GAF8 Special Session 7: Shared Experiences of Women in Fisheries by ICSF

The 8th Global Symposium on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries, GAF8
Organized by the Society of Fisheries Technologists (SOFTI) & the ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology
Special Session 7: : Shared Experiences of Women in Fisheries by International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF)
Venue: Zeus Hall
Date: Wednesday, 23 November 2022
Time: 11.30 am -13.00 pm

 Film compiled by ICSF

Shescapes: Women in Small-scale Fisheries (32min)

 The 32 minute film shows a change that has occurred over a decade in different countries across the world — truthful appreciation of women’s role in fisheries. Despite differences in society, culture, politics and economics, their involvement in the sector follows a similar arc the world over. The film is an effort to understand and identify the main factors over the past decade that has shaped their role, both positively and negatively. It highlights invisible voices from the South Pacific Islands, Asia, Africa, Latin America and Caribbean region during GAF 8 at Kochi.

Panel Discussion

Chair to introduce the theme: Women in Fisheries Shared Experiences (60min)
Chair: N. Venugopalan, Programme Manager, ICSF

Panelists:

• Kyoko Kusakabe, Professor of Gender and Development Studies, Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand
• Carmen Pedroza-Gutiérrez, National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico
• Cecile Brugere, Independent Consultant, Aquaculture/Fisheries Economics, Gender and Sustainable Development, Soulfish Research & Consultancy, York, United Kingdom
• Natalie Makhoul, Gender and Human Rights Specialist – PEUMP, Pacific Community, SPC, Fiji
• Neha W. Qureshi, Senior Scientist, FEES Division, ICAR-CIFE, Mumbai, India

Question to panel experts to share their views on:

1. Can we say that the existing gender/women in fisheries discourse in fisheries explicitly recognizes women’s human rights, labour rights (including occupational safety and health), environmental rights (participation in resource management, climate change coping mechanisms, differential impact of disasters on women) and social impacts (the role played by the community and in ownership rights in near shore fisheries)?
2. Are women organized better now? How many organizations are there and how attentive are they at the national or international levels to gender and women’s issues?
3. What are the effects of increasing mobility and participation in multiple activities as fisher, trader and wage labourer in the processing industry; as farmers in aqua farms; as migrant workers; as women employed in seafood industry; and as caregivers, among others?
4. What is the major change in developing coping mechanisms in your country or in fisheries you are familiar with? Is there a marked change at the occupational level?
5. What is the legislative or policy support at the national or international level? Is there data available about women’s employment and participation in fisheries?
6. Empowerment and agency of women is important for community development. What is the nature of progress made? What are the major factors of negative impacts? What are the major factors of positive impacts? What is the resistance to these changes? Where does it come from?

Discussion (35min)