One of the important sessions at the WA2015 in Jeju, Korea 26-30 May will be ‘Women in Fisheries and Aquaculture’ which has a particular significance to the island of Jeju.
As one of travel guides to Jeju states ‘The local traditional culture stands in stark contrast to the mainland (and much of Asia) as being matriarchal. Stemming from this basis the role of seafood gathering on the island has been dominated by women. As such, a common sight around Jeju's coastline is that of the "haenyo" or "woman diver", a figure that has become somewhat iconic of the island.’
The session will welcome researchers and development experts on the gender research in fisheries and aquaculture following up on other recent sessions from World Aquaculture Society meetings and it will include four themes:
(1) Gender equality and the position of women in aquaculture and fisheries; (2) New technologies accessible to fisherwomen; (3) Case studies on the women participation to the regional fisheries and aquaculture; (4) Networks (GAF & Aquaculture without Frontiers) will update their information and participants can share their own experiences and future plans in the session.
‘Everyone is welcome to put in abstracts and/or posters to the session as gender issues will only be resolved if we all share information and continue to raise the profile’ said Joint Chairs of the Women in Fisheries & Aquaculture Session, Karolina Kwasek (WorldFish, Penang) and Jin Yong Kim (Gyeong Nam development Institute, Korea).
Whilst in Jeju a visit to Haenyeo Museum which exhibits various photos of haenyeo female divers and their activities is a must.
Abstracts (Orals and Posters) for this and all sessions can still be posted at