From the Editor
Dear Friends,
Greetings! This issue of Yemaya brings together articles from Latin America, Asia and Europe.
We carry excerpts from an interesting study, Food Insecurity and Gender Inequality in Property Rights:The Case of Market Access for Philippine Seaweeds by Hazel Arandez-Tanchuling and Marina Durano, reported in Lundayan,a publication of the Tambuyog Development Centre. It carries information from a case study undertaken in Calatagan, a town located south of Metro Manila, where the Philippines government has been actively promoting seaweedproduction in coastal communities.The study throws up some very interesting issues, such as competition between seaweed farming and other uses of coastal spaces, such as fishing, tourism and shrimp aquaculture.
Another important, if disturbing, trend the study finds is that of men gaining property rights to what was earlier a common resource, accessible to everyone in the communitymen and women. It is noted that: The permit system imposed by the local government unit was meant tomanage conflicts over the use of common community resources. Instead, the unintended consequence was to increase gender inequality in property rights.
There is clearly much that can be learned from the experience of seaweed farming and its management in the Philippineslearning that needs to be applied in other contexts and countries that are witnessing rapid expansion of seaweed farming and other mariculture activities in the coastal zone.
From Chile, Latin America, comes an article about the efforts of a group of women to make visible, through the medium of theatre, the important role of women fish baiters. If men are to go to sea, they point out, thousands of anonymous women must prepare for the fishing trip at home, putting the baits on the hooks; a scene that is replicated in other spheres of economic activity, where, for men to work, women must take care of the domestic tasks and childcare, work that is not recognized by society. Also relating to Latin America is a detailed report of the initiatives being taken by the Latin American Network of Women working in the fisheries sector (NETWIF), co-ordinated by the Centre for Marketing Information and Advisory Services for Fishery Products in Latin America and the Caribbean (INFOPESCA).
We also carry an interview with the President of the Local Fisheries Committee of Lorient-Etel, France.It traces her journey as the wife of a fisherman, unaware of the issues inthe sector, to the presidentship of the local committee, having to grapplewith all kinds of developments in the fisheries sector: the introductionof Total Allowable Catches (TACs), quotas, controls, high fuel costs, and so on.
And, finally, as this year comes to a close, we send all of you season’s greetings and best wishes for a peaceful and productive 2007.
