Countries represented at the workshop included Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Timor Leste, Vietnam and Thailand
Thailand Headquartered, Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center/ Training Department (SEAFDEC/TD) in partnership with Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) organized the regional “Women in Fisheries Workshop” in mid May 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand. The three-day workshop provided an opportunity for women from SEA region to share their career experiences and learnings, and to establish a regional network of female fisheries officers.
Countries represented at the workshop included Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Timor Leste, Vietnam and Thailand.
This Workshop was an activity under Australia’s Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Promoting Sustainable Fisheries in Southeast Asia program. The Program was a five-year initiative that aims to strengthen the capacity of RPOA-IUU and ASEAN countries to combat IUU fishing, foster greater regional collaboration, and promote gender inclusion in fisheries related Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS).
The Women in Fisheries Workshop aimed to strengthen regional cooperation by exploring the concept of a voluntary regional network of women fisheries officers, identify challenges and barriers faced by women fisheries officers in the region and practical opportunities for shifting gender norms within the sector in the short to medium term, boost the status and confidence of women in the fisheries MCS sector across the region by providing a platform to share their expertise and stories; and encourage male champions for gender equality in the sector who can actively support and promote gender inclusion in spaces where women are not well represented.
The workshop welcomed 70 Women participants to in Fisheries workshop from across the region to share their experiences in gender inclusivity and overcoming barriers for women’s participation in fisheries careers. There were 66 participants (10 males and 56 females) who are fisheries officers and engaged in MCS implementation from Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Timor-Leste, Thailand, Vietnam, SEAFDEC, DAFF, Australian Fisheries Management Authority (AFMA), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) through observer from, RPOA-IUU Secretariat and Nha Trang University attended in the Workshop. The design of further activities to strengthen gender inclusivity in fisheries MCS was the main expected output of the Workshop.
The workshop was delivered by Australia’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry in partnership with the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center and funded by Australia’s Combating IUU Fishing and Promoting Sustainable Fisheries in Southeast Asia program. Australian Ministry said, that supporting greater gender inclusivity in fisheries supports sustainability, and the networks established by events like this one strengthen regional coordination, which we know is essential when combating shared cross-border issues like IUU fishing.
