The purpose of this study is to benchmark the current situation with regard to women’s participation in the science and management of oceanic and coastal fisheries in the Pacific region, and to make recommendations on how it might be made more equitable. The study was commissioned for the SciCOFish Project (Scientific support for management of coastal and oceanic fisheries in the Pacific Islands) funded by the tenth European Development Fund.
To gain an overview of the participation of women in fisheries science and management in the Pacific Islands, case studies were undertaken in three countries: Solomon Islands (Melanesia), Marshall Islands (Micronesia), and Tonga (Polynesia). In each country a gender analysis was completed for the fisheries science and management sector. The quantitative and qualitative information on the current situation, including identification of barriers to participation, is the basis for the recommendations for Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) support.
As expected, the study showed that there are more men than women employed in the fisheries science and management sector. The case studies in Solomon Islands, Tonga and Marshall Islands show that women comprise 18% of the total number of staff working in this sector in government fisheries, environmental institutions and environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
If fishing vessel observers (work that is always likely to be heavily dominated by men) are removed from the calculation, women’s participation increases to 25% of the total. In contrast, the percentage of women employed in administrative and clerical roles in government fisheries departments exceeds 60%.