Integrating Gender into Fisheries and Aquaculture Economics and Trade Research

This full-day workshop will be of interest to economists and interdisciplinary fisheries and aquaculture policy analysts, managers, researchers, and project planners wishing to deepen their understanding of the way gender structures economies and resource systems management and influences economic research and policy.

Women make crucial economic and social contributions to fisheries and aquaculture yet are overlooked in economic analysis, sectoral policymaking, and governance. The gendered impacts of technological innovation, economic change, and ecological shock are still poorly recognised. Even when women are included in research and data, they are often treated as a homogenous group, thereby overlooking opportunities for improving women’s status and contributions in the sectors and critical forms of compounding marginalization, such as extreme poverty, ability, or ethnicity.
The objective of this workshop is to enhance capacity for the integration of theoretically informed gender analysis in economics and trade research within fisheries and aquaculture. Through the workshop, participants will gain an understanding of why a gender perspective is important for achieving a deeper and more robust analysis of critical economic questions such as who does what in fisheries and aquaculture economies, how divisions of labor shape welfare, and the impact of economic transformation and development. Participants will also gain skills in analyzing gender in social structures in which fisheries and aquaculture economies are embedded as well as knowledge about what elements need to be considered to develop rigorous research on gender in fisheries and aquaculture economics.

Facilitators

Holly Hapke, University of California-Irvine 
Carmen Pedroza, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 
Cynthia McDougall, Stockholm Environment Institute
Kyoko Kusakabe, Asian Institute of Technology
Tara Nair, Work Fair and Free Foundation, Bangalore
Meryl Williams, Asian Fisheries Society, Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section

Introduction to the Fisheries Performance Assessment Toolkit (FPAT)

This half-day workshop will introduce users to the FPAT toolkit and examine some case studies carried out through the FAO’s Coastal Fishery Initiative. Attendees will learn about the FPAT process, data and personnel needs, and the benefits of its application in fishery investment projects, as well as research collaboration.

The Fisheries Performance Assessment Toolkit (FPAT) is a pair of technical tools and processes for the baseline design and adaptive management of fisheries interventions, especially in data-limited and/or capacity-limited contexts. Users of the FPAT toolkit begin by benchmark scoring of the Fishery Performance Indicators (FPIs), a tool designed to capture ecological, economic, and community outcomes, in a collaborative workshop. This serves as a basis for stakeholders to discuss outcomes, compare them with similar fisheries to which the FPIs have been applied, and identify target areas of improvement, leading to development of a theory of change for the project. Understanding how different infrastructure, management and governance changes can lead to the desired outcome improvements is supported by previous FPI case studies, and a fish stock simulation tool, the FPAT App. The FPAT app can be applied to model the effects of various management interventions on those performance metrics to facilitate the development or revision of a fisheries management plan (FMP) and to identify risks and data gaps. After the FMP is implemented and new data is available, the process of assessment and management strategy evaluation can be repeated to measure success and again identify areas where improvement can be prioritized.

Facilitators

Christopher Anderson, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences and Center for Sustaining Seafood, University of Washington, USA
Michael DeAlessi, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington, USA

Environmental Stewardship by Small-Scale Fisheries and Fishing Communities

This half-day workshop will explore the many ways in which small-scale fisheries, fishing communities and fishery organisations are at the heart of environmental conservation and stewardship, effectively conserving fishery resources and aquatic environments.

This participatory workshop will discuss:

• Motivations for stewardship, including values, relationships, culture and spiritual aspects, along with pursuit of sustainable livelihoods and community well-being
• Types of stewardship, including managing fisheries, restoring ecosystems, protecting conserved areas and species, engaging in advocacy and education, and working in stewardship partnerships
• Lessons learned, good practices and ingredients of success in stewardship, and how policymakers and others can support stewardship. 

The workshop will draw on the publication "Environmental Stewardship by Small-Scale Fisheries" (see below) together with real-world examples contributed from small-scale fishing communities and organizations. Experiences of workshop participants are also invited.

Resource Material:

1. Charles, A., A. Macnaughton, A. & S. Hicks. 2024. Environmental Stewardship by Small-Scale Fisheries. FAO, Rome. 89pp
2. Small-Scale Fisheries Stewardship Initiative website

Facilitators

Anthony (Tony) Charles, Saint Mary's University, Canada
Nicole Franz, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Italy

Foresight Modeling on Aquatic Food Systems

This half-day workshop will be of interest to economists, policy analysts, researchers, and policymakers who wish to deepen their understanding of the dynamics of fish production, consumption, trade, and prices to support national policy and decision-making.

Several foresight modeling tools, notably the International Model for Policy Analysis of Agricultural Commodities and Trade (IMPACT), have been developed to produce future projections of fish production, consumptions, trade, and prices in ASEAN and Africa. To generate fish supply and demand projections at the national and sub-national and at a more disaggregated level, WorldFish has developed an AsiaFish model to carry out fish sector foresight assessments for Asian countries. In recent years, WorldFish further developed the model to produce foresight scenarios for future fisheries and aquaculture development in Indonesia, Cambodia, Zambia, Bangladesh, Egypt, and Nigeria. These economic models focus on analysing the future supply and demand of fish, by simulating the impacts of external drivers such as technological progress, population growth, income growth, and climate change on fish production, consumption, and trade at the national, regional, and global levels. The objective of this training is to provide an overview of these modeling tools and to offer some hands-on training with specific examples using foresight models to explore plausible future scenarios.

Facilitators

Hoang Long Chu, Australia National University, Australia
Nhuong Tran, WorldFish, Malaysia
Chin Yee Chan, WorldFish, Malaysia

Sustainable Fisheries Governance: IUUF Economic Impacts, Promoting Fair Labor & Gender Equality

Organized by: USAID Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support Activity

TIme: 15.45-17:15, July 17
Venue: St. Giles Wembley Hotel Ballroom

This session covers diverse aspects of sustainable fisheries, ranging from transboundary fisheries management, economic impacts of illegal fishing, and fair labor practices to gender equality within the fishing industry. It will feature presentations to discuss fisheries issues from the gender equality and social inclusion perspective and how the Cooperative Action Plan to apply Decent Work for Women in Fisheries can address some of these challenges. Collectively, the presentations emphasize the importance of international and regional collaboration to strengthen national implementation, ethical practices, and holistic strategies for achieving a sustainable and equitable future for the fishing industry. (SuFiA Technical Support Activity)

Speakers:

• Dr. Arlene Satapornvanit, Chief of Party, GESI Specialist
• Dr. Soojung Ahn, Regional Fisheries Economist
• Ms. Anny Barlow, Regional Marine Management and Policy Assessment Specialist
• Mr. Len Garces, Regional Fisheries Management and Capacity Building Specialist
• Ms. Jasmin Saad, Marine Conservation, and Gender, Youth and Social Inclusion Specialist

This session is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Operationalizing a Wellbeing Economy in Fisheries

Modern fisheries operate under a paradigm of constant growth, marked by rising global production and consumption. Although this growth has led to economic gains and technological advancements, it has threatened the sustainability of marine ecosystems. This has significant consequences for the livelihoods and wellbeing of fishers, consumers, and coastal communities that depend on these resources worldwide. A wellbeing economy offers an alternative paradigm. Based on the five pillars of Purpose, Dignity, Nature, Fairness and Participation, a wellbeing economy seeks to balance economic activities with the health of the environment and social equity. We will use this IIFET Special Session to examine the operationalisation of these pillars through the lens of the fishing sector.

Boosting Blue Economies through South-South Collaboration: Policy Roundtable

Time: 11:00–11:45 am, July 16
Venue: St. Giles Wembley Hotel Ballroom

Moderator

Dr. Nitya Rao Swaminathan, Professor of Gender & Development, University of East Anglia; Commissioner, EAT-Lancet Commission 2.0; Scientific Advisory Committee Member, United Nations Food Systems Coordination Hub

Panelists

• Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Malaysia
• Opuama Paul Apoy, Deputy Director, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, Nigeria
• Davies Mukwabi Makilla, Acting Director of Blue Economy in the State Department for Blue Economy and Fisheries, Kenya
• Dr. Domingos da Conceição dos Santos, State Secretary for Fisheries, Timor-Leste

This session is being hosted under the aegis of Asia–Africa BlueTech Superhighway, funded by the UK Government and implemented by WorldFish with a host of partners to transform aquatic food systems in Africa and Asia

Regenerative Aquaculture: Economics and Policy Panel Discussion

Time: 15:30 to 17:00, July 16,
Venue: Wembley Room #9

Co-organized by the IDRC-led AQUADAPT program and the WorldFish-led CAINA project

Aquaculture, as a fast-growing sector of the global food system, is subject to policy debate, consumer pressure, market demands and regulatory compliance that places the sector in the vanguard of such food system transformations. This session will aim to assess how the sector might respond to this complex policy environment and associated market and regulatory incentives, drawing on the experiences of the AQUADAPT program, supported by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) that aims to catalyse the transformation of Asia-Pacific aquaculture by supporting nature-positive, regenerative systems.

Session Chair: Prof. Eddie Allison, WorldFish

Panelists:

• Dr. Nikita Gopal, Senior Scientist, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Central Institute of Fisheries Technology, India, and Chair of the Gender in Aquaculture and Fisheries Section of Asian Fisheries Society
• Dr. Silva Larson, Senior Research Fellow, School of Science and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia
• Justin Hunter, CEO of J. Hunter Pearls, aquaculture business, Fiji
• Dr. Victor Nikijuluw, Senior Ocean Program Advisor, Konservasi Indonesia (NGO), Indonesia
• Prashneel Chandra, Representative, Ministry of Fisheries, Fiji
• Andrew Ng, Director of Business Development at HJT Foods Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia

Funded by IDRC and the Government of Canada