New socio-economic role models for women in fisheries and aquaculture

Abstract

New socio-economic role models for women in fisheries and aquaculture Stella Williams and Cornelia E. Nauen The global scale of aquatic ecosystem degradation raises the question on how women in fisheries and aquaculture can reverse their resulting loss of social status and income by becoming major actors in the transition towards restoration of lost productivity. Influx of external capital into once traditional fisheries e.g. in West Africa, has eroded the control of family enterprises and the role of women who were important in maintaining rules of restraint. While these rules have often taken the form of the sacred in traditional communities, they worked de facto as access limitations to the resource and thus had conservation effects. New socio-economic role models for women could be instrumental in allowing them to regain lost economic influence. Where social recognition is achieved, particularly through enforcement of modern equal opportunity legislation and especially so, when combined with enhanced access to formal education, training, asset titles and credit, women regain capabilities for enhanced social organisation and leadership. A participatory method is proposed to render women’s role visible and enable development of socio-economic organisation supportive of social justice and ecosystem restoration.