Coastal Fisheries Programme
WIF20
Number 20 - November 2009
WIF_Title

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Coordinator: Veikila Vuki, Marine Laboratory, University of Guam, UOG Station, PO Box 5214, Mangilao, Guam 96913.

Production: Information Section, Fisheries Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems Division, SPC, BP D5, 98848 Noumea Cedex, New Caledonia.

Prepared with financial assistance from Australia, France and New Zealand.


Editor's note

Welcome to the 20th issue of the Women in Fisheries Bulletin, which highlights gender roles in coastal fisheries, womens fishing activities in urban and rural communities, and gender issues in development.

In Cheryl Andersons article Gendered dimensions of disaster risk management, natural resource management, and climate change adaptation in the Pacific, she describes the need to understand gender issues in Pacific Island societies. She presents arguments for the need to include gender analysis in risk reductions and climate change adaptations, and argues that there are still gaps and opportunities for making programmes more gender responsive so that Pacific Island communities can be resilient to climate change and disaster risks.

In his paper on Searching for clues in the lagoon: Is marine gathering a reflection of our evolutionary past? Thomas Malm discusses contemporary marine gathering in Tonga and Oceania. He describes marine gathering as skills that use several methods. He also discusses how marine gathering provides food for families and recreational activities for those women involved.

In the next article, Jese Verebalavu reviews Fijian womens involvement in fisheries business. She briefly describes Fijian womens economic activities and assesses womens contribution to the fisheries sector. There are two reports from the Hawaiian Islands in this issue.

In Reef fish stocks and fishing impacts in the Hawaiian Islands, 89 coral reef sites were surveyed to assess fishing impacts. The status of Oahus fish stock populations indicate that reef fish populations are heavily depleted. There were variations in responses of target and non-target fish to increasing population densities. In the article Impacts of west Hawaii marine protected areas on yellow tang stocks and fishery sustainability, the authors emphasise the importance of yellow tang to the aquarium fishery. Their survey data indicate that protected areas will help sustain adult stocks of yellow tang over large areas of coastline.

In the article New sourcebook can help create more gender-sensitive projects, Meryl Williams describes the Gender in agriculture sourcebook and its relevance to fisheries and aquaculture. The sourcebook has a special module that addresses gender issues in fisheries and aquaculture.

There are also two articles in this issue from Yemaya on seafood processing. In Women in seafood processing, Gopal et al. conducted a study in Gujarat, India, on the seafood processing industry. There are high demands from importing countries such as the European Union for seafood processing industries to meet international standards. This has raised standards and the quality of seafood processed has improved markedly. In contrast, the working conditions for women have not changed dramatically because of weak bargaining power. In the article, Solar power empowers, Veeraraghav reports that solar-powered fish driers are being used by fisherwomens groups in Tamil Nadu, India. This method of drying fish uses the sun (a renewable energy source) and has revolutionised seafood processing. It is also a hygienic way of processing food and it is easier to use with less human resources.

I welcome any feedback on the articles in this issue and encourage you to submit articles about women and community fishing issues from your country or region.

Veikila Vuki

 


Contents

Gendered dimensions of disaster risk management, natural resource management, and climate change adaptation in the Pacific
Anderson C.L. (pdf: 93 KB)
Searching for clues in the lagoon: Is marine gathering a reflection of our evolutionary past?
Malm T. (pdf: 93 KB)
Women in artisanal and commercial fisheries in Fiji
Verebalavu J. (pdf: 367 KB)
Reef fish stocks and fishing impacts in the Hawaiian Islands
Williams I.D., Walsh W.J., Schroeder R.E., Friedlander A.M., Richards B.L.,Stamoulis K.A. (pdf: 257 KB)
Impacts of west Hawaii marine protected areas on yellow tang stocks and fishery sustainability – The West Hawaii Fish Replenishment Area Network
Williams I.D., Walsh W.J., Claisse J.T., Tissot B.N., Stamoulis K.A. (pdf: 383 KB)

Download the complete publication:

Women in fisheries #20 (pdf: )


 

 
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