Pacific Island women tackle fisheries business

Nelson, New Zealand saw an increase in its Pacific Island community in April with 13 women from around the Pacific attending the New Zealand School of Fisheries for four weeks, according to a news release from the South Pacific Commission.

The first SPC regional course for Pacific Island women on seafood business operations and management was held in Nelson from 12 April to 7 May 1999. The course, the first to specifically target women, was part of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) Fisheries Training Section’s regional training program on the management of fisheries enterprises.

So why have a course just for women? Women play a large role in the seafood industry in the Pacific, especially on the processing and marketing side, but are often overlooked when it comes to training. This lack of training, together with a lack of expertise in seafood business operation and management often hampers women involved in commercial fisheries enterprises Unless the course application specifically asks for women, it is likely that most of the applicants will be men.

Two previous courses have been held at Nelson for Pacific Island fisheries enterprise managers. The first, in 1997, had three women out of the 13 participants while the second had one woman out of 12. Being in such a minority the few women tended to be overshadowed by the men on these courses. In the latest course the women were very comfortable with each other and related well together-all had children being cared for by extended family; most had sometimes experienced being put in positions of responsibility in their companies with no training and little support.

The course received about 75 applicants, of which the 13 selected came from Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, and Tuvalu. Many of the women attending came from private enterprises and were well qualified in terms of experience. For most women it was their first opportunity for training; they were keen to upgrade their technical skills and learn new strategies to enhance their businesses.

The course was developed in collaboration with the New Zealand School of Fisheries and the New Zealand seafood industry to meet the regulatory and quality control requirements of international seafood markets.

Subjects covered included seafood production systems, business management practices, and business planning and accounting. Classroom lectures were interspersed with practical sessions and site visits around Nelson.