Many family enterprises in the small-scale fisheries sector rely on women for shore-based administrative and manual tasks, which are not remunerated, rewarded, or recognized. This puts women in a very precarious situation.
Together with Aktea LIFE organized a three-day meeting in early 2020 in Brussels to “Rebuild, Revive and Re-launch AKTEA”.
The meeting brought together more than 40 women across Europe and not only provided the opportunity to share experiences and better understand the operation of the European Institutions but also provided an important advocacy opportunity to raise the voice of women in Fisheries in Europe in a specific Parliament session and to engage with the European Commission. More importantly, the meeting settled the basic operational and representativity elements of AKTEA for the future.
In a video addressed to the meeting, European Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Mr Virginijus Sinkevičius, acknowledged that there is still a long way to go in order to give women the place they deserve. He highlighted the potential of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to address deficits in gender equality and underscored his commitment to promoting the social dimension of fisheries – including gender equality and the role of women in fisheries in the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy, which will be reviewed by December 31 2022.
A request has been made for a formal meeting with Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevičius to discuss how the implementation of the CFP can be made more inclusive.
