A new membership network has been launched to recognise and connect women working across the UK fisheries sector.
Membership of UK Women in Fisheries (UKWIF) is open to all women working in fisheries, with the new network highlighting that many women work as fishers, in fisheries associations, as fleet managers, policymakers and charity workers, as well as at levels within the commercial operations of retail, wholesale and export of fish and fish products.
Women are also leading fisheries training centres, they are entrepreneurs in the fishing industry and often play crucial roles as partners of fishers, taking responsibility for administration in addition to having their own income and running the household, it advised.
UKWIF was formed after research studying the role that women play in fisheries and UK fisheries (Gustavsson, 2020) found that they are crucial to the fishing industry, community and to fishing families, and “provide a backbone to the industry”. However, this work also found that “women experience issues around pay, abuse and violence, as well as prejudiced and traditional beliefs. There is a lack of adaptation to women’s bodies in the industry and few opportunities for women to start fishing”.
According to UKWIF, an important ambition of this new network is to increase the visibility of women’s work in what is traditionally a male dominated industry.
Clare Leverton, UKWIF board member, said, “Women’s contribution to fisheries is valued, whether at the quayside or at the negotiating table, and UK Women in Fisheries network will connect these women, keep them informed, and enable them to have a ‘voice’ in policy making around fisheries policies.
