Letter from Commissioner Sinkevičius
Don’t forget the women in European fisheries and aquaculture
On March 8th, International Women’s Rights Day, AKTEA wrote a letter to Commissioner Sinkevičius, Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries.
Here is the letter we sent:
Don’t forget the women in European fisheries and aquaculture
AKTEA, the European Network of Women in Fisheries and Aquaculture in Europe, calls for a better integration of the principle of equality and women’s rights in all European fisheries policies.
Women contribute in many ways to the production and distribution of seafood. They are entrepreneurs, crewmembers and workers. They prepare fishing gear, transport fish to auctions, sell and process sea products, develop tourism-related activities, manage businesses, manage logistics for vessels, etc. Women are also involved in the production and distribution of sea products. Women are also very present throughout the seafood processing industry as well as in the organizations that manage the sector, producer organizations, cooperatives and others.
The word “woman” was first included in the CFP in 2002. The principle of equality is enshrined in the texts of the Structural Fund for Fisheries (EMFF). However, apart from Spain, there have been very few concrete achievements. It is urgent time to give women the place they deserve in the European fisheries policy and in the structural fund. When will there be recognition that translates into their effective access to decision-making, subsidies, rights and resources?
For AKTEA, European decision-makers must radically rethink fisheries policy to translate the principle of equality and women’s rights into action.