Gender Roles in Fishing Livelihoods

The role and contribution of the fisheries sub-sector in Kenyäs fishing communities cannot be underestimated. To ensure sustainable fisheries livelihoods, the Government has developed Fisheries Beach Management Units (BMUs) regulations. The demand for fish has motivated men and women to get involved in fishing activities, which include harvesting, processing and marketing. Lack of gender-disaggregated data makes it difficult to establish whether it is the women or men who contribute to the fishing livelihoods and also it makes it hard to understand gender-based constraints that need to be addressed. The purpose of this study was to establish and assess the participation of women and men in fisheries and to determine their roles in fishing livelihood. The specific objectives of the study were to establish gender roles in fishing livelihood, to determine gender factors that influence practices in the fishing livelihood, and to investigate the coping strategies used by participants in fishing livelihood of the Lake Baringo fishing community. The study is a cross-sectional survey carried out in a field setting.