Abstract :
Men are considered to have a monopoly in the fishery sector and women are not considered to play a significant role. But, directly or indirectly, many women are engaged in the fishery sector. Women are engaged directly in a fishery by engaging in fishing either individually or by accompanying their husbands, and by collecting seaweed. They may also get involved in a fishery indirectly by engaging in feed preparation and also marketing of processed seafood products. The present study deals with the various roles and activities of women and men in two fishing villages in southern Miyazaki Prefecture in Japan, namely Meitsu and Odoutsu. The fishing villages depend on the development of fishery technologies that have enhanced the fish catch. And recently, in the face of increasing challenges to fishing, the villagers have raised their income by opening seafood restaurants, fish stores and selling the processed products to tourists directly. The differences in the roles of women and men in the two villages are traced parallel to the decades of changes in the fisheries. In Odoutsu, with a history of coastal fishing, women are more involved in all modes of the fish value chain, whereas in Meitsu with more past emphasis on offshore fishing, women have in more restricted roles in the value chain.
