Exploring the changing roles, identities and wellbeing of women in small-scale fishing families, 2018-2020

Gustavsson, Madeleine (2021). Exploring the changing roles, identities and wellbeing of women in small-scale fishing families, 2018-2020. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-854502

To explore and raise their profile, this project will examine women's roles, identities and wellbeing in fishing families. The research focuses on the roles women play in responding to recent economic downturns in the fishing sector. i) Recent research has shown that diversifying fishing businesses - by operating in several different areas to spread the risk of low catches - can help small-scale fishers to create stable incomes. Examples of diversification strategies are processing of fish and opening a restaurant where the caught fish can be sold at a higher price. Whilst the contributions of women within fisheries diversification have been noted as important, no research to date has explored this in-depth. ii) The project will also consider how the fishing family can adapt to economic downturns by seeking non-fishing employment. Alongside this, previous research has noted that women support the wellbeing and health of their male fishing partners but this research has not explored the wellbeing of women themselves. By responding to these gaps in knowledge, this research will study women's changing roles in fishing families and how this is associated with women's changing identities and their wellbeing. To meet the research aims, the research will use a qualitative approach - a method of study which involves interviewing people and listening to their experiences. In exploring these aspects of the fishing family, this research will provide new and vital insights into how fishing families can develop resilience to changes in their industry, and how governments can support this. It will also show how changes in fishing families can affect the wellbeing of women and if more could be done to support them.

Data description (abstract)

The data collection includes anonymised interview transcripts. The interviews are narrative based interviews that focus on exploring participants biographical narratives. The data was collected throughout the UK in the year of 2019. Interviews focused on understanding the lived experiences of women in fisheries through exploring participant’s biographical narratives around what it meant for them to be part of a fishing family, or to be working in the fishery, and how this had evolved over time.

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