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Category: Freshwater Fisheries



Social relations and women’s roles in Malawi fish value chains

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.

This entry was posted in: Country, Fisheries, Freshwater Fisheries, Malawi, Men, Value Chains, Women

Three reports on GAF7 outcomes

Three new reports have been released on the 7th Global Conference on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries (GAF7), held in Bangkok 18-21 October 2018. These all present different types of important reportage on GAF7 and, from their different perspectives, help fill out the detail on the event. In addition, a number of presentations from GAF7...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Fisheries, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Mariculture, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Women-led fish farming improves life for families in Yapacani, Bolivia

The Fish for Life project, initiated by experts from Canada, Brazil and Bolivia, and carried out with families in Yapacani, Bolivia, has succeeded in expanding the farming families’ diversity of food and farming options – previously based on single crop rice farming – by successfully introducing women-led fish farming. The comprehensive development project, complete with pilot...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries, Women

Genderaquafish: 2014 year in review

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...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, India, Marine Fisheries, Women

Second Anniversary of Dr M.C. Nandeesha

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...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Bangladesh, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Women’s economic space in Sierra Leone’s small-scale fisheries

In a recent publication in the journal Feminist Economics, “Fishing Na Everybody Business”: Women’s Work and Gender Relations in Sierra Leone’s Fisheries, Andy Thorpe and co-authors take three sets of data (from the National Frame Surveys of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, a survey of women fish processors by the Institute of Marine Biology...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Report recommends integrating fish into food security and nutrition

A new report, Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture for Food Security and Nutrition, has provided probably “the most comprehensive recent attempt to review and synthesize the current knowledge” said Dr Christophe Béné. Dr Béné, of the Institute of Development Studies, chaired the team of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Food Security and Nutrition of...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Fish trade policy and women in the Gambia

From sardines and mackerels to cockles and oysters, the fisheries and fish processing activities of the Republic of the Gambia in West Africa are important to people and to the economy. A new report by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), called “The fisheries sector in the Gambia: trade, value addition and social inclusiveness, with...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Reducing gender disparities in Mozambique fisheries and aquaculture value chains

A new Norad report by Cecile Brugere and Bodil Maal has delved into gender roles in the fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Mozambique, finding that women play a large role in the fisheries value chain, but their social organization is not strong. Women dominate aquaculture production but the aquaculture value chain is still only...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Women and children first: Gendered and generational change in small scale fisheries in Canada and Norway

Barbara Neis, Siri Gerrard and Nicole G. Power have written a reflective paper on the social-ecological systems of cod (Gadus morhua) fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Norway. Their study revealed similarities but also many differences between the ways small scale fishing communities in the two countries have reacted to changes in the fish stocks and ...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Counting all the fishers: a global overview

Women’s as well as men’s fishing should be taken into account in marine ecology assessments, according to the recent global review, “Gender and small-scale fisheries: a case for counting women and beyond“, by Danika Kleiber, Leila Harris and Amanda Vincent. Typically, they point out, women’s participation is only considered from a social perspective. After reviewing ...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Looking back at 2013

In 2013, the Genderaquafish website continued to develop as a global source of information sharing and news. Compared to 2012, the number of visitors grew by 16%, to over 17,000 for the year. The visitors came from even more countries than last year (163 countries, compared to 154 countries in 2012). The top 5 countries of our ...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

SPC WIF Info Bulletin: coastal fisheries, women’s fishing, climate change and gender in development

We welcome the latest edition of the Secretariat for the Pacific Community’s (SPC) 23rd Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin. The Editor, Veikila Vuki highlights that the contributions covers gender roles in coastal fisheries, women’s fishing activities in communities, climate change and gender issues in development. Read the latest issue online! CONTENTS Gender and change in the...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries, Women

Diversifying options for women in Indian brackishwater fisheries

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...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, India, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Realistic understanding of gender relations needed when making policy

Christine Okali’s latest blog challenges policy makers to scrap the handy (and often unsupported) narratives on women/gender and climate change. Here is some of what she said – but do read the whole blog! “It is time to re-socialise gender policies. For real progress to be made towards gender equity and transforming gender relations across...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Are fisheries activists and researchers afraid of being seen as Feminists?

Christine Okali’s latest blog challenges policy makers to scrap the handy (and often unsupported) narratives on women/gender and climate change. Here is some of what she said – but do read the whole blog! “It is time to re-socialise gender policies. For real progress to be made towards gender equity and transforming gender relations across...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Handy guide to gender equality text in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

Many fisheries and aquaculture experts are now engaged in climate change research and action, so this new publication from the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and collaborators is a handy guide to finding the gender-sensitive text in the various formal agreements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Download the document here: http://www.wedo.org/wp-content/uploads/united-nations-web.pdf...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Women

Social cohesion, masculinity, conservation and more discussed by MARE Gender Panel

Angela Lentisco reports on the Centre for Maritime Research (MARE) Conference in Amsterdam (26 to 28th June 2013), panel sessions led by Easkey Britton on Engaging Gender for Sustainable Fisheries Livelihoods and Improved Social Wellbeing: Perspectives from the Global North and South. “The panel presentations (which you can download from the links on this website) were food for...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Good Practices to Eliminate Fish Supply Chain Inequality

This FAO publication is a very welcome addition to the material on the problems and solutions to gender inequality all along fish supply chains. Good practice policies to eliminate gender inequalities in fish value chains, by Jennie Dey de Pryck analyses the facts, as they are known and provides guidance to action to address the inequalities across the sector,...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

The Joys and Pains of Managing a Maturing Website

This website, Genderaquafish.com, will be 3 years old next month. Recently, as I undertook some long overdue maintenance, I reflected on the joys and pains of a maturing website. First the joys! Thanks to a steady feed of good and relevant material on women/gender in aquaculture and fisheries, and supporting material from...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Planning for Impact in Aquaculture and Fisheries Projects

WorldFish Center and IFAD have released a guide to ex-ante impact evaluation in aquaculture and fisheries. The guide gives good attention to collecting gender disaggregated information. The guide is: Crissman, C.C., Abernethy, K., Delaporte, A., Timmers, B. (2013) A Practical Guide for Ex-ante Impact Evaluation in Fisheries and Aquaculture. CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Marine-Fisheries

A Future Gender Roadmap in Indian Fisheries Research

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...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, India, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

More than equal: Women’s Inshore Harvests in Oceania

A new paper in the journal Marine Policy, gives an overview of Women and fisheries: Contribution to food security and local economies. The paper is written by Sarah Harper, Dirk Zeller, Melissa Hauzer, Daniel Pauly, Ussif Rashid Sumaila and is a contribution from the Sea Around Us project. The paper is an overview of a wide range of issues...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries, Women

Infographics: Using Pictures to Tell the (Data) Story

The Spain-FAO Regional Fisheries Livelihoods Programme for South and South East Asia (RFLP) started its work in 2009 by undertaking comprehensive baseline studies in its selected coastal project sites in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. RFLP published the baseline survey reports in traditional formats. Now, RFLP has turned the detailed reports into...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Genderaquafish website gathers momentum: 2012 in Review

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...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, India, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Passing of Dr M.C. Nandeesha

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...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, India, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Foreign Aid for Gender Equality: The Challenge for Donors

The United Nations University – World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) held its first Research and Communication in Foreign Aid project workshop on gender equality (12-13 July 2012, Helsinki). Gender equality is one of the project’s five themes. The workshop identified key focus areas for what works, what could work, what is transferable, and...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Five-country information for gender in fish production

A new working paper from WorldFish Center delves into some of the basic background information needed to develop research and development programs with a gender focus in aquaculture and fisheries production systems in Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Zambia. Transforming aquatic agricultural systems towards gender equality: a five country review Weeratunge, N., Chiuta,...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Philippine conference on women fishers a great success

By Rosario H. Asong, PhD and Anna Razel Ramirez of The National Network on Women in Fisheries in the Philippines, Inc. NNWFP Holds 6th Biennial National Conference The National Network on Women in Fisheries in the Philippines, Inc. held its 6th Biennial National Conference on Gender and Fisheries on September 19-21, 2012 at Hotel Alejandro,,...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Gender, environment and economic development

A new UNDP report – Powerful Synergies: Gender Equality, Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability – is aimed at the policy makers. It does not explicitly address fisheries and aquaculture, but this document nevertheless is useful background on how the global environment agreements and events have virtually ignored gender, and specifically women. Description. “This publication, Powerful Synergies: Gender,...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Women hold up 47% of the (fisheries) sky

To highlight the importance of small scale capture fisheries contributions to employment, livelihood and the economy, the World Bank recently released its study on “Hidden Harvest: The Global Contribution of Capture Fisheries”. FAO and WorldFish Center also collaborated on the study. Download the report here Although cautious in its conclusions owing to the quality of ...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Women, Business and Law

A new web-based data system from the World Bank and a report, “Removing Barriers to Economic Inclusion” provides valuable legal information on laws affecting businesses. In aquaculture and fisheries, many studies have found that access to investment credit, capital and rights over resources, land and other assets are not equal for women and men in...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Yemaya 40 focuses on GAF outcomes from Rio+20

The latest issue of “Yemaya”, the gender and fisheries newsletter of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, has just been released, containing materials on global initiatives (Rio+20, FAO’s Committee on Fisheries work and CEDAW), and special reports on gender dimensions of fisheries in Africa (Gambia, Senegal, Tanzania), and profiles of leaders from Indonesia and...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

New insights into gender roles in UK fishing communities

Two papers published recently (see below) in Marine Policy journal examine in depth gendered roles in the fishing communities of Northern Ireland and northern England, respectively. In the Northern Island case, Easkey Britton and Sarah Coulthard used a three-dimensional framework to measuring social progress (material, relational and cognitive dimensions) and conclude that “fishing society is...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

BRIDGE: climate change and gender

Many readers of Genderaquafish are interested in or already working on climate change projects in aquaculture and fisheries. Therefore, we especially thank Cornelie Quist for alerting us to the rich set of resources on gender and climate change that were recently released in BRIDGE Update, Issue No. 92, June 2012 http://archive.ids.ac.uk/bridge/cutting-edge-programmes/gender-and-climate-change.html In the BRIDGE Update...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Latest SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin now out!

The Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin is always welcome. The WIF Bulletin started in 1997 and always contains interesting information from the central and western Pacific ocean, the region where women have traditionally had a very active role in fisheries. Here is the line-up of articles from the 22nd issue. We thank the coordinator Veikila...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

In for the Long Haul

Mekong Gender and Fisheries Network Meets in Nong Khai, Thailand On 21 and 22 June 2012, the world’s longest running gender and fisheries network, the Mekong Network for Gender Promotion in Fisheries Development (NGF) held its 13th annual meeting and field visits to women’s groups for fish processing and aquaculture in the northwest of Thailand...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

New institutional gender strategy for a research institute (ILRI)

Many aquaculture and fisheries agencies and research institutes are starting to wonder what they should be doing about getting gender into their work – “mainstreaming” is one of the buzz words we hear. Across the fence in agricultural research organizations, you can find some useful materials to guide your organizations’s emerging gender strategy. Start by taking a look...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Every day is women’s day…

8th March is International Women’s Day! The UN’s theme for 2012 is Empower Rural Women – End Poverty and Hunger. This is also an appropriate call for women in aquaculture and fisheries. Women now make up a greater percentage of the agricultural workforce than they did a few decades ago. Individual studies on gender...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries, Women

Tunisian women clam harvesters

We often lament that women’s roles and contributions to fisheries are invisible. This wonderful FAO photogallery of Tunisian women harvesting clams [Ruditapes decussatus] (click here) is one example that contradicts us! It is accompanied also by a very thorough and informative YouTube video (click here) [in French] on the FAO YouTube Channel. The harvesters work...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries, Women

Turning points in modern aquaculture

Click here to view video We recommend you check out this new comprehensive FAO aquaculture video that, among others, highlights the role of women in aquacutlure. Good to see women highlighted in a mainstream aquaculture presentation. Turning Points in Modern Aquaculture Short Description: “This 15-min video was produced by the Aquaculture Service of the FAO Fisheries...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries, Women

Research on women in fisheries: the era of political ecology

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 entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, India, Marine Fisheries, Women

Genderaquafish: 2011 in review

Wishing all you, our GAF readers, a happy, successful and productive 2012! We thought you might like to hear how Genderaquafish is being used. For the following information, I thank WordPress, our site hosts, for their excellent statistics. Since starting up in late 2010, we have been fairly active and well read. In just over...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Frehwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries

Climate change: consider women’s agency, not just vulnerability

With world attention on climate change, two recent publications on gender and climate change, though not focused on fisheries and aquaculture, deliver a similar message: yes, women and men have different vulnerabilities to climate change, gendered analysis and approaches are needed but women and men’s agency, not just women and men’s vulnerabilities should be considered.

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Essential new tool for projects: Mainstreaming gender into project cycle management in the fisheries sector

New from the Spain-FAO-RFLP! ‘Women play a significant role in fisheries, yet lack of attention to gender roles and relations can result in policies or programmes failing to improve livelihoods or reduce vulnerability of fishing communities. The largely ‘invisible’ role of women in small-scale fisheries must be addressed if actions aimed at improving the livelihoods ...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Learning from gender research in agriculture

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 ...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Bangladesh, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Community listeners’ clubs – a new idea from Africa

“Community listeners’ clubs: Stepping stones for action in rural areas” Invented in Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo by NGOs and FAO, community listeners’ clubs are creative new institutions that help rural women and men access and share information by radio to improve their lives and solve their farming and other problems and...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries, Women

Microfinance impact: a challenge to assess

Over the last several months, studies, blogs and news articles have highlighted the challenges of assessing and understanding the various impacts of microfinance. Although not directly addressing fisheries and aquaculture, the findings are relevant to those studying gender in aquaculture and fisheries as microfinance is often part of a development initiative targeted at women in small scale...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Influencing change, gender mainstreaming

Recommended reading! “Influencing Change: Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives in Agricultural Research and Development in Eastern and Central Africa.” Edited by: Barun Gurung, Elizabeth Ssendiwala, Michael Waithaka Link to download publication Part of the CGIAR Particiaptory Research and Gender Analysis Program, the project from which this very useful report came sought to influence the policies of agricultural ...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

A WELCOME DEVELOPMENT: Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute Repositories

Research agencies are very important social institutions in fisheries and aquaculture. Over the decades, their knowledge continues to grow and multiply, enriched through partnerships, outreach and synergies between existing and new ideas. The electronic information era creates new opportunities to make agency knowledge more accessible through creating institute repositories. In the last year, two major ...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Marine Fisheries

In Yemaya 36: Gender and power relations in small-scale fisheries

The International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) has just released the latest edition of its triannual newsletter on gender and fisheries, Yemaya. Yemaya No. 36, dated March 2011, carries several articles from around the world on women in fisheries, and how gender and power relations play out in small-scale fisheries. A report on a...

This entry was posted in: Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women

Women face gender gap in agriculture

In 2010-11, FAO’s annual flagship publication, The State of Food and Agriculture, is devoted almost totally to the role of women in agriculture, including some coverage of women in fisheries and aquaculture. Sub-titled, ‘Closing the gender gap for development’, it highlights that women face a serious gender gap in access to the most productive agricultural...

This entry was posted in: Aquaculture, Freshwater Fisheries, Gender, Marine Fisheries, Men, Women