Women in inland capture fisheries in Kerala: An assessment

Abstract

Women in fisheries value chains are generally thought to be active in the post-harvest sector. Catching or harvesting fish, whether from inland or marine waters is considered to be a male preserve. Only men have been portrayed as fishing. However evidence shows that women have been traditionally involved in fishing especially subsistence fishing for meeting household food requirements. This activity is more wide spread in shallow waters along beaches and in inland water bodies of various types like rivers, backwaters, lakes, estuaries, kol lands, ponds etc. This particular study was exploratory in nature to find out how women actually were engaged in fishing activity and to the extent possible to arrive at a figure on how many women were actually engaged in fish harvesting. The areas covered were Pallithode, Varapuzha, Edavankkad and Kuzhippilli in Ernakulam district. Considering that the women harvesting fish were scattered and it was an unorganized activity, the study results are discussed as case studies. Constraints are also briefly discussed.