Q & A
Interview with Dr. Cornelia E. Nauen (cnauen@chello.be), Principal Policy Officer, European Commission, DG Research
By Harini Kumar (icsf@icsf.net), Programme Associate, ICSF
Why is it important to have a policy focus on women in fisheries?
A policy focus on peoplemen, women and childrenis of ever-growing importance in today’s context. Blind emphasis on economic efficiency, without heed to social and environmental consequences, is starting to undermine even the economic viability of the sector. At long last the state of crisis denial is giving way to attention toward the worrying state of degradation of marine, coastal and inland ecosystems. Nonetheless, attention to social issues still remains inadequate. We do know, however, that without paying attention to all these dimensions at the same time, we will not be able to make the transition to more sustainable forms of fisheries.
Are there any countries where there is such a specific policy focus? Has it been implemented?
To my knowledge few countries have had strong and systematically applied policies for gender equity. Mexico has had a long tradition of having women in science and leading positions in the fisheries administration, and that has made some difference. The European Union (EU) has had several programmes to raise awareness on social issues and promote the role of women in leadership positions. Some nice results were achieved in Spain, among what was known to be the barefoot shellfish collectors in Galicia (see summary account in ACP-EU Fisheries Research Report No. 16, June 2005http://cordis.europa.eu/inco/fp5/library_en.htmland its references). But a recent overview report on gender in fisheries in the EU concluded that there was still some way to go before equal opportunities were achieved across the sector.
