This Dossier is devoted to women in fisheries in India and is an acknowledgement of the role women have played in sustaining coastal communities and the effort they have taken to make their work and problems more visible. It comprises two parts. The first contains factual information on women’s involvement in fisheries in each of the nine maritime States of India, namely Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal. The second part is a series of articles related to women in fisheries which give a more analytical understanding of the problems of women and their efforts to organize. Some of the issues covered include health and reproductive rights of women in fishing communities of Kerala, the campaign against shrimp industries, and gender awareness in fishworker organizations. Most of the material for this Dossier was gathered between 1993 and 1995 as part of ICSF’s International Women in Fisheries programme.