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Celebrating the women behind Indonesia’s fisheries
Women’s contributions to fisheries and environmental protection increasingly underscore the need for gender-responsive fisheries policies.
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A woman removes boiled green mussels from their shells beside her daughter on March 19, 2024, at a fishing port in Jakarta.
(AFP/YASUYOSHI CHIBA )
T
he commemoration of Mother’s Day in Indonesia is a fitting moment to honor the invaluable yet often overlooked contributions of women in Indonesia’s fisheries sector. These women, often referred to as the “mothers of the ocean,” not only play a vital role in enhancing the blue economy, but also in strengthening the resilience of coastal communities and protecting ecosystems.
Based on the Marine Affairs and Fisheries Ministry’s KUSUKA data, the number of women employed in the fisheries sector reached 221,960 in 2024. However, that number is yet to fully capture women’s contributions to the fisheries sector as they play diverse roles and much of their involvement remains informal and undocumented. Women, especially those who are aquaculture farmers, inter-port marketers, fish processors and marketers, are excluded from social and economic protections which leave them vulnerable.
Their contributions extend far beyond catching or farming fish. In many coastal households, women manage pre-harvest and post-harvest activities, from organizing operational costs to ensuring food and logistics for fishing trips. To improve family welfare, they also juggle roles in fish processing, marketing, auctioning and household management. In some cases, women actively participate in environmental conservation and integrate traditional knowledge into sustainable practices.
It was on Nov. 27, the regional election day, that I met Asmania, a 42-year-old fisher from Pari Island in the Thousand Islands, Jakarta, where she led the Kelompok Wanita Tani Perempuan Nelayan, a group of women at the forefront of protecting the island’s ecosystems. Along with three other plaintiffs, Asmania is also a claimant in the climate lawsuit against Holcim.
Pari, once a thriving hub for seaweed farming, saw its industry collapse when Tengah Island, a nearby uninhabited island, was privatized and turned into a resort. This development, combined with climate change, environmental degradation that destroyed seaweed farms and limited access to fishing grounds, has progressively stripped the livelihoods of the coastal community.
For coastal communities, the ecological crisis is a complex issue with far-reaching impacts.
However, climate change is not the only threat they face. Reclamation and land grabbing have not only harmed the environment but also put their livelihoods at risk. Reclamation and construction activities in Pari have made it increasingly difficult for fishers to access fishing grounds. For small-scale fishers who once depended on seaweed farming, the destruction of seaweed cultivation has undermined their primary income source.
