Workshop on Gender and Coastal Fishing Communities in Latin America, 10 to 15 June 2000, Prainha Do Canto Verde, Ceara, Brazil: Proceedings
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Workshop on gender and coastal fishing communities in Latin America, 10 to 15 June 2000, Prainha do Canto Verde, Ceara, Brazil: proceedings Item Type monograph Publisher International Collective in Support of Fishworkers Download date 29/09/2021 01:51:39 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/1834/18212 Workshop on Gender and Coastal Fishing Communities in Latin America 10 to 15 June 2000 Prainha do Canto Verde, Ceara, Brazil. Proceedings International Collective in Support of Fishworkers 27 College Road, Chennai 600 006, INDIA http://www.icsf.net Gender and Coastal Fishing Communities in Latin America 10 – 15 June 2000 Prainha do Canto Verde, Ceara, Brazil Proceedings Published by ICSF, 27 College Road, Chennai 600 006, India May 2002 Layout by Jaisakthi Computers, Chennai 600 024, India Tel: 91-44-372 2847 The opinions and positions expressed in this paper are those of the au- thors concerned, and do not necessarily represent the official views of ICSF. Information contained in this publication may be reproduced freely. However, an acknowledgement of ICSF would be appreciated. ICSF, 27 College Road, Chennai 600 006, India Tel: 91-44-827 5303 Fax: 91-44-825 4457 E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://www.icsf.net Contents Report of the workshop Section 1: Background, Objectives and Method ......................................................... 1 Section 2: Sessions ................................................................................................... 3 Section 3: Key Issues ............................................................................................... 6 Section 4: Proposals ................................................................................................. 13 Background papers 1. Chile: Women in the Caletas: A Reality in the Chilean Coastal Zone ................... 17 2. Chile: Women Fish Plant Workers: Hazards in the Workplace .............................. 41 3 Mexico: Women in Fisheries.................................................................................... 45 4. Perú: Gender Issues in the Fisheries Sector ......................................................... 97 5. Perú: Women in the Fisheries Sector ................................................................... 111 6. Brazil: Women in Fisheries: North-eastearn Pará .................................................. 115 7. Brazil: Female Labour in the Industrial Fisheries Sector in the State of Pará, Brazil: Characteristics and Trends......................................................................... 123 8. Brazil: Work of Fisherwomen in Fishing Communities of the State of Pernambuco .............................................................................................. 130 List of Participants .................................................................................................. 144 Selected Acronyms ................................................................................................. 149 Workshop on Gender and Coastal Fishing Communities in Latin America: A Report 10 to 15 June 2000, Prainha do Canto Verde, Ceara, Brazil This report is in three sections. The first of coastal fishing communities are not only provides the background and objectives, actively involved in fishery-related the profile of the participants, and outlines activities but also help sustain the in short the methodology adopted at the community and family in diverse ways. workshop. The second section is a very brief account of the sessions in sequential However, most of the work women do, order. The third sums up the main issues income-generating or otherwise, goes that emerged during the workshop, while unnoticed. It rarely shows up, for instance, the fourth and concluding section presents in government statistics on the fisheries the proposals for follow-up action sector. Nor is it recognized, or ascribed suggested by the participants. any economic or social value. Women are practically invisible at the decision-making 1. Background, Objectives level in fishworker organizations. and Method At another level, however, women in all Most of the these countries are beginning to get work women do, 1.1 Background organized into groups. In many caletas income-generating in northern Peru, for example, women are ICSF’s Women in Fisheries (WIF) or otherwise, goes getting together to participate in activities programme has been involved in several unnoticed to supplement family income—a process countries in Asia, Africa and Latin that was hastened after the recent America since 1992, with the basic devastation wreaked by El Niño on the objective of strengthening the participation fisheries sector. Similar trends can be of women in fishworker organizations and observed in the north-eastern states of in decision-making at various levels. In Brazil, where, for instance, women’s Latin America, ICSF has been active in groups have begun to claim a legitimate parts of the north-eastern province of Pará space for themselves in the colônias in Brazil since 1996. The period since then (local-level organizations of fishermen). has helped in understanding better the role These groups believe that they have a of women in fisheries and fishing vital role to play in the community and communities in this part of Brazil. It has are demanding recognition and support also been possible to identify issues that from both fishworker organizations and have a bearing on the recognition of state level authorities. women as fishworkers and key players in the sustenance of fishing communities. Valorizing the work of women The WIF Brazil programme too has been fishworkers and giving them roles of able to network extensively with other substance in fishworker organizations and organizations and individuals, both within in decision-making is important for several and outside the province, on issues of reasons. The experience of ICSF’s WIF common concern. programme in countries such as Senegal and India indicates that in addition to Contact with other fishworker strengthening the fishworker organizations organizations in the Latin American region from grassroots level, the inclusion of 1 has helped establish the fact that women women helps broaden their agenda and take on issues that are of relevance to i.e. Chile, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador and the quality of life in fishing families and Mexico, and representatives of the ICSF the community as a whole. Participation from India, Belgium and Brazil. The group of women has contributed to meaningful that came together was diverse and rich dialogues on the link between sustainable in experience. There were members from fisheries and healthy fishing communities. the Confederacion Nacional de It is in this context that the Workshop on Pescadores Artesanales de Chile Gender and Coastal Fishing (CONAPACH), Federacion de Communities in Latin America was Integracion Y Unificacion de organized. Pescadores (FIUPAP), Movimento Nacional dos Pescadores (MONAPE) 1.2 Objectives and Federación Nacional de Cooperativas Pesqueras del Ecuador – To understand the trends in fisheries (FENACOPEC), the national Fishworker development and their implications for Organizations (FWOs) from Chile, Peru, coastal fishing communities in Latin Brazil and Ecuador respectively. There America; were also representatives from NGOs, research institutes and organizations – To make visible the role of women in supporting fishworkers from Brazil, Chile, fisheries and fishing communities in Peru and Mexico. Representatives of two Latin America, and to work out organizations that provide financial support strategies to strengthen their to fisheries in the Latin American meaningful participation; region were present as observers. – To facilitate greater networking It is of note that participants included both between organizations that represent men and women as a result of a decision and work with artisanal fishworkers taken deliberately to avoid a situation in Latin America. where women alone get together to discuss gender issues. We thought it 1.3 Venue important that this be a subject both men and women engage with. Significantly, all The workshop was held at the coastal the delegations felt the same way. fishing village of Prainha do Canto Verde, in the state of Ceara, Brazil. This village 1.5 Structure and Method was selected as the venue in order to provide participants from other countries As a part of preparations prior to the as well as from other parts of Brazil an workshop, four Latin American countries opportunity to understand the reality of put together five background papers fishing communities in Ceara. The village on gender and fisheries: there was one community of Prainha has also launched each from Chile, Peru and Mexico and a socially responsible tourism project, two from Brazil. Broad guidelines were which seeks the kind of development that provided for preparing these papers, will benefit the entire community and though they were modified to take into affirm its culture and identity. account situations unique to each country at the suggestion of the researchers/ 1.4 Participants organizations responsible for writing the reports. The background papers have There were a total of 36 participants at been included in the latter part of this the workshop (Appendix). The group report. They proved useful in highlighting comprised representatives from five important issues in gender and fisheries 2 countries in the Latin American region, in several countries of the region, and provided the backdrop for discussions and increase