Coastal Fisheries Programme
Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin #17
wif17
Number 17 - December 2007
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Coordinator: Veikila Vuki, Marine Laboratory, University of Guam, UOG Station, PO Box 5214, Mangilao, Guam 96913.

Production: Information Section, Marine Resources Division, SPC, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia. Fax +687 263818.

Prepared with financial assistance from Australia, France and New Zealand.


Editor's note

Welcome to this issue of the Women in Fisheries Bulletin, which highlights gender roles in coastal fisheries, women’s fishing activities in urban and rural communities, and gender issues in development.

We start with two articles on gender issues. Mecki Kronen and Aliti Vunisea report on gender roles in coastal fisheries across 17 Pacific Island countries and territories. Changing patterns in women’s fishing participation included the use of motorised boat transport, fishing at night, fishing for income and diving for invertebrates or finfish. Women were also generally responsible for processing and transporting finfish and invertebrate produce to the local market, to buyers and to agents or middlemen. Women’s participation in marketing should be accounted for and considered in fisheries management. Aliti Vunisea discusses institutional influence on gender roles in the Pacific. Traditional, cultural, religious and market institutions have tremendous influences on men’s and women’s division of labour in Pacific Island societies.

There are two research reports on the Anadara fishery in this bulletin. In the first report, Lilian Fay-Sauni, Veikila Vuki, Samasoni Sauni and Temakei Tebano compare women’s participation in Anadara fishing in the urban areas of Kiribati and Fiji. The importance of the Anadara fishery in alleviating poverty in urban areas in Tarawa and Suva was clearly shown. The second report on Anadara fishery is a case study by Alifereti Tawake, Veikila Vuki and Bill Aalbersberg. The specific case study was on the role of Anadara fishery in sustaining a rural community in Fiji.

In a short article, Johann Bell demonstrates that fish continues to play an important role in food security in the Pacific Islands. In Amanda Vincent’s article, she stresses the need to invest in micro-credit schemes. Setting up micro-credit schemes for women in poor coastal fishing communities will certainly help support conservation efforts and prevent overfishing. This scheme needs to be supported in the Pacific Islands to empower women, alleviate poverty and support conservation efforts in the region.

A conservation network, Pacific Islands Marine Protected Area Community (PIMPAC), was established two years ago. In describing its recent activities, Meghan Gombos addresses the unique challenges in managing marine protected areas in the Pacific Islands and the role PIMPAC plays in finding solutions to these challenges.

Naina Pierri and Man Yu Chang show the great struggles women experienced in Brazil. The courageous fisherwomen in Brazil mobilised themselves to create their own national organisation. The process took three years and in their efforts the women were able to define and make known their priorities. Ramya Rajagopalan reveals the many issues faced by seaweed collectors in the Gulf of Mannar in India. Women who collect seaweed have an uncertain future and struggle to access the only livelihood they have known.

This issue of the bulletin discusses topics on women’s fishing and women’s contributions to sustaining households. I welcome any feedback on the articles in this issue and encourage you to submit articles about women and community fishing issues from your country or from your region.

Veikila Vuki

 


Contents

Women never hunt... but fish: Highlighting equality for women in policy formulation and strategic planning in the coastal fisheries sector in Pacific Island countries
Kronen M., Vunisea A. (pdf: 181 KB)
Institutional influences on gender roles
Vunisea A. (pdf: 54 KB)
Anadara fishing supports urban households in Tarawa, Kiribati and Suva, Fiji
Fay L., Vuki V., Sauni S., Tebano T. (pdf: 268 KB)
Fishing for Anadara: A case study of Ucunivanua village in Verata, Fiji Islands
Tawake A., Vuki V., Aalbersberg G. (pdf: 154 KB)
Good credit risk:Investing in microcredit schemes for women in poor coastal communities to curtail overfishing
Vincent A. (pdf: 40 KB)

Download the complete publication:

Women in fisheries #17 (pdf: )


 

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