Title: Exploring the changing role(s), identities and wellbeing of women in small-scale fishing families
Funder: Economic and Social Research Council

Abstract: Small-scale fishing vessels (those under ten metres) make up 80% of the UK's fishing fleet [1] yet receive only 4% of the total national fishing quota [2,3]. By failing to prioritise this industry, it is widely established that the UK has left the families that depend upon it vulnerable. Hidden within this vulnerability are thousands of women vital to the survival of small-scale fishing businesses. To explore and raise their profile, this project will examine women's roles, identities and wellbeing in fishing families. This research is particularly timely as, by exiting the EU, the UK government will be reviewing its support to the fishing industry, making decisions about what type of fishery - and whom within it - should be supported and how. The research focuses on the roles women play in responding to recent economic downturns in the fishing sector. There are two main ways in which this is done: i) fisheries diversification, and ii) non-fishing employment. i) Recent research has shown that diversifying fishing businesses - by operating in several different areas to spread the risk of low catches - can help small-scale fishers to create stable incomes [4-6]. Examples of diversification strategies are processing of fish and opening a restaurant where the caught fish can be sold at a higher price. Whilst the contributions of women within fisheries diversification have been noted as important [4], no research to date has explored this in-depth. ii) The project will also consider how the fishing family can adapt to economic downturns by seeking non-fishing employment. Alongside this, previous research has noted that women support the wellbeing and health of their male fishing partners [7,8] but this research has not explored the wellbeing of women themselves. By responding to these gaps in knowledge, this research will study women's changing roles in fishing families and how this is associated with women's changing identities and their wellbeing. To meet the research aims, the research will take place in two phases using a qualitative approach - a method of study which involves interviewing people and listening to their experiences. Phase I will involve a period of in-depth interviews with families in the UK. Information will also be collected in Canada to explore similarities and differences between two countries with different fishing policies. In exploring these aspects of the fishing family, this research will provide new and vital insights into how fishing families can develop resilience to changes in their industry, and how governments can support this. It will also show how changes in fishing families can affect the wellbeing of women and if more could be done to support them. In addition to meeting the research aims, the Principal Investigator (PI) will seek to achieve societal impact by convening and leading a series of stakeholder engagements. In particular, the project will establish the platform 'Women In Fishing Families Association' (WIFFA) in collaboration with the project's non-academic Steering Group. Within the WIFFA platform the PI will co-organise one trans-European exchange programme for women in fishing families aiming to develop capacity within the network as well as a Final Workshop were research findings and WIFFA progress will be disseminated and discussed. Findings from this research and progress of the WIFFA will be communicated on the project website and in the project Final Booklet. The aim of these stakeholder engagement events is to raise the profile of women in small-scale fishing families in the UK by making their contributions visible and their voices heard.


Research activity codes: 1.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC PROCESSES
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE