FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report. No. 998

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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Rome 2012

ABSTRACT

FAO.
Report of FAO Workshop on Future Directions for Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Action, Research and Development. Shanghai, China, 23–24 April 2011.
FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Report. No. 998. Rome, FAO. 2012. 29pp.

The FAO Workshop on Future Directions for Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Action, Research and Development was held at the Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, the People's Republic of China, from 23 to 24 April 2011. The Workshop was attended by 24 experts from 14 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania, and FAO.

The Workshop built on United Nations and FAO commitments that heighten attention to the gender dimension in development. It was convened with a goal to generate strategic ideas and actions that could be used to develop a «road map» for future directions on gender in aquaculture and fisheries. To this end, the Shanghai statement was drafted as a starting point to guide actions on the path to understanding the implications of roles, experiences and contributions of women and men in aquaculture and fisheries. The workshop showed differences in expert opinions relative to three major issues: (1) whether gender issues in aquaculture and fisheries should be considered broadly as gender issues or more specifically focused on women; (2) who are the most vulnerable types of people in the sector; and (3) what areas and to what extent gender issues in aquaculture and fisheries should or can be considered together or treated separately.

Experts agreed that direct advocacy to focus attention on gender in the fish sector is needed to achieve the level of understanding and awareness needed to stimulate actions. Political will is needed to implement and practice gender mainstreaming. Policy makers must be convinced of the need for change, and prerequisites for well-developed policies should be put in place. Such policies must rest on the principles of economic empowerment of women throughout the value chain. Policy priorities should include the needs of marginalized and vulnerable women's and children's groups. They also recognized the value of gender training, education and extension using gender lens concepts and theory when developing gender training modules relevant for aquaculture and fisheries. Gender should be added to courses which educate and train decision-makers and officials. The workshop identified a number of important key gender concepts and how they relate to research, required tools and data.

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