The involvement of women in fishing and collecting activities has generally been restricted to the inner reef areas accessible by foot. They usually collect nearshore invertebrates, especially small clams which are either dug up from the mud or collected from the reef. It is only recently, with the introduction of outboard motors and nylon fishing lines and nets, that women's fishing has extended beyond the reefs and lagoons. It is widely believed that women's fishing activities continue to be confined to reef gleaning activities in Kiribati. However, women can be found fishing in a variety of ways.
Women also fish using traditional fish traps, which are still in use in the outer islands.
In the reef islands where there is no lagoon, the women have perfected a method called te urakarakaka , i.e. gathering small fish stranded at low tide on the reef. This poison has now been replaced by cigarette rolls. Collecting land crabs is also an important activity in the northern and central islands, which mainly consist of lagoon islands with mangrove areas. Like most countries in the region, the rapid and steadily growing population in Kiribati will ultimately increase fishing pressures on the marine resources. The popularity of commercial fishing of invertebrates by women in some areas raises the question of responsible resource management.