Abstract

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is a geo-political body with a membership of fifteen small island developing states. Most of these countries are English-speaking and heavily dependent on the marine resources of the Caribbean Sea for tourism and fisheries. While tourism is the most important economic sector in many countries, fisheries typically rank near the least economically important according to official statistics. It is argued that these statistics do not appropriately or accurately measure the real contribution of fisheries to social, economic and cultural assets and incomes of CARICOM states. In such arguments, and in the official statistics, gender is customarily ignored. Although sex disaggregated fisheries statistics are scarce, it is clear that men dominate the harvest sector labour force of CARICOM fisheries while women dominate landing site fish vending and as labour in fish processing plants. Most CARICOM fisheries are small scale, but semi-industrial and industrial fisheries exist. Big investors in fisheries are mainly men in both harvest and postharvest, but there is evidence that investment by women is underestimated. Female fisheries officers, fisherfolk leaders, researchers, and NGO staff are often as common as men. Yet gender in Caribbean fisheries is poorly documented and gender is not consid-ered in regional and national fisheries decision-making. The newly established Gender In Fisheries Team (GIFT) provides data and information that address the above with perspectives on gender mainly from Caribbean fisherfolk leaders.

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