In Coliumo, a coastal village in central Chile, women have fought for their right to be involved in natural resource management. The women’s seaweed union was established more than 20 years ago and has changed the role of women in the fishing village over the years. But they still have a long way to go. Sara Garrido, president of Chile’s National Corporation of Artisanal Fishing Women: “There are still many gaps, in particular in rural areas. We worked on a bill for gender equality that is extremely important to make the role of women in artisanal fishing visible and to include women in decision-making processes.”
What does the ocean mean to you?
I have always been connected to the ocean. My mother sold seafood and I spent entire days searching for algae to sell and swimming until late at night. I had a happy childhood — I felt very connected to the ocean, and I still do. After finishing high school, I married a fisherman and moved to Coliumo, a neighbouring village.
The people of Coliumo love the sea. My husband started working at the age of 6 searching for crab every morning before school. The teachers knew he had to get up very early and allowed him to catch up on sleep during class. Fishing was part of life back then. Nowadays, many young people are leaving Coliumo for larger cities to go to university. It is a recent change: up to 15 years ago, most children completed primary school and then became fishermen, just like their parents.
“Back in the day, we had no technical or scientific knowledge. We instinctively knew we had to do something to protect our natural resources.”
Despite these changes we are still very united and defend what is important to us. Coliumo has a history of fighting against external threats and pressures, for example pollution coming from the salmon industry and oil pipelines in our bay. We will not allow others to contaminate our ocean.
What is your role in protecting the ocean?
My goal is to set an example as a fishing community that has a high quality of life for both men and women, while taking care of our natural resources. I do this by leading a women’s group that was founded 23 years ago when we were facing a problem of overexploited fisheries. At that time, divers were coming to the bay from other areas using advanced fishing techniques. They did not care about their impact on the ecosystem.
Back in the day, we had no technical or scientific knowledge, but we instinctively knew we had to do something to protect our natural resources. We started using a new method to extract sea chicory seaweed while allowing it to continue reproducing. This method was developed by fishermen from the area.
“As a result of our success, other organisations were established at a regional and national level. Our region currently has the largest number of women-led organisations.”
But this was no solution in the long term. Facing the conflict with the divers made us, women seaweed gatherers and fisherwomen, realise we had to take formal action. The authorities told us the divers were operating under legitimate conditions and we were not granted the same rights, since we were not an officially recognised group. Organising ourselves formally and requesting management rights was the only way to safeguard our marine resources. So we created the first women’s artisanal fishing union in Chile.
Since 2002, we officially manage the algae extraction in three management areas. Inspired by our success, other women’s organisations were established at a regional and national level; our region currently has the largest number of women-led organisations.
“We still have to prove that there is no reason to treat us differently just because we are women.”
What were the major challenges you encountered?
It was not easy to start our union. As a women’s group, we faced a lot of discrimination, both from the authorities and from fishermen. In the 1990s, sexism was worse than it is today and men were not used to women participating in the management of the fisheries sector. For a long time, our husbands sold what we caught or collected on our behalf. Even if we did a better job in selling our catches, we had to go back to our domestic tasks as soon as we came home. Our capabilities were not fully recognised and our work was not visible.
When we spoke up, it created tensions in the community: there were conflicts between neighbours and even within families. Men did not want their wives and daughters to participate in the meetings of the “caleta” (local artisanal fishing union); they did not understand why women should legally formalise our trade. It took us a lot of effort to change their perspective, which required us to inform ourselves well.
Due to the great teamwork of a large group of persistent and passionate women a few decades ago, the fisherwomen of Coliumo feel more empowered now. Their hard work enabled us to achieve many things, including managing our marine resources, building a seaweed farm, and applying new technologies to improve our businesses. We also create cosmetic products with algae, called “Algae y Mar.” Women can even own their own boats and manage their own fishing quota — these things were impossible before.
But we have not reached the finish line yet. We worked on a bill for gender equality that is extremely important to make the role of women in artisanal fishing visible and to include women in decision-making processes. The bill was recently approved. It is an important step in changing public policy, but a holistic approach of all governmental institutions is necessary to provide equal opportunities for all fisherwomen. There are still many gaps, in particular in rural areas.
I would like to say to fellow fisherwomen, from Chile and other parts of the world, to be a proud fisher. Our connection with the ocean, our culture and our activities should never fade. It cannot vanish. We must continue to make sure our work is recognised as the driving force behind our fishing communities. There is no need to compete with each other; together we can create, innovate and move forward.
“The bill is an important step in changing public policy, but a holistic approach of all governmental institutions is necessary for equal opportunities for fisherwomen.”
About this project
Sara participates in a project that aims to advance gender equity and equality at sea. The approach identifies the opportunities, scope, and challenges to include women in artisanal fisheries and small-scale aquaculture sectors under current laws and legal frameworks at both local and national levels. Additionally, WWF ,in collaboration with the coastal communities, identifies how regulations are permeating territories in order to understand current dynamics within fishing communities and to identify the best options for promoting cultural shifts in gender-related fishery issues.
Considering the diversity of the artisanal aquaculture-fishery sector, WWF also catalyses open spaces for dialogue to stimulate all stakeholders to work on inclusion and reduce existing gender gaps. Through these activities, this project will advance gender inclusion in fisheries while simultaneously working towards sustainable fisheries management and long-term, effective marine conservation.
In Coliumo, a coastal village in central Chile, women have fought for their right to be involved in natural resource management. The women’s seaweed union was established more than 20 years ago and has changed the role of women in the fishing village over the years. But they still have a long way to go, as Sara Garrido explains.