Read the Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section’s statement of support for the Shanghai Declaration: Aquaculture for Food and Sustainable Development.

Seaweed farming is an important livelihood source for tens of thousands of families in the Southeast Asia. Using a gendered analysis in the Philippines, this story reveals essential gender aspects of production and risk mitigation strategies.

The recently completed project, USAID Oceans and Fisheries Partnership (USAID Oceans: 2015-2020) had human welfare and gender (HWGE) in fisheries as one of its workstreams, along with technology development for an electronic Catch Documentation and Traceability system (eCDT), Ecosystems Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM), Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Regional Collaboration.

We are pleased to release the latest annual E-Newsletter of the Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section (GAFS) of the Asian Fisheries Society. The E-Newsletter Editor, Surendran Rajaratnam pointed out that as he wrote his introduction, “people around the world have already endured weeks of social and economic restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Women work in all stages of the fish value chain, producing, processing and selling fish and through their work support the economy, their households, and communities in rural and coastal regions. They are said to make up half the fisheries workforce, yet their work goes unrecognized in most official Read more about Latest special issue of Gender, Technology & Development examines new learnings on women and fisheries ...

Three new reports have been released on the 7th Global Conference on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries (GAF7), held in Bangkok 18-21 October 2018. These all present different types of important reportage on GAF7 and, from their different perspectives, help fill out the detail on the event. In addition, a number of presentations from GAF7...

We are delighted to introduce the first annual e-Newsletter of the Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section of the Asian Fisheries Society. Officially launched during the Opening Session of the 12 Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Forum of the Asian Fisheries Society in Iloilo, Philippines, the Newsletter introduces the Section, its membership and Executive Committee, news ...

Slowly over the last few decades, the number and type of organisations representing the interests of women in fisheries and aquaculture have begun to grow and diversify. Little is written about this welcome growth of activity and so the new FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Circular by Enrique Alonso-Población and Susana Siar (Link) “Women’s participation and Read more about From “women do fish” to “women do participate and lead”...

GAF-India was held in Kochi, Kerala, India from 21-24 November 2017. Previously, the prize winners of the M.C. Nandeesha Photo Competition were announced (link). Now we are happy to announce the student prize winners for GAF-India presentations and posters, and the winner of the first Asian Fisheries Society Indian Branch Prof. M.C. Nandeesha Gender Justice and...

A recent paper: “Homestead pond polyculture can improve access to nutritious small fish” published in the journal Food Security1 investigates an aquaculture production system in Bangladesh which is tailored towards improving nutrition and is accessible to and can be managed by women. In Bangladesh, and many parts of rural south Asia, women’s movements outside the homestead...

Map showing the locations (mainly at country resolution level) for events and news about women in aquaculture, fisheries and seafood in honor of International Women’s Day 2017. If you have more events from 8 March 2017 to put on this map, please let us know at: e-mail genderaquafish@gmail.com. Before, during and after 8 March 2017...

Dr. Mudnakudu C. Nandeesha (1957-2012), who instigated many women/gender in aquaculture and fisheries initiatives, passed away on 27 December 2012. On the 4th anniversary of his passing, we pause to remember him and acknowledge his contributions on many fronts, including on gender awareness and action. Dr Nandeeshabegan his work in aquaculture research and development in Karnataka...

FAO has released a publication, “Promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment in fisheries and aquaculture”, prepared jointly by the Social Policies and Rural Institutions Division and the Fisheries Department within FAO. The publication provides an overview of current gender equality and women’s empowerment issues in the fisheries and...

In 2013, a group of organisation, led by WOCAN (Women Organizing for Change in Agriculture and Natural Resource Management) produced a very useful distillation of good practices for including women in key climate change mitigation programs, especially REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation). Most of the good advice in the “Scoping study of ...

The September 2016 issue of Yemaya (Issue 52), the gender and fisheries newsletter of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF) is full of articles that explore the structural inequalities affecting women in fisheries and aquaculture. This is recommended reading! Contents (below) and link to Issue 52 Gathering cooperation (Costa Rica mollusk gatherers) by Aracelly Jimenez ...

To celebrate International Women’s Day 2016, Yemaya, the gender in fisheries newsletter of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, collected a set of regional summaries of milestones for women in fisheries. In her overview for this issue of Yemaya, the editor, Nilanjana Biswas, concluded that while we take stock of, and celebrate the achievements ...

Mrs. M. Usha belongs to the Indian Scheduled Irular tribal community. She lives in the remote area of Kulathumedu, a Scheduled Tribal village, Palaverkadu (Pulicat) Post, Ponneri Taluk, Tiruvallur dt.,Tamil Nadu, South India. Reaching her farming site is quiet tedious. Either you need to trek to these remote villages or go in by boat.

Wishing all our readers and contributors a healthy, productive and happy 2016! Looking back on 2015, the Genderaquafish website continued to serve a large and very diverse range of people in 163 countries and territories in all regions. Our top 5 countries for readers were: India (2,973), USA (2,673), Philippines (798), Australia (607) and South...

Presented at the International course on Advanced Lessons on Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics: A Tribute to Prof. M. C. Nandeesha (1957 – 2012) held at Santander, Spain from 22 to 26 July 2013. By Piyashi DebRoy I begin with expressing my heartfelt thankfulness to Prof. Josè Fernández Polanco for having provided me with the humble opportunity...

On 27th December 2012, Dr M.C. Nandeesha, who initiated the first efforts to address gender in aquaculture and fisheries in Asia, passed away. We honor his memory and achievements and hope that his legacy will continue to grow through the gender efforts of the Asian Fisheries Society and other professional and grassroots groups. In collaboration with...

The latest Secretariat of the Pacific Community Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin (#26), “highlights gender roles in coastal fisheries and development, and women’s fishing activities in urban and rural communities”, said its editor, Veikila Vuki. The issue contains the following articles, and can be downloaded here: Guest editorial: Gender in aquaculture and fisheries – Navigating change, by...

Brief report on the Proceedings of the Seafood Industry and Social Development Conference 21-22 September 2015, Annapolis, Maryland, USA By Arlene Nietes Satapornvanit In early 2015, NACA (Network for Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific) was invited by Oxfam/SFP/UNDP to participate in the Seafood Industry and Social Development Conference to present the work we are doing on...

In the August 2015 issue of Samudra Report, the journal of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers, Marie Christine Monfort describes her expedition to “fish out” what was happening for women in the fish sector. She also provides an abridged version of the recent Globefish Report, “The Role of Women in the Seafood Industry”...

In a recent FAO report (A Review of Women’s Access to Fish in Small Scale Fisheries), Angela Lentisco and Robert Lee have gone beyond the typical portrayal of women as fish processors and marketers have reviewed and categorized three main ways in which women access fish in small scale fisheries. First is primary access through...

Women are particularly important in the key industrial tuna and coastal fish value chains in the Solomon Islands. They are active inshore fishers, critical in providing labour in the large SolTuna at Noro in Western Province, and in certain domains of local fish marketing. A recent World Bank study [“Gender, Fisher, Trader, Processer: Towards Gender-Equitable...

This International Women’s Day we are pleased to share a heartening and forward looking set of messages from Asian women in the aquaculture sector. The presentation comes courtesy of the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific and Aquaculture without Frontiers. Click on the picture above to launch the slide show, which starts with the challenges...

A tremendous emphasis in agriculture, fisheries and aquaculture research is given to developing new, more efficient and profitable technologies for farmers and fishers. Governments all around the world support research and extension institutes, and the private sector also has a huge influence. But how are women faring in having a say in what their priorities...

Rapid economic development in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors often relies heavily on local or migrant women workers entering the paid workforce. This has been the case on the Island of Chiloé in southern Chile, one of the areas of intense growth of salmon aquaculture and salmon processing for export. In their recent paper in...

A Tribute by Pedro Bueno, former Director General NACA He went to work in what was then called Kampuchea whose countryside was still strewn with unexploded bombs and land mines. He was young and probably cared little if he stepped on one. He promoted to a country, reeling from genocide, aquaculture development. It was for...

Our Genderaquafish website continued to grow in popularity in 2014, with visits to the site increasing by 9% over the 2013 level, reaching 18,454 visits from people in at least 162 countries, covering all regions. Our top 5 countries for visitors were: India (4,734), USA (2,528), Philippines (941), Malaysia (831), UK (696). REGIONS Posts from Asia and Africa were...

On 27 December 2012, we lost Dr M.C. Nandeesha, who brought awareness to the importance of women in Asian and global fisheries, and who initiated the first substantive activities to address gender inequality to the work and the considerations of the Asian Fisheries Society. Beginning with the 1990 Women in Fisheries in India Workshop, held...

COP20, the UN climate conference is now underway in Lima, Peru (20th session of the Conference of the Parties and the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol). Concerted efforts are being made to engender the new climate agreement that the countries are...

The November 2014 edition of Samudra Report, the global periodical on fisheries issues published by the International in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), highlighted the 5th Global Symposium on Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries (GAF5) in its article “Still a Long Way to Go.” The article, by Katia Frangoudes and Shuddhawati Peke, give an overview of GAF5...

A new CGIAR report, “Bangladesh small and medium-scale aquaculture value chain development: Past trends, current status and likely future directions” by Niaz Ahmed Apu reviews a wealth of recent information and and also endeavours to do justice to available knowledge on the contributions and opportunities for women in the value chains. Gendered knowledge is still Read more about Bangladesh aquaculture value chain analysis...

In a recent publication in the journal Feminist Economics, “Fishing Na Everybody Business”: Women’s Work and Gender Relations in Sierra Leone’s Fisheries, Andy Thorpe and co-authors take three sets of data (from the National Frame Surveys of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, a survey of women fish processors by the Institute of Marine Biology...

Dr. B. Shanthi, Principal Scientist (Home Science), and team, Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA), Chennai (India), recently won the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Award for Outstanding Interdisciplinary Team Research in Agricultural and Allied Sciences – 2011-12, for work done under the Department of Bio-Technology funded project on Diversification of Livelihoods among Women...

A new report, Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture for Food Security and Nutrition, has provided probably “the most comprehensive recent attempt to review and synthesize the current knowledge” said Dr Christophe Béné. Dr Béné, of the Institute of Development Studies, chaired the team of the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) on Food Security and Nutrition of...

A new Norad report by Cecile Brugere and Bodil Maal has delved into gender roles in the fisheries and aquaculture value chains in Mozambique, finding that women play a large role in the fisheries value chain, but their social organization is not strong. Women dominate aquaculture production but the aquaculture value chain is still only...

“So though Nandeesh is not with us physically, his thoughts and deeds are there to guide us through these difficult times” Rajeswari Dayal B. (his loving wife) . This marks the first anniversary of the passing of our dear friend Dr Mudnakudu C. Nandeesha, who was the person who brought gender awareness to the Asian...

In coastal communities in India, fisheries and aquaculture can provide women and men with many opportunities for work and livelihood. In Tamil Nadu state, the Central Institute for Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA) has long worked on the ground and out in the villages to improve those opportunities with science and people-based projects. Recently, CIBA published two...

Christine Okali’s latest blog challenges policy makers to scrap the handy (and often unsupported) narratives on women/gender and climate change. Here is some of what she said – but do read the whole blog! “It is time to re-socialise gender policies. For real progress to be made towards gender equity and transforming gender relations across...

A new publication from the World Bank’s Africa Development Forum takes a hard look at gender inequality in legal rights and relates this to women’s chances of succeeding in the economic sphere. Particularly, this book looks at family inheritance and land laws, which underlie the (gender-blind) business laws. It examines the laws in all 47...

Many fisheries and aquaculture experts are now engaged in climate change research and action, so this new publication from the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and collaborators is a handy guide to finding the gender-sensitive text in the various formal agreements under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Download the document here: http://www.wedo.org/wp-content/uploads/united-nations-web.pdf...

This FAO publication is a very welcome addition to the material on the problems and solutions to gender inequality all along fish supply chains. Good practice policies to eliminate gender inequalities in fish value chains, by Jennie Dey de Pryck analyses the facts, as they are known and provides guidance to action to address the inequalities across the sector,...

A report and news story have come out on “Capacity building of tribal women self help groups on brackishwater aquaculture integrated with agro – based technologies” by Dr B. Shanthi, and her colleagues M. Kailasam, K. Ambasankar, P. Mahalakshimi, V.S. Chandrasekaran, S.M. Pillai and A.G.Ponniah, all of the the Central Institute of Brackishwater Aquaculture (CIBA, Indian,...

This website, genderaquafish.org, will be 3 years old next month. Recently, as I undertook some long overdue maintenance, I reflected on the joys and pains of a maturing website. First the joys! Thanks to a steady feed of good and relevant material on women/gender in aquaculture and fisheries, and supporting material from...

Naila Kabeer and Luisa Natali recently published a review for the Institute of Development Studies into the two-way relationships between gender equality and economic growth, across sectors and countries. They reviewed studies of labour market participation in different sectors and services, earnings and well-being and rights. Their conclusion is that the relationship between gender equality...

In 2012, the European Union (EU) Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), through the Joint Research Centre of the EU, published a report on the Economic Performance of the EU Fish Processing Industry Sector (STECF-OWP-12-01). In aggregate from the reporting countries, the 2011 employment statistics show that women and men are almost evenly balanced, in terms of...

A new EU report on the European Union member countries’ aquaculture sector contains some basic gender-disaggregated data on employment in the production segment of aquaculture. Although the statistics are incomplete, they nevertheless provide some useful information. The report is called: The Economic Performance of the EU Aquaculture Sector – 2012 exercise. (STECF-13-03). It is a joint Scientific and...

WorldFish Center and IFAD have released a guide to ex-ante impact evaluation in aquaculture and fisheries. The guide gives good attention to collecting gender disaggregated information. The guide is: Crissman, C.C., Abernethy, K., Delaporte, A., Timmers, B. (2013) A Practical Guide for Ex-ante Impact Evaluation in Fisheries and Aquaculture. CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems...

Getting gender into the fisheries and aquaculture agenda requires large and fundamental changes inside the organisations that support the sector, including the research institutes. Last year, the fisheries institutes of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), one of the world’s largest agricultural research systems, held a pioneering workshop to plan a future roadmap for Read more about A Future Gender Roadmap in Indian Fisheries Research...

Women’s and men’s contributions are both critical to the success of aquaculture and fisheries. Statistics on the growing interest being shown in this website since its creation over two years ago (in September 2010) indicate that more people are taking an interest in research and development insights on gender in aquaculture and fisheries. In 2012, the...

With deep regret, I convey the sad news that Dr M.C. Nandeesha, the inspiration for starting the Asian Fisheries Society’s Gender/Women in Fisheries/Aquaculture activities in the early 1990s, has passed away in Chennai, India. The gender and fisheries community, and others such as the fisheries education and aquaculture research and development communities, convey their sincere...

“Gender equality thinking should not focus just on the numbers of women and men in fish supply chains”, said Gifty Anane-Taabeah (Ghana), the final panelist on Overcoming Gender Equalities in Fish Supply Chains. The panel and two presentation sessions (Markets and Value Chains for Small Aquaculture Enterprises and Looking at Fish Supply Chains with a...

The United Nations University – World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) held its first Research and Communication in Foreign Aid project workshop on gender equality (12-13 July 2012, Helsinki). Gender equality is one of the project’s five themes. The workshop identified key focus areas for what works, what could work, what is transferable, and...

A new working paper from WorldFish Center delves into some of the basic background information needed to develop research and development programs with a gender focus in aquaculture and fisheries production systems in Bangladesh, Cambodia, the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Zambia. Transforming aquatic agricultural systems towards gender equality: a five country review Weeratunge, N., Chiuta,...

A new UNDP report – Powerful Synergies: Gender Equality, Economic Development and Environmental Sustainability – is aimed at the policy makers. It does not explicitly address fisheries and aquaculture, but this document nevertheless is useful background on how the global environment agreements and events have virtually ignored gender, and specifically women. Description. “This publication, Powerful Synergies: Gender,...

Seaweed farming has grown at much the same rapid rate as other forms of aquaculture in the last twenty years, but seaweeds are produced in far fewer countries than, for example, farmed fish. The Philippines and Tanzania are among the top 8 countries. India is not yet on the list but, on the Coromandel (southeast) ...

A new web-based data system from the World Bank and a report, “Removing Barriers to Economic Inclusion” provides valuable legal information on laws affecting businesses. In aquaculture and fisheries, many studies have found that access to investment credit, capital and rights over resources, land and other assets are not equal for women and men in...

Many readers of Genderaquafish are interested in or already working on climate change projects in aquaculture and fisheries. Therefore, we especially thank Cornelie Quist for alerting us to the rich set of resources on gender and climate change that were recently released in BRIDGE Update, Issue No. 92, June 2012 http://archive.ids.ac.uk/bridge/cutting-edge-programmes/gender-and-climate-change.html In the BRIDGE Update...

The Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin is always welcome. The WIF Bulletin started in 1997 and always contains interesting information from the central and western Pacific ocean, the region where women have traditionally had a very active role in fisheries. Here is the line-up of articles from the 22nd issue. We thank the coordinator Veikila...

Mekong Gender and Fisheries Network Meets in Nong Khai, Thailand On 21 and 22 June 2012, the world’s longest running gender and fisheries network, the Mekong Network for Gender Promotion in Fisheries Development (NGF) held its 13th annual meeting and field visits to women’s groups for fish processing and aquaculture in the northwest of Thailand...

Thanks to FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Division’s Aquaculture service, we are able to provide a link to a copy of just Chapter 6.3 from the Proceedings of the Global Aquaculture Conference. Here is the link to download the chapter –Sustaining aquaculture by developing human capacity and enhancing opportunities for women. The link has also been Re...

We are delighted to announce that the “Proceedings of the Global Conference on Aquaculture 2010: Farming the Waters for People and Food” has now been launched, including a chapter on gender and human capacity development, and the inclusion of gender in the Phuket Concensus statement. The inclusion of gender is a breakthrough and a first ...

Workshop short report by the following four colleagues from the Indian Council for Agricultural Research. Dr B. Shanthi, Senior Scientist, CIBA, Chennai Dr.B.Meenakumari, Deputy Director General, (Fisheries), New Delhi Dr.P.Jayashankar, Director, CIFA, Bhubaneswar, Orissa, and Dr.Vipinkumar,V.P, Senior Scientist, CMFRI, Kochi, Kerala. Under the UPM (Universiti Putra Malaysia) led ASEM Aquaculture Platform WP7 (ASEM stands for Asia-Europe...

Many aquaculture and fisheries agencies and research institutes are starting to wonder what they should be doing about getting gender into their work – “mainstreaming” is one of the buzz words we hear. Across the fence in agricultural research organizations, you can find some useful materials to guide your organizations’s emerging gender strategy. Start by taking a look...

A new tool for measuring women’s empowerment in agriculture should have good applications in the aquaculture sector also. The index was developed through a partnership between the US Agency for International Development (USAID), IFPRI and Oxford University’s Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI). Using 5 criteria, it measures the empowerment of women in agriculture and in their own...

8th March is International Women’s Day! The UN’s theme for 2012 is Empower Rural Women – End Poverty and Hunger. This is also an appropriate call for women in aquaculture and fisheries. Women now make up a greater percentage of the agricultural workforce than they did a few decades ago. Individual studies on gender...

Click here to view video We recommend you check out this new comprehensive FAO aquaculture video that, among others, highlights the role of women in aquacutlure. Good to see women highlighted in a mainstream aquaculture presentation. Turning Points in Modern Aquaculture Short Description: “This 15-min video was produced by the Aquaculture Service of the FAO Fisheries...

Wishing all you, our GAF readers, a happy, successful and productive 2012! We thought you might like to hear how Genderaquafish is being used. For the following information, I thank WordPress, our site hosts, for their excellent statistics. Since starting up in late 2010, we have been fairly active and well read. In just over...

With world attention on climate change, two recent publications on gender and climate change, though not focused on fisheries and aquaculture, deliver a similar message: yes, women and men have different vulnerabilities to climate change, gendered analysis and approaches are needed but women and men’s agency, not just women and men’s vulnerabilities should be considered.

Gender research is still sparse for gender and aquaculture, fisheries and the coasts. Gender studies are a little further advanced in agriculture and natural resource management. Very useful resource materials can be found from the work of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), one of the CGIAR Centers. Here are 5 links to IFPRI ...

“Community listeners’ clubs: Stepping stones for action in rural areas” Invented in Niger and the Democratic Republic of the Congo by NGOs and FAO, community listeners’ clubs are creative new institutions that help rural women and men access and share information by radio to improve their lives and solve their farming and other problems and...

This open access library contains some important papers and whole books from the fisheries and aquaculture social science field. A welcome addition to open access information. OAPEN (Open Access Publishing in European Networks) is a collaborative initiative to develop and implement a sustainable Open Access publication model for academic books in the Humanities and Social...

Over the last several months, studies, blogs and news articles have highlighted the challenges of assessing and understanding the various impacts of microfinance. Although not directly addressing fisheries and aquaculture, the findings are relevant to those studying gender in aquaculture and fisheries as microfinance is often part of a development initiative targeted at women in small scale...

Recommended reading! “Influencing Change: Mainstreaming Gender Perspectives in Agricultural Research and Development in Eastern and Central Africa.” Edited by: Barun Gurung, Elizabeth Ssendiwala, Michael Waithaka Link to download publication Part of the CGIAR Particiaptory Research and Gender Analysis Program, the project from which this very useful report came sought to influence the policies of agricultural ...

Research agencies are very important social institutions in fisheries and aquaculture. Over the decades, their knowledge continues to grow and multiply, enriched through partnerships, outreach and synergies between existing and new ideas. The electronic information era creates new opportunities to make agency knowledge more accessible through creating institute repositories. In the last year, two major ...

Congratulations to NACA for winning this prestigious award! http://www.enaca.org/modules/news/article.php?storyid=1912 The Margarita Lizárraga Medal Award was established by the FAO Conference in 1997 to honour the memory of Dr Magarita Lizárraga, former Senior Fishery Liaison Officer, for her decisive role in promoting the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and for her productive work in the Read more about NACA wins the Margarita Lizárraga Medal ...

Opening Keynote Address at the 9th Asian Fisheries and Aquaculture Forum – Better Science, Better Fish, Better Life-w links – includes women’s contributions to production, fish value chains and the changing gender balance among university graduates for the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.

In 2010-11, FAO’s annual flagship publication, The State of Food and Agriculture, is devoted almost totally to the role of women in agriculture, including some coverage of women in fisheries and aquaculture. Sub-titled, ‘Closing the gender gap for development’, it highlights that women face a serious gender gap in access to the most productive agricultural...