When we think of small-scale fisheries, images of fishermen casting their nets off wooden boats in the ocean might come to mind. But, what about women?

Often unacknowledged, women actually make up almost half of the overall fisheries sector workforce. Throughout the value chain, you can find women involved in harvesting, processing, marketing, trading seafood and leadership roles.

As critical links between ocean to table or lake to plate,  women play a critical and substantial role in fisheries but it's one that's largely unrecognized in management policy and programs. Similarly across many sectors, long-standing gender inequalities impede women from fully participating in economic opportunities and decision-making. If almost half the workforce is held back, ultimately the entire potential of the fisheries sector is restricted. Moreover, a narrow understanding of women’s unique roles and contributions has concluded in a failure to recognize their distinctive needs and interests within governance and even, conservation initiatives.  

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Through participatory media workshops and interviews, our collaborative goal is for women in fisheries to increase their own visibility in the sector through documentation of their roles and for researchers to gain a more nuanced understanding on the ways women benefit from small-scale fisheries while contributing towards their sustainability and management.