Why are Gender Issues in Fisheries Important?

There are good reasons why effective and efficient development of fisheries must take
the roles of both women and men in the sector into account, including the obvious
concerns about fairness, equal opportunity and discrimination:
a) Women make up an important part of the fishing sector, particularly in small-
scale fisheries, and increasingly in capture fishing and other activities. By
acknowledging the role they play, better management and development
strategies and interventions can be developed that address all of the activities in
the sector, not just those carried out by men.
b) Women make significant contributions to fishery-related activities other than
fishing. They play the major role in processing fish and fishery products, as well
as in marketing. Although these roles are often very different to those of men,
they are integral parts of the industry. Ignoring these activities means ignoring a
large portion of the sector.
c) The different work done by women generates different kinds of knowledge. For
example, while men may know which grounds have the best fishing, women
know the price these fish will fetch in the market. Only with an understanding of
both women’s and men’s experiences and expertise can we understand the
fishery sector in its entirety, and manage its development appropriately.
d) The under-representation of women in decision-making limits the

use of their expertise and knowledge.
e) The number of women holding managerial posts with decision- making powers is
very low. Many women in fisheries have low self- esteem, possibly reflecting
social values in those settings that hold men to be superior. This reduces
women’s involvement and limits the ability for women to be empowered and
contribute to the fullest of their capacity.
f) Women don’t usually participate in meetings held by fishermen’s organisations.
Most fishing projects are male-oriented, and women’s participation is limited with
respect to planning, programming and management. As a result, consideration of
women’s knowledge and needs is limited, which ultimately limits the
effectiveness of such plans and programmes, etc.
g) There are very few policies or programmes within the fishing sector where
gender aspects are considered, resulting in excluding a significant portion of the
fishing community from programmes development and assistance and equal
opportunities.