, India. For each market, the site give factual information on name, ownership, numbers of stalls, location and directions for getting there, opening hours, types of fish sold and infrastructure improvement needs.

In coastal communities in India, fisheries and aquaculture can provide women and men with many opportunities for work and livelihood. In Tamil Nadu state, the Central Institute for Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) has long worked on the ground and out in the villages to improve those opportunities with science and people-based projects. Recently, CIBA published two...

A report and news story have come out on “Capacity building of tribal women self help groups on brackishwater aquaculture integrated with agro – based technologies” by Dr B. Shanthi, and her colleagues M. Kailasam, K. Ambasankar, P. Mahalakshimi, V.S. Chandrasekaran, S.M. Pillai and A.G.Ponniah, all of the the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA, Indian,...

Maharashtra State in India is famous for many things, especially as the home of Bollywood movies with its famous female and male stars. Now, two new studies on women fish vendors in Maharashtra shine small but important spotlights on the women fish vendors of its diverse fish markets. They may not be as famous as...

Dr B Shanthi of the Indian Central Institute for Brackishwater Aquacutlure (CIBA) and other researchers have been working to get technology into the hands of women’s groups in India (see Dr Shanthi’s PPT and paper from GAF3, 2011). Recently, the successes of some of the women entrepreneurs from southern India have been highlighted in the...

Getting gender into the fisheries and aquaculture agenda requires large and fundamental changes inside the organisations that support the sector, including the research institutes. Last year, the fisheries institutes of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), one of the world’s largest agricultural research systems, held a pioneering workshop to plan a future roadmap for Read more about A Future Gender Roadmap in Indian Fisheries Research...

Women’s and men’s contributions are both critical to the success of aquaculture and fisheries. Statistics on the growing interest being shown in this website since its creation over two years ago (in September 2010) indicate that more people are taking an interest in research and development insights on gender in aquaculture and fisheries. In 2012, the...

With deep regret, I convey the sad news that Dr M.C. Nandeesha, the inspiration for starting the Asian Fisheries Society’s Gender/Women in Fisheries/Aquaculture activities in the early 1990s, has passed away in Chennai, India. The gender and fisheries community, and others such as the fisheries education and aquaculture research and development communities, convey their sincere...

Seaweed farming has grown at much the same rapid rate as other forms of aquaculture in the last twenty years, but seaweeds are produced in far fewer countries than, for example, farmed fish. The Philippines and Tanzania are among the top 8 countries. India is not yet on the list but, on the Coromandel (southeast) ...

Prof Vijaykhader has a strong record of contributions to women in fisheries through food technology research and education in India. Her contributions have been recognized recently. She was appointed by the Government of India National Mission on Education and the Ministry of Human Resources Development as the subject coordinator for ICT enabled Higher Education at...

Climate Change and Fisheries: Perspectives from Small-scale Fishing Communities in India on Measures to Protect Life and Livelihood by Venkatesh Salagrama, Through consultations with key fisheries-based stakeholders in four States of India, this study attempts to assess perceptions of fishing communities about the impact of climate change on their lives and livelihoods. It also evaluates ...

Workshop short report by the following four colleagues from the Indian Council for Agricultural Research. Dr B. Shanthi, Senior Scientist, CIBA, Chennai Dr.B.Meenakumari, Deputy Director General, (Fisheries), New Delhi Dr.P.Jayashankar, Director, CIFA, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, and Dr.Vipinkumar,V.P, Senior Scientist, CMFRI, Kochi, Kerala. Under the UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia) led ASEM Aquaculture Platform WP7 (ASEM stands for Asia-Europe...

What Works for Women: Proven approaches for empowering women smallholders and achieving food security This book has been produced by a group of nine international development agencies, including some of the biggest welfare NGOs. It distills their experiences from their efforts to promote gender equality and working with women smallholders and rural women over many...

In her 2011 papers, Nilanjana Biswas, an independent researcher from India, argued that research on women and fisheries had shifted, over the decades, from a ‘political economy’ approach to a ‘political ecology’ approach. Along with this, fisheries development assistance and general development assistance has shifted to align efforts with those of countries to become more...

This new FAO Technical Paper gives a global overview of beach seine fisheries, studies the operations in several countries in depth and identifies key issues in the responsible use of beach seines and the sustainable livelihoods of beach seine fishers including women and children. It examines women’s roles in 9 country case studies – Benin, Ghana,...

Gender research is still sparse for gender and aquaculture, fisheries and the coasts. Gender studies are a little further advanced in agriculture and natural resource management. Very useful resource materials can be found from the work of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), one of the CGIAR Centers. Here are 5 links to IFPRI ...

Rigorous studies on the effects of introduced fish pond and vegetable technologies in Bangladesh show that “..women’s assets increase more relative to men’s when technologies are disseminated through women’s groups”, indicating that the gendered outcomes of new technologies depend on how they are introduced. This and related studies are reported in papers in the latest...

The good news: 2011 is the 250th anniversary of the founding of the world’s first veterinary science school (in Lyon, France) and the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day. To celebrate, Prof. Mathuram of Madras Veterinary College (MVC), Tamil Nadu, India, spoke on gender issues in veterinary science (News story, Presentation). In many countries, women...