In the Pacific Islands, an estimated 70 to 80 per cent of the catch from inshore fisheries is used for subsistence purposes. It is uncertain what percentage of that is taken by women, although a recent study in Samoa found that 18 per cent of all village fishers are female, who harvest around 23 per cent of the total weight of seafood. Aside from traditional activities such as inshore harvesting and seafood processing for the family, women are becoming increasingly active in small businesses involving marine resources. Australia and New Zealand possess established commercial fishing industry sectors, and women’s involvement in fisheries in those two countries tends to be different from the largely subsistence and artisanal involvement of women in the majority of Pacific Island countries and territories. Countries with large-scale, on-shore processing facilities show a relatively large percentage of women employed in the commercial fishing industry–in New Zealand about 34 per cent of the fishing industry workforce is women. This paper brings together information from the vast region of Oceania, including Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia and New Zealand. It also examines research and development needs; government policies with regard to women’s role in fisheries; and constraints that affect women’s involvement in fisheries management and development in Oceania.