European Union<\/p>\n
A new world ?<\/strong><\/p>\n Woman’s roles in European fisheries are finally given attention, but there is still a long way to go to give women the recognition they deserve<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n By Cornelie Quist, a member of ICSF and contact person for VinVis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n A two-day conference to discuss ways to enhance the role of women in the fisheries sector of Europe under the newly reformed Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) was held on 23 and 24 January 2003 in Brussels. It was the first time in its history that the European Commission (EC) organized a conference on this subject. The conference was also unique in that a majority of the women participants came from fishercommunities themselves.<\/p>\n \u0093This is a new world, were the first words that escaped from the mouth of Commissioner Franz Fischler, responsible for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development, when he was confronted with the around 150 women that were gathered for the conference. The women were from the fisheries sector of all the Member States of the EU. There was also a small delegation from Norway and Iceland, which are not EU members.<\/p>\n Launching the conference, Commissioner Franz Fischler said that women’s roles remain little known, let alone understood. He said: \u0093Recent statistics show that you participate actively in fish processing, in the marketing of fish products, in aquaculture and also in fishing. Around 84,000 women are employed in these sectors, representing 22 per cent of all employment in the fishing industry.<\/p>\n \u0093Woman’s activities in the family and in the industry support sides of fisheries are usually unpaid and often unrecognized. These activities become especially crucial in times of crisis when you are the key to keeping communities and families together. This is why we must take into account the role of women in studies and management decisions concerning the fishing industry.<\/p>\n Mr Fischler reminded the participants that encouraging stakeholder participation in the European Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) is one of the crucial aspects of the CFP reform adopted by the European Council last December. The new CFP includes long-term management goals in fisheries, limits fishing effort, proposes to end by 2004 all public aid for the renewal of the fleet, and proposes more harmonized controls across the EU. These changes will benefit the industry and the coastal areas concerned, said Mr Fischler.<\/p>\n Ms. Rosa Miguelez Ramos, the vice-chairperson of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament, was the second to address the conference. She said that despite the fact that women have always worked and made their contribution to the sector, the family, and the community, they always have been invisible and unrecognized. It is time, she said, to change this situation by giving women access to decision-making, formal education, training and inputs for economic activities. She regretted that this conference was only organised after the CFP reform was adopted by the European Parliament and that women from the fisheries sector were not given a larger role in the CFP. She concluded that the Commission should now show it is serious about women’s participation and that one way of doing this is by encouraging women’s networking at the European level.<\/p>\n
\n
\n