Thumbnail Image

Women in fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region: roles, challenges and opportunities

Year of publication 2024

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 56 p.

Author Merayo, E.; Vakhitova, V.; Carlson, A.;

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Book (stand-alone)

ISBN 978-92-5-138615-6

To cite or share https://doi.org/10.4060/cc9869en

Synopsis (short abstract) Women play active roles throughout the fisheries value chain in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, including participating in pre-harvest activities like vessel and gear construction and maintenance, harvest activities both on board fishing vessels and from shore, and post-harvest activities such as sorting, cleaning, processing and marketing the catch, as well as in activities associated with running the fishing business, such as bookkeeping. Furthermore, women are actively engaged throughout the region in fisheries research and fisheries administrations. Despite the wide and varied roles played by women in fisheries, their contributions to the sector are often not captured in official statistics and can therefore go unrecognized, reinforcing existing gender inequalities and potentially leading to inadvertent discrimination. At the same time, a lack of consideration of women working in the sector can also mean that their knowledge and experience is overlooked and not sufficiently profited from. Recognizing the importance of taking the roles, needs and experiences of women into account when addressing social, economic and environmental issues related to the fishing sector, this study aims at narrowing research gaps in the region regarding gender and fisheries, as well as supporting the commitments of Mediterranean and Black Sea countries to promoting gender equality.

Statutory body / Meeting title General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM)

Cite this content as:

Merayo, E., Vakhitova, V. & Carlson, A. 2024. Women in fisheries in the Mediterranean and Black Sea region: roles, challenges and opportunities. Rome, FAO.

https://doi.org/10.4060/cc9869en

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet
    Women as key players in greening Mediterranean agrifood systems: drivers and challenges
    Webinar outcomes
    2023
    Also available in:
    During this webinar, organized by the SFS-MED Platform and held on 5 June 2023, stakeholders from across the Mediterranean shared knowledge and concrete experiences about the role that multiple stakeholders can play in promoting the effective participation of women to greener, more sustainable and more resilient agrifood systems in the Mediterranean. Panelists and speakers highlighted that, despite they are key players in the green transition of Mediterranean agrifood systems, women and girls still face marginalization due to structural barriers and deeply ingrained gender inequalities. The discussion was instrumental in demonstrating that equal access to education, training, and financial services are essential for overcoming the challenges posed by gender inequalities, which are deeply rooted in culture. There is a need to formalize and acknowledge the impact of informal work done by women, which is often underestimated. Furthermore, we should focus on integrating gender-sensitive planning into the main policies for the green agrifood systems transition, adequately supported by gender-sensitive budgeting to ensure implementation of strategies. Eradicating gender inequalities and promoting women’s participation and leadership in the green transition of agrifood systems requires adopting a systematic approach that encompasses various agrifood-related sectors and engages diverse stakeholders. It also requires stronger women’s agency by increasing their access to information, resources, finances, and collective action. Building multi-stakeholder coalitions can also help increasing women’s participation in decision-making processes, benefiting from their expertise, and prioritizing their needs.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Booklet
    Women's contribution to community livelihoods and nutritional security in the small-scale fisheries sector in Madagascar 2025
    Also available in:
    This document aims to shed light on the diverse contributions of women to small-scale fisheries, emphasizing their direct influence on the economic landscape, dietary diversity, nutritional intake, and household food security in Madagascar. It supports the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (hereafter referred to as the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines), to which Madagascar is a signatory , and which were adopted by the FAO Committee on Fisheries in 2014 (FAO, 2015). The analytical framework is based on the methodology outlined in the study Illuminating Hidden Harvests (IHH): The Contribution of Small-Scale Fisheries to Sustainable Development, developed collaboratively by FAO, Duke University, and the WorldFish Center. This initiative, which encompassed around 50 country case studies –including Madagascar – aims to generate and share new information on small-scale fisheries to guide policy decisions and practices (FAO et al., 2023 ; Basurto et al., 2025).By identifying constraints that limit women’s participation in small-scale fishery value chains, this document aims to provide recommendations and strategies to the Government to enhance women’s empowerment and resilience to economic challenges, shocks, and climate change impacts.
  • No Thumbnail Available
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.