The European Parliament adopted by 468 votes to 40,
with 17 abstentions, a resolution on specific actions in the Common
Fisheries Policy for developing the role of women.
Parliament noted that more than 100 000 women
worked in the fisheries sector in Member States, 4 % of them
in the extractive sector and with jobs linked to the activities of
fishing boats, as net-makers, port workers or packers, 30 % in
aquaculture, chiefly shellfish gathering on foot, and around
60 % in the processing industry. However, the statistics
grossly underestimated the reality of female work in some of these
sectors, and the widespread economic crisis in some Member States
had led to a growing number of women engaging in activities in
the fishing sector, particularly land-based shellfish
gathering, as a means of complementing or even ensuring their
family income.
The resolution urged the Commission to launch a
specific statistical programme for regions that depended on
fishing, paying particular attention to artisanal and coastal
fishing, traditional fishing methods and specific marketing
channels, and to the work and social and labour conditions of women
shellfish gatherers, net-makers and artisanal workers, with the aim
of assessing the specific needs associated with women’s
activity and enhancing the social recognition given to these
extremely arduous occupations. The collection of
gender-disaggregated data should also covers the catch sector
and new indicators should be introduced, such as age, education and
training levels, and activity of spouse or partner.
Parliament called for:
- legal and social recognition to the role played by women in the fisheries and
aquaculture sector and in the sustainable development of areas that
depended on fishing, with the aim of removing all economic,
administrative and social barriers that stand in the way of their
participation on equal terms;
- regulation and recognition as occupational
diseases injuries to joints, back injuries and rheumatic
diseases caused by the harsh weather conditions in which women
shellfish gatherers, net-makers, processing workers, fishers and
sellers have to work, as well as injuries caused by lifting
excessive weights;
- the creation (under the European Maritime and
Fisheries Fund and/or other instruments) of specific support
mechanisms that can be activated in emergencies (natural
disasters), as well as of financial compensation mechanisms
to assist fishermen, fisherwomen and their families during
temporary fishing bans, especially in areas where fishing is the
sole source of earnings;
- the recognition that the work carried out by women
helps to improve the traceability of fishery
products ;
- financial support for the establishment of
women’s associations through
national and European women’s networks, in order to facilitate
the exchange of experience, and communicate women’s needs and
demands, from local government level up to European
bodies;
- access to funding for women’s
organisations in fisheries,
aquaculture and related sectors.
The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund
(EMFF) 2013-2020: Parliament
noted that only one Member State had made use of the opportunities
offered by axis 4 of the European Fisheries Fund to finance
projects whose beneficiaries were women. It urged Member States to
seize the opportunities offered by the EMFF in order to, inter
alia:
- apply the principle of equal opportunities to
operational programmes;
- make the fisheries sector more women-friendly
by redesigning the sector and providing suitable facilities (such
as changing-rooms on vessels and in ports);
- offer women and girls easier access to training by
financing specific training and vocational education and
professional recognition of their activity;
- promote business initiatives launched by
women, including the economic
diversification of certain activities related to the fisheries
sector, among them activities such as museology, cultural
traditions, crafts, gastronomy and the restaurant
industry;
- facilitate soft loan channels that will make it possible to avoid the specific
difficulties faced by women in relation to financing projects
eligible for inclusion in national programmes under the
EMFF.
Basic regulation on the common fisheries
policy: Member States were urged
to:
- ensure compliance with the objectives of the new
common fisheries policy in relation to access to fishery resources
based on transparent environmental, social and economic criteria,
incorporating the principles of equal treatment and equal
opportunities;
- recognise the occupational status of women in the
event of temporary cessations of activity, including biological
rest periods;
- ensure compliance with Directive 2010/41/EU, so
that women working full- or part-time in family businesses, as well
as women who make their livelihood from such activity without
belonging to a family unit, are given legal recognition and social
benefits equivalent to those enjoyed by people with self-employed
status.