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Fish is the world's largest wild food harvest and provides a vital source of protein as well as cash income for many families in the developing world. More than 120 million people throughout the world are estimated to depend on fish for all or part of their incomes. Women and men are engaged in
complementary activities in fisheries.
In most regions, the large boats used to
fish off-shore and deep-sea waters have male crews,
while women manage smaller boats and canoes. Many
more women engage in fishing with small implements,
wading and gleaning the shores for shellfish, and
collecting seaweed. In artisanal fishing
communities, in addition, women are mainly
responsible for performing the skilled and
time-consuming jobs that take place on-shore, such
as net making and mending, processing the catch and
marketing it.
In many countries, it is mostly women who are engaged in inland fishing. In Africa, they fish the rivers and ponds. In Asia, where fish is an integral part of the diet of many cultures, women are active in both artisanal and commercial fisheries. In parts of India, women net prawns from backwaters. In Laos, they fish in canals. In the Philippines, they fish from canoes in coastal lagoons.
In many areas, women have also assumed a leading role in the rapid growth of aquaculture. They often perform most of the work of feeding and harvesting fish, as well as in processing the catch. In Lesotho and other southern African countries participating in FAO's Aquaculture for Local Community Development Programme, women are prominent as managers of small household ponds. The fish produced in these ponds are either eaten by the family or sold to purchase other foods. Importantly, women are actively involved in the processing of fish catch - sun-drying, salting, smoking and preparing fish and fish-derived foods such as fish paste and cakes, either in cottage level industries, or as wage labourers in large scale processing industries. They are also normally the ones who subsequently sell the fish products.
In some developing regions women have become important fish entrepreneurs. As such, women earn, administer and control significant sums of money, financing a variety of fish-based enterprises and generating substantial returns for their household as well as the community. Development efforts have shown that sustained improvements in productivity and the sustainable use of fisheries and other natural resources can be achieved if women's crucial role is acknowledged. A striking example is the development and widespread adoption of the Chorkor oven, which has improved the working lives and incomes of women fisherfolk throughout Africa. Most recently, a Telefood-funded project in Mauritania has provided 50 women in a fishing cooperative with a new fish-drying plant, which will allow them to produce protein-rich food that can be transported safely across Mauritania's vast, arid hinterland. Yet, most women in fisheries lack access to physical and capital resources, to decision-making and leadership positions, to training and formal education. Access to these critical resources and services would improve the efficiency, profitability and sustainability of their activities. Although large-scale fisheries development projects, mechanization, and improved technology may increase productive capacities in fisheries, they can also increase the post-harvest workload of women. This extra burden is often undertaken without a rise in pay or at the expense of other possible income-generating activites. If a fisheries activity is enlarged or mechanized, it often becomes the domain of men. Women should be equal partners and productive participants in fisheries
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