Chaired by: Frangoudes, K., Gerrard, S. & Kleiber, D.
En)Gendering Change in Small-Scale Fisheries and Fishing Communities in a Globalized World
Katia Frangoudes, Siri Gerrard & Danika Kleiber
University of Brest
Coastal areas and communities have experienced major changes over recent decades. Some are under pressure by the rapid development, for example by urbanization, industrialization, climate change, mass tourism, etc and others have suffered economic depression as the activities that traditionally sustained coastal communities become increasingly unsustainable. These changes had economic impacts on the fishing, aquaculture and others related activities and modified the social role within coastal societies, with new social and cultural processes emerging in coastal areas.
Change has impacted men and women differently; the construction of gender and gender relations has consequences on the division of labor in fisheries, in coastal communities and also in the relationships in the community or vice versa. Despite this, research on gender and gender relations, as well as on women, in fisheries and aquaculture and their role in communities is scarce.
The interconnection between gender relations, work and community can include many topics and can vary from place to place dependent on the history, “materialities”, social and cultural conditions. Gender relations and communities can therefore be studied in many ways.
The propose panel aims to bring together authors of the two special issues of MAST and others scientists interesting on gender dimensions in fisheries and aquaculture (women organizations and movements, women work, gender and food security, trade of fish produce, etc..).
Note: This panel is organizing by the TBTI cluster women/gender in fisheries and aquaculture, OCEAN PAST PLATFORM, PERICLES H2020 project.
Women Fishers in Norway: Few, but Significant
Siri Gerrard & Danika Kleiber
Professional fishing and fisheries quota systems can affect women and men differently, yet gender analysis of quota systems is rare. This study will focus on the long-term gendered situation after Norway introduced the quota system in 1990. Using data from the national fishery registry and special data produced by the Directorate of Fisheries, we examine the changes in the number of women fishers, their regional and age distributions, as well as women’s boat-ownership and access to coastal fishing quotas. We contextualize the statistical data with participant observation, conducted in Finnmark between 1975 and 2017. This mixed method approach highlights the changes women and men in the fisheries have faced, while also addressing the political efforts of women fishers to improve their working conditions. Using a gender perspective to examine the interaction between cultural and structural barriers to women’s participation in Norway’s fisheries, this study examines the long-term gendered impacts of the fishery politics, included the quota policy. This contributes to a more nuanced and complete understanding of women fishers’ situation in a quota regime.
SOCIAL TRANSFORMATION IN EUROPEAN FISHING COMMUNITIES: WOMEN’S PERSPECTIVES
Esther Copete
The perceived effect of globalisation in fishery communities’ transformations together with the changing fishery governance is at the root of the disintegration of social ties and the discontent in declining fishery communities. Hence, the market in combination with political and social actors at the local, national, and transnational level creates the situation for understanding social cohesion in the context of weakening social equilibrium and social fabric. This paper analyses elements that hold individuals living in fishing communities together and focuses on women’s contribution to societies’ equilibria.
The investigation presented in this paper explores women’s perspectives on the socio-economic and cultural changes in European fishing communities through a social cohesion lens. Focusing on women’s collective and/or individual actions to enhance the wellbeing and living conditions of their communities’ members, the qualitative study is based on interviews carried out under the Geography of Inshore Fishing and Sustainability project between 2012 and 2015 in 14 case studies sites in England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.
The use of the theoretical functional framework uncovers the roles of women within the fishery social structure in the maintenance of social cohesion and has allowed us to observe different views regarding the fishery community’s capacity to self-maintain. By exploring women’s roles in fishery communities’ changing social order, the study illustrates the boundaries between the personal and the political. Emerging findings suggest that women’s inclusion in policy decision-making forums contributes to the achievement of the social cohesion strategy of “shared responsibilities” which aims to connect institutions and actors (public and private), situated at different territorial levels.
What is the role of wives of new fishers in Japan?
Kumi Soejima
The number of fishers in Japan is decreasing. The population of 626,000 fishers in 1963 had declined to 160,000 by 2016. Only 1927 new fishers joined the industry in 2016. In many cases, the sons of fishers become new fishers. However, the sons of fishers are gradually choosing other industries not involving fishing, and the number of new fishers is declining. Therefore, the government has started to support people with no previous involvement with the fishery sector becoming fishers. The number of new fishers previously uninvolved with the fishery sector (whom I call “I-turn fishers,” using the Japanese phrase for one-way urban-to-rural relocation) is increasing nowadays.
If married, these I-turn fishers move with their wives and children from other areas to live in local fishing communities to become fishers. In most cases, these wives follow along with their husbands’ decisions to become fishers. Of course, a husband’s decision to become a fisher is important; however, it is also important whether the wife can or cannot adapt to her new lifestyle as a member of a fishing household and a fishing community. However, the government pays no attention to this. In some kinds of fishing, work, wives go out in boats to fish with their husbands. In many cases, wives become involved in land-based fishery work without going out in boats. However, there are no training opportunities for wives. Based on these circumstances, this presentation
Intangible Cultural Heritage and Fisheries: The role of women in Bretagne
Katia Frangoudes, Sybill Henri & Juliette Herry
Traditionally, cultural heritage has been linked and designated around monuments or the collection of objects, known as tangible heritage, however, this has changed recently with the integration of traditions and living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed to the young generations. This transformation was partially produced through the UNESCO instruments which are now recognizing oral traditions, performing arts, rituals, social practices, knowledge and practices as well knowledge and skills that promote the traditional craft production as part of culture heritage. The importance of this intangible cultural heritage is not the cultural manifestation itself but rather the wealth of knowledge and skills that are transmitted from one generation to the next.
Along the Brittany coast in France, some maritime activities such as fisheries or shellfish farming are under pressure due to the ecological, technological, institutional changes and also to the lack of young people interesting to practice such activities. Even if taking place only in a few communities these activities represent an identity which has been enriching the legacy of the territories for centuries. Within the EU H2020 project PERICLES the aim
