News

The Spanish Network of Women in the Fisheries Sector (Red Española de Mujeres en el Sector Pesquero) is launching its 7th national congress, organised by the General Secretariat of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands. This meeting will be held on 3 and 4 June at the Parador de Turismo “Isla de La Palma”.

Under the slogan “Women of the sea, for a sustainable future”, this edition will address the sustainability of the oceans and seas from different perspectives, with the aim of exploring the role played by women in the fishing sector.

Roundtables and workshops will be organised, making participants to the congress the protagonists of this seventh edition. The aim is to discuss with a gender perspective the challenges and opportunities encountered by participants in different sectors of the fisheries and aquaculture value chain.

The congress thus represents the ideal place to recognise initiatives promoted by women in the field of sustainability in its triple aspect (environmental, economic and social). The congress will also promote the work carried out by women’s associations in the fishing sector and particularly in the Canary Islands.

The 7th congress of the Spanish Network of Women in the Fisheries Sector represents for professionals from the fishing and aquaculture sector a forum for meeting, dialogue and the exchange of reflections and proposals on the path to achieving real and effective equality.

Find more information on the Spanish Network of Women in the Fisheries Sector on their website and Facebook page

Link to the original version (Spanish) here

As a member of the Mediterranean Advisory Council (MEDAC), AKTEA participated to the Focus Group on Equal Opportunities.

During the meeting MEDAC secretariat presented its contribution on equal opportunities in the RPOA (Regional Plan of Action) for Small-Scale Fisheries, then the chair of the focus group, Iolanda Piedra Manes, presented the work that had been carried out during the session.

Members of the group agreed upon a next encounter during the next MEDAC meeting (30 of June and 1^st of July, 2022) to organise their future activities.

AKTEA will participate at the end of June to MEDAC General Assembly and to the focus groups on socio-economic impact and Western Mediterranean. AKTEA will also attend the YIAFA/SSF Forum organised the first day of the MEDAC General Assembly.

Next meetings to participate

• June 3rd-4th, 2022: 7th congress of the Spanish network of women in the fisheries sector, La Palma.
• June 27th- July 1st, 2022: UN Oceans Conference, Lisbon. The Low Impact Fisheries in Europe (LIFE) and other organisations will organise a workshop “on the role of women as innovators and key agents of change in fisheries” where AKTEA will have a presentation.
• September 12th- 14th, 2022: AKTEA will attend the next 4th world small scale fisheries congress: Imagine the (Un)Imaginable held in Malta.

The Spanish General Secretariat for Fisheries has recently presented the publication “Women of the sea, inspiring vocations” (“Mujeres del mar, inspirando vocaciones”) with the aim of highlighting the work of women in the fishing and aquaculture sector, and to encourage reflection on the situation of generational replacement, one of the main challenges facing the sector at the moment.

In the words of Ignacio Gandarias, president of the Spanish Network of Women in the Fishing Sector, the first section of this publication expresses the analysis and point of view of the entities and associations of women of the sea on the current state of the relay in the different areas of the fishing and aquaculture value chain, as well as its impact from the point of view of gender, with the aim of providing solutions to encourage the incorporation of young people and women in this field of activity.

The second section is made up of interviews with women workers in the different fishing and aquaculture trades – of different ages, backgrounds and origins – to show how the sector has evolved in recent decades and how the new generations are making their way into it.

It is hoped that the example of the lives of these women will serve as an inspiration and encourage the entry of new professionals who will have to ensure the continuity and survival of an activity that not only represents the way of life of many families in our country, but also contributes to the food supply of the population and is, therefore, essential and vital for everyone.

With women from

Link to the original article (in Spanish) here

AKTEA, the European network of women organisations in fisheries and aquaculture, is calling for the abolition of all inequalities preventing women from working in fisheries or aquaculture, or diminishing their role.

More women would be attracted to the profession if on-board working conditions were improved, especially in light of the labour shortage the industry has suffered from for many years. A few women own ships and are involved in fishing activities, including those deemed physically demanding by nature. Even though they remain a minority amongst the fisherfolks, those women have successfully demonstrated their capability and competence. This is also true of women entrepreneurs involved in shellfish farming and shell fishing on foot. All these women have had the acumen to rethink their vessels, work sites or activities so as to limit physical efforts and work duration to preserve their good health, while obtaining excellent value for their production.

Men often acknowledge their livelihoods, drawn from fishing and aquaculture alike, could not be sustained without the support of their wives, mothers or sisters. Family businesses owe a great debt to the women involved, in charge of selling production or implementing activities targeting tourists or schools’ students (visits, tastings, …).

Such work by women too often goes unpaid and officially unrecognised: too few hold “collaborating spouse” status, in spite of European directives in place. Too many ship owners still use the lack of appropriate sanitary facilities to exclude women from working on board their vessels.

Women’s inclusion in decision-making processes at the local, regional, national and European levels, remains too little and too marginalised. Too few women are “allowed” to take part in debates for quota allocations. Too few women are “allowed” to voice opinions and help shape management measures adopted within professional organisations. Too often meetings are held at times incompatible with caring for their children or their home. Too often do their spouses oppose women leaving their town or village when they are needed locally.

Women and men should be receiving the same support, whether at the local, regional, national or European levels. That is the reason why women organisations demand more equitable distribution of structural funds between men and women, with greater transparency over the proportion of such funds accruing to women.

Access the reply from Commissioner Sinkevičius here

The role of MEDAC includes the preparation of opinions on fisheries management and socio-economic aspects in support of the fisheries sector in the Mediterranean, to be submitted to the Member States and the European institutions in order to facilitate the achievement of the objectives of the CFP; MEDAC also proposes technical solutions and suggestions, such as joint recommendations (ex. Art. 18 Reg.1380 / 2013) at the request of the Member States.

AKTEA as well as one of its members, the Andalusian Association of Women in the fisheries sector, joined MEDAC in 2021 with the objective to promote women’s role in fisheries.

AKTEA joined the  the “Friends of Small Scale Fisheries” group at the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) and is also active within the GFCM SSF Forum.

2022 is the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture

2022 has been declared by the United Nations General Assembly as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022) and AKTEA will participate to several of the events organized in celebration of small-scale fisheries.

In July 2021, AKTEA co-organised workshop sessions on “Promoting strong and innovative SSF value chains”. These workshops focused on best practices for creating competitive economic advantages for the men and women working along the small-scale fisheries value chain.

It was reminded that:

• Women work all along the value chain – preparations for fishing trips, making gear, fishing on boats, sorting fish after landing, selling fish… but this work is not always recognized and is often considered as helping or part of family chores. Women tend to need to work more and harder than men to prove themselves and be accepted. The situation is however different in different locations depending on local traditions and customs – from women not being allowed to fish to being well accepted on boats.
• Women bring rich culture and creativity to the sector that need to be valorized. Being organized in associations and networks help women exchange experiences and to understand that they are doing a proper work, not just „helping‟, when doing different types of fisheries related work. Women need to recognize their own role to be able to also convey this understanding also to others. Recognising and supporting the role of women is important economically for both men and women and society more broadly.

The first workshop of the 2021 SSF Forum programme focuses on best practices to create competitive economic advantages for small-scale fisheries actors along the value chain. The workshop will consist of three sessions, focusing on strategies for adding value to small-scale fisheries products, such as voluntary labelling, direct selling, fish processing and packaging; and sharing the experiences of women contributing to robust SSF value chains in the region.

The 3rd Session is organized by AKTEA.

Being a woman along the SSF value chain: real life success stories and challenges

7 July 2021, 16.30 – 18.00 (CEST)

See agenda – Registration