Editor's note

The inclusion of gender in fisheries and aquaculture is considered central to sustainable development, and the Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin provides a sharing and learning platform for practitioners and scientists working in this space in the Pacific, and other parts of the world. This edition has 14 unique articles from Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, the broader Pacific and the Philippines.

Danika Kleiber and co-authors provide an overview of the ‘Pathways Project’ being implemented in Kiribati, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. The project focuses on strengthening and scaling community-based approaches to Pacific coastal fisheries in management support of the ‘New Song’. Key concepts for considering and including gender in research and development are outlined in a visually aesthetic way that is useful for other projects that want to increase research quality, empower women and facilitate equitable outcomes in coastal fisheries.

Kate Barclay and co-authors provide an overview of ‘Lagoon livelihoods: Gender and shell money in Langalanga, Solomon Islands’, published recently in the journal Maritime Studies. The researchers found that gender roles in the shell money value chain have shifted, with women more actively involved in the trade in recent years. Changes in gender roles have created friction with gender and cultural norms; specifically, in terms of the kinds of activities that are considered suitable for women, who in families should control cash incomes. Sheridan Rabbitt and co-authors present community attitudes toward the export of fishery products from rural villages in Solomon Islands to the capital, Honiara, using ‘eskies’ for storage and transport. While the majority of community members interviewed were supportive of the ‘esky trade’, they wanted to see further restrictions implemented such as harvest restrictions, closure of some areas during the harvesting of seafood for the esky trade, and gear restrictions.... Read more ...

Sangeeta Mangubhai

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