Rural Sociology and Psycology

1.9.3.Women in aquaculture

Aquaculture throws lots of opportunities for women. Women are involved in all the stages in aquaculture right from pond construction to marketing. In freshwater aquaculture, they are engaged in pond construction, pond preparation stocking and post-stocking management, harvest, marketing, fish breeding, nursery management and packing of seeds. Here also, women are mostly involved in jobs with low wages and they are not mostly involved in jobs that warrant decision making. The trend of engaging women in feeding, harvesting, fish breeding, nursery operations and packing of seeds is improving and now women find employment for more periods in freshwater fish culture activities.

In shrimp farming women are mostly engaged in pond construction, pond preparation and harvest operations. However, scope is there for perfroming functions such as feeding, water quality monitoring and farm management.

Ornamental fish culture is another area which provides lots of scope for women. There is ample evidence that women can play a major role in ornamental fish production. In many cases, women maintain back yard ornamental fish culture units. Culture of algal species like spirulina is also emerging as another are for employing women.

In the marine side, fattening of lobsters and mud crabs and seaweed culture are some areas where women are engaged. Besides these, production of marrie ornamental fishes is another area that provides scope for enganging womenfolk.