Gender Assessment for the Pacific Tuna Industry

FISHTECH MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS

DEVFISH PROJECT STUDY ON GENDER ISSUES IN TUNA FISHERIES

CASE STUDIES IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA, FIJI AND KIRIBATI

FINAL REPORT

PREPARED BY NANCY SULLIVAN & VINA RAM-BIDESI

EDITED BY SIMON DIFFEY

NOVEMBER 2007

Fishtech Management Consultants PO Box 5419

Bishop’s Stortford Herts CM23 3WG

United Kingdom Tel/Fax: +44 1279 467215

www.Fishtech.eu.com

Fishtech Management Consultants DEVFISH Project: Study on Gender Issues in Tuna Fisheries-Final Report

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ....................................................................................................1

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES....................................................................................3

LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS................................................................................................4

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIVE CASE STUDIES.......................................................................4

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT.............................................................................................4

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ..............................................................................4

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY...................................................................................................6

1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................9 1.1 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................9 1.2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & DISCLAIMER ...........................................................9

2. OVERVIEW – FISHERIES, WID ISSUES AND EMPLOYMENT............................10 2.1 WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT ..............................................................................10 2.2 FISHERIES AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN...........................................11

COUNTRY REPORT - FIJI ISLANDS .............................................................................13 3.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................13 3.2 BACKGROUND TO THE SECTOR .....................................................................13 3.3 FISHERIES POLICY FRAMEWORK ...................................................................13 3.4 GENDER POLICY FRAMEWORK ......................................................................14 3.5 LABOUR ISSUES ...............................................................................................15 3.6 PACIFIC FISHING COMPANY ............................................................................16

3.6.1 Cannery & loining Operation..........................................................................16 3.6.2 Employment at PafCo....................................................................................17 3.6.3 Economic Assessment of the Role of Women at PafCo ................................20 3.6.4 Comparisons with Men ..................................................................................20 3.6.5 Women’s Apparent Value-Added Labour Input..............................................21 3.6.6 Strategic Planning & Potential Benefits..........................................................22 3.6.7 Contribution of Women to Local Economies ..................................................23 3.6.8 Social Assessment of PafCo..........................................................................24 3.6.9 PafCo Employees Union v Management .......................................................24 3.6.10 Credit Issues (PafCo Employees Credit Union) .............................................25 3.6.11 PafCo Community Relations & Other Issues .................................................25 3.6.12 Alternative Sources of Income for Women.....................................................26 3.6.13 Summary of Key Issues and Opportunities....................................................27

3.7 THE TUNA LONG-LINE INDUSTRY ...................................................................28 3.7.1 Employment of women ..................................................................................28 3.7.2 Employment at Fiji Fish Marketing Company.................................................30 3.7.3 Employment at Tossa Bussan (Fiji) Limited...................................................31 3.7.4 Employment at Solander................................................................................31 3.7.5 Employment at CPK Shipping........................................................................32 3.7.6 Earnings by Women from the Domestic Long-line Industry ...........................32 3.7.7 Climbing the Ladder – Success Stories of Women in the Long-line Industry.33 3.7.8 Economic Assessment of the Role of Women in the Long-line Industry ........34


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3.7.9 Income and Expenditure and Contribution to the Local Economy .................34 3.8 PROSPECTS IN THE ARTISANAL SECTOR .....................................................35 3.9 SEX TRADE ISSUES ..........................................................................................36 3.10 SUMMARY OF ISSUES & RECOMMENDATIONS ..........................................37

COUNTRY REPORT - KIRIBATI ....................................................................................41 4.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................41 4.2 BACKGROUND TO THE SECTOR .....................................................................41

4.2.1 Fishing Activity...............................................................................................41 4.2.2 International Treaties & the Industrial Tuna Fishery ......................................41 4.2.3 Fish Consumption and Tuna Catches............................................................42 4.2.4 The Economy, Household & Employment Data.............................................42

4.3 CUSTOM VERSUS THE CASH ECONOMY........................................................43 4.3.1 Subsistence Fisheries and the Real ‘Value-Added’ Business........................44 4.3.2 Socialism v Capitalism...................................................................................44

4.4 WOMEN’S LIVELIHOODS AND GENDER ISSUES............................................45 4.5 FISHING & ROAD-SIDE MARKETING ACTIVITIES ...........................................46

4.5.1 Employment & Earnings from Fisheries Related Activities ............................47 4.5.2 Expenditure Patterns in the Tuna Trade & Other Businesses........................49 4.5.3 Betio Fishermen’s Wives Association ............................................................50

4.6 GOVERNMENT SUPPORT TO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT ...............50 4.6.1 Rural Development Bank of Kiribati ...............................................................50

4.7 HOUSEHOLD INCOME & EXPENDITURE: IOANNA’S STORY.........................51 4.8 EMPLOYMENT AT CENTRAL PACIFIC PRODUCERS .....................................52

4.8.1 The Potential for Developing Value Added Products – Tuna Jerky ...............52 4.9 DEVELOPING A BUSINESS IN KIRIBATI – KEY PROBLEMS ..........................53 4.10 THE LOCAL SEX TRADE & TE KOREKOREA................................................55 4.11 I-KIRIBATI CREW & WORK ON FOREIGN VESSELS ....................................56

4.11.1 MTC and Training of Female Stewards .........................................................56 4.11.2 Their Value to the Economy...........................................................................57

4.12 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS ......................................................57 COUNTRY REPORT - PAPUA NEW GUINEA ...............................................................59

5.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................59 5.2 BACKGROUND TO THE SECTOR .....................................................................59

5.2.1 The Industrial Long-Line & Purse-Seine Tuna Fishery ..................................60 5.2.2 Coastal Fisheries ...........................................................................................61 5.2.3 Hand Line / Pump Boats ................................................................................62

5.3 INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & WID ..................................................................62 5.4 THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN ................................................63 5.5 THE TUNA PROCESSING INDUSTRY ...............................................................64

5.5.1 RD Tuna Group of Companies ......................................................................65 5.5.2 South Seas Tuna Corp ..................................................................................66 5.5.3 Frabelle (PNG) Ltd.........................................................................................67 5.5.4 Other Tuna Processing Opportunities............................................................68 5.5.5 Processing of By-Catch .................................................................................68 5.5.6 Game Fishing ................................................................................................68 5.5.7 Fishing hubs ..................................................................................................69

5.6 OPPORTUNITIES & CONSTRAINTS FOR WOMEN ..........................................69 5.6.1 Key Constraints .............................................................................................69 5.6.2 Key Opportunities ..........................................................................................70 5.6.3 Training Opportunities....................................................................................71


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5.6.4 Provision of Credit .........................................................................................71 5.7 WOMEN’S LIVELIHOODS AND GENDER ISSUES............................................72

5.7.1 Negative Impact & Social Issues ...................................................................72 5.7.2 Sex Trade Issues...........................................................................................72

5.8 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS....................................................73 5.8.1 Recommendations.........................................................................................73

6. STRATEGIC & PRACTICAL REGIONAL ISSUES................................................75 6.1 STRATEGIC CONSERVATION AND TRADE ISSUES .......................................75 6.2 PRACTICAL PROBLEMS & GENDER ISSUES..................................................76

6.2.1 Barriers to Entry & the Dual Economy ...........................................................76 6.2.2 Dependency on the Flexibility of Women.......................................................76 6.2.3 The Need for a Living Wage ..........................................................................77 6.2.4 Role Models – Juggling Careers & Family Life ..............................................77 6.2.5 Child Care, ‘House Husbands’ & Female Security.........................................78

6.3 IMPROVING SOCIAL WELFARE & HEALTH SERVICES IN THE INDUSTRY...78 6.4 FOOD SECURITY & THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTISANAL SECTOR.........78 6.5 PRACTICAL TRAINING NEEDS IN VALUE-ADDED PROCESSING .................78

ANNEX 1: TERMS OF REFERENCE .............................................................................80

ANNEX 2: PERSONS INTERVIEWED DURING THE STUDY .......................................83

ANNEX 3: REFERENCES ..............................................................................................85

ANNEX 4: CASE STUDIES ............................................................................................88

LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES TABLE 1: ECONOMIC DATA – THE ROLE OF WOMEN..............................................................12 TABLE 2: SUMMARY OF EMPLOYMENT OF BY GENDER ...........................................................18 TABLE 3: ACTIVITIES PERFORMED BY MEN AND WOMEN AT PAFCO........................................18 TABLE 4: STAFFING OF TYPICAL PRODUCTION SHIFT AT PAFCO.............................................19 TABLE 5: EMPLOYMENT IN THE FIJI TUNA LONG-LINE HARVESTING SECTOR, AUGUST 2007.....28 TABLE 6: EMPLOYMENT IN THE FIJI TUNA LONG-LINE PROCESSING SECTOR, AUGUST 2007 ....29 TABLE 7: ISSUES & INTERVENTIONS – FIJI ISLANDS ...............................................................38 TABLE 8: COMMON FISH SPECIES SOLD ON SOUTH TARAWA .................................................46 TABLE 9: KIRIBATI HOUSEHOLD INCOME & EXPENDITURE - IOANNA KATOATAU & FAMILY .........52 TABLE 10: TUNA EXPORTS BY VOLUME, VALUE AND PRODUCT - PNG (2000-2004)................60 TABLE 11: INDICATORS OF TUNA DEVELOPMENT, PNG (2004-2005).....................................61 TABLE 12: TUNA EMPLOYMENT DATA, PNG (2006 AND PROJECTIONS FOR 2007)...................62 TABLE 13: EMPLOYMENT BY TYPE OF ACTIVITY & GENDER (2000 CENSUS, PNG) ..................63 TABLE 14: DISTRIBUTION OF EMPLOYED URBAN CITIZENS BY OCCUPATION, TYPE AND GENDER

(2000 CENSUS, PNG) ................................................................................................64 FIGURE 15: TUNA OPERATIONAL MODELS BY ECONOMIC BENEFIT, PNG................................65 TABLE 16: AVERAGE INCOME OF 3 MARKET WOMEN IN WEWAK.............................................67 TABLE 17: MARITAL STATUS OF 10-19 AGE GROUP IN PNG..................................................69


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LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS PHOTO 1: FISH SELLER, SOUTH TARAWA.............................................................................10 PHOTO 2: BETIO FISHERMEN’S WIVES ASSOCIATION.............................................................50

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIVE CASE STUDIES

BOX 1: A COMPARISON BETWEEN PAFCO & OTHER INDUSTRIES, FIJI...................24 BOX 2: MEREONI, PAFCO EMPLOYEE & UNION MEMBER, FIJI..................................88 BOX 3: VASITI KOMAINALOVO, PAFCO ASSISTANT QUALITY CONTROLLER, FIJI ..88 BOX 4: UNAISI KOLITAGNE, SHAREHOLDER & DIRECTOR, BLUE AND GREEN

MARINE TRADING, FIJI ...........................................................................................89 BOX 5: OTHER WOMEN SUCCESS STORIES, FIJI LONG-LINE INDUSTRY................90 BOX 6: TUNA VENDOR, BETIO & BAIRIKI MARKETS, KIRIBATI...................................90 BOX 7: BONEFISH VENDOR, S. TARAWA, KIRIBATI ....................................................91 BOX 8: SURF CLAM & DONUT VENDOR, S. TARAWA, KIRIBATI .................................91 BOX 9: NFA LICENSING OFFICER, PNG .......................................................................92 BOX 10: RITA, WHARF WORKER, RD TUNA, PNG........................................................92 BOX 11: LUCY, FRABELLE PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT, PNG .................................93

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT All units, unless otherwise specified, are metric. Where the term billion is used this should be taken as equal to 1,000 million. Various dollar ($) currencies are used throughout the report – US$, F$ and AU$. Unless otherwise specified the reader should assume that where the $ sign has no prefix that it refers to the currency of the country referred to within the relevant text. Unless otherwise indicated in the text, the currency exchange rates used in the report are taken from www.XE.com on the 21st July 2007: Euro (€) 1.00 = US$ 1.383 (US$ also written as USD) US$ 1.00 = AU$ 1.136 (AU$ also written as AUD) US$1.00 = F$ 1.552 (F$ also written as FJD) US$1.00 = Kina 2.876 (Kina also written as PGK or K)

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ASCL Atoll Seaweed Company Ltd, Kiribati AUSAID Australian Agency for International Development CEDAW (United Nations) Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination

Against Women CEO Chief Executive Officer CPPL Central Pacific Producers Ltd, Kiribati CPUE Catch per Unit Effort DWFN Deep-Water Fishing Nation EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone EU European Union € Euro FAD Fish Aggregating Device


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FAO Food & Agriculture Organisation (of the United Nations) FCFS Fisheries Credit Facility Scheme, PNG FFA Forum Fisheries Agency FPA Fisheries Partnership Agreement (with the EU) FTC Fisheries Training Centre, Kiribati GDP Gross Domestic Product HACCP Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus / Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ILO International Labour Organisation JICA Japanese International Cooperation Agency K Kina (100 toea = 1 Kina) KPF Kiribati Provident Fund MCIC Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives MDG Millennium Development Goals MELAD Ministry of Environment, Lands and Agricultural Development MFMRD Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources Development (Kiribati) MTC Marine Training Centre, Kiribati mt Metric Ton NAC National Aids Council, PNG NFA National Fisheries Authority, PNG NGO Non-governmental organisation NSO National Statistics Office OIP Outer Island (Fisheries) Project, Kiribati PIC Pacific Island Countries (or Country) PNG Papua New Guinea QC Quality Control RCFDP Rural Coastal Fisheries Development Programme, PNG SPC Secretariat for the Pacific Community SPREP South Pacific Regional Environmental Programme STI/D Sexually Transmitted Infection/Disease ToR Terms of Reference UNAIDS United Nations Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund USP University of the South Pacific WCPFC Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission WID Women in Development


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Introduction and Study Objective The objective of this study is to establish what constraints and opportunities exist for women in the tuna industries of three case study countries - Fiji, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea - in the interests of promoting their greater participation in the wider South Pacific tuna fishing industry. All three countries have mixed subsistence and monetary economies. The ability of islanders to maintain their quality of life during this transition from subsistence to a cash economy depends largely upon the flexibility of women, whose roles are commonly multiplied when introduced to the workforce and with the nucleation of families in peri-urban settings. There are currently between 5,200-5,600 women working in the fish (primarily tuna) processing sector in Fiji and PNG and 1,000 fish market traders in Kiribati. The total earnings across all three countries for women working in the fisheries sector are estimated at approximately US$8.7 million (€6.3 million) per year. The current emphasis throughout the Pacific is to locally secure the value of the region’s tuna by expanding local participation in harvesting, processing and marketing. Women are active in all three dimensions, and their roles are expected to expand. What constraints they face, and the key issues that arise from them, are the subject of this report. For each country and common to all three countries these are summarised as: Fiji Islands • PafCo is the largest national employer of women in the tuna industry and is in a

unique position as a publicly subsidised private enterprise. Given its central position in the Ovalau economy, important initiatives are needed to increase local participation in general (through the transfer of share-holding to the local community for example) and transparency in management-staff and management-community relations.

• The industry requires more assistance to support product development and secondary processing skills and to provide opportunities to attract more women into emerging value-added tuna cottage industries linked to the long-line.

Kiribati • Island and Town Council Markets require more attention to service the

preponderance of local women who depend on these to sell their fish. Councils also currently charge un-competitive high rates for seller stalls.

• Gender sensitisation is required in government agencies that deal directly with women and credit and/or business opportunities available to them.

• A government policy currently exists that generally makes private sector development prohibitive. Transparency in the making and implementation of government policy is required to establish realistic and sustainable long term goals for the industry.

Papua New Guinea • In tuna producing areas, usually at the edge of town, workers are struggling to

balance the quality of living once enjoyed in the subsistence economy with the demands and limitations of the new cash economy. A realistic living minimum wage must be established for the whole industry, and especially in these production plants.

• HACCP and EU food safety accreditation standards must be enforced in a transparent manner and training for their oversight strengthened.


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Common Issues • Upgrading the health and welfare of women in the workplace and in the family: The

strains of modern life fall disproportionately on women and children, and private as well as public sector responses to health, safety and domestic abuse concerns are required.

• Industry growth has meant the growth of a spin off sex-trade, and the health and safety issues surrounding this require a more coordinated effort by the public and private sectors.

• Maintaining a sound macroeconomic policy that benefits workers of both genders is needed: Industry production generally occurs at the fringe of towns, drawing villagers to the workforce for the first time. Wages that might be adequate for a well-balanced peri-urban family are often insufficient for workers who no longer have gardens or are unable to barter to supplement their income.

• The establishment of training programmes based on industry demands: As opportunities expand for spin-off businesses involving tuna and tuna by-catch, as well as administrative and logistical support, the means by which women can qualify for these roles need to expand in all directions. Private and public support to develop value-added preparation and marketing of tuna products requires both support for training institutions in country and opportunities for overseas scholarships.

• Regular and easier access to tuna supply (from the long-line fishery), and to the market (addressing expensive fuel and shipping costs in particular) would greatly expand opportunities value-added and small-scale entrepreneurship. Support in these areas requires government initiatives.

Employment Opportunities – A Summary The following is a summary of formal and informal employment opportunities either already undertaken successfully by women working in and around the sector at the present time or for which there is considered to be potential for development in the future: • Boat owners and (co)managers of fishing companies • Processing plant (co)owners/managers • Government employees (administration, inspection, licensing etc) • Catering/food suppliers to fishing vessels and cannery staff • Suppliers (importers/wholesalers) • Formal service providers - of security, sanitation, health, insurance, banking, travel,

transport and tourism services • Informal service providers of boarding houses, takeaway food, canteens, taverns,

nightclubs etc, catering to crews of fishing and transhipment vessels • Small market traders (fresh or frozen tuna) • Purchasers of by-catch for processing and resale • Seamstresses (uniforms) • NGO, Union and church workers • Makers, repairers and sellers of fishing gear and nets • Ship’s stewards Conclusions and Recommendations The study findings reveal very few institutional constraints to women in the industry, although they are customarily excluded from working on fishing vessels. As small business entrepreneurs and boat owners they remain important, but the greatest expansion in opportunities is most likely to come from participation in a range of shore support services and the formalised fish processing sector.


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The greatest barrier to women entrepreneurs is the same as for men – namely access to credit to start a business. Preferential credit eligibility would promote more participation across the region, as women are already long-established small scale entrepreneurs in the Pacific region. Education is critical to women’s participation in the sector. More training should be made available for tuna by-catch processing (like shark), especially where local tuna supplies are inconsistent. At the upper management level, the more the region does to promote women in commerce and business degrees, the more the tuna industry will benefit. Private companies and governments could do more to sponsor promising women through their education and processing plants should promote more unskilled women through their ranks. The relatively few women who have done extremely well in the industry need to be promoted in the media as role models to young women searching for careers. In the short term the number of women involved in the processing sector is growing (in Fiji and PNG) and it is important that their importance to the industry be acknowledged by greater support for gender parity in wages, and establishing a living wage for unskilled labour. This requires greater sensitivity to the multiple roles PIC women play, their time constraints, their security issues, and their health and safety concerns. A bottleneck exists for women between the unskilled processing work and promotion to skilled or middle management positions. Because unskilled women are generally multi-tasking their household needs, customary roles and waged jobs, their priorities tend to be with the family rather than with advancing their career. The study findings suggest that the treatment of women workers, even the perception of their treatment, can make a significant difference in the overall public relations of a company as well as the morale of the entire staff. Although the fish processing sector fairs better than other sectors, it is clear that the minimum wage is not always a living wage in many Pacific Island Countries. However this can often be compensated for by flexible work hours or the provision of company transport, both of which are important social benefits for women. Employers should be encouraged to address such issues. The strains of modern life are in the informal sector - where most of the subsistence and operating income for families in the three case study countries is usually made. This is where the critical shift between subsistence and savings is determined. For these women, used to multitasking every day, the chance to move into a formal waged economy is always attractive: whatever the income, they escape much harder, sometimes more fraught, work at home for the prestige of paid employment. The vast majority are not career women seeking to lead but are working in the formal economy because it is easier.


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1. INTRODUCTION

Fishtech Management Consultants was contracted by the SPC in April 2007 to undertake a study on gender issues in the tuna fisheries of PNG, Fiji and Kiribati. The overall objective of the study is to analyse the current status/situation of the tuna industry in these three countries for the purpose of increasing the participation of women in the industry/fisheries. The scope of work of the study includes: • Assess and compare current levels, roles and contributions of men and women • Highlight and discuss potential roles and contributions of women in the tuna industry • Identify constraints to higher levels of participation of women • Discuss challenges and problems faced by women in the industry • Discuss actions that can contribute to higher levels of participation in both small-scale

and industrial tuna fisheries development • Recommend practical policy and programme options to increase the participation of

women in the industry The full Terms of Reference for this study are provided in Annex 1. The field research, analysis and report writing was limited to an input of 45 days and was undertaken by three associate consultants based in the region: Mr Simon Diffey - Project Manager Dr Nancy Sullivan (Lead Consultant) – Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Fiji Dr Vina Ram-Bidesi – Fiji Dr Temakei Tebano – Kiribati 1.1 METHODOLOGY

Fieldwork in all three countries was undertaken in May-June and additional work in September 2007 – Annex 2 provides a list of all those interviewed during the course of the research. The research methodology included informal and structured interviews with industry personnel, workers, government officials, NGO groups and other key informants in the respective countries. Previous reports on gender issues and other government reports also provided an insight and focus for the study. The names used in some contentious cases have been changed to protect the identity of the interviewee. In the case of the processing plants, company documents were not directly available and much of the quantitative assessments are based on information provided by company executives and workers. Annex 3 provides an exhaustive list of reference consulted during the course of the research. 1.2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & DISCLAIMER

Fishtech Management Consultants would like to acknowledge the support given by the Michel Blanc and Jonathan Manieva at SPC for the support and flexibility in the implementation of this study. The Study Team acknowledges the time and information willingly given by all those interviewed, in particular those from the private sector. The views expressed in this report are those of the Consultant and should not be taken as representing the views of the DEVFISH Project, SPC or the government of any of country worked-in or of the management of the companies visited. The Consultant takes full responsibility for these views and for any errors of fact or interpretation that the report may contain.


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2. OVERVIEW – FISHERIES, WID ISSUES AND EMPLOYMENT

Pacific Island societies have the highest annual per capita fish consumption rates in the world (World Fish Centre, 20071) and their coastal fisheries still produce mainly for the local markets. The export potential for these countries lies offshore in their reserves of deepwater tuna, which is the source of over half the world’s canned tuna and much of its fresh sashimi. But because the industry requires capital investment beyond the reach of most Pacific Island Countries (PIC), the extent of the benefits most of these countries have enjoyed come from the licensing of foreign fishing vessels. In Kiribati, for example, access fees account for up to 45% of government revenue (Tarte, 2002). Relatively few benefits accrue from processing or support services in most PIC, but what does exist has important implications for the future development of these island states.

Photo 1: Fish Seller, South Tarawa A disproportionate amount of the unskilled labour in the processing of tuna is filled by women, and in those factories based in Fiji and Papua New Guinea (PNG), for example, the relatively low cost of labour is a critical component to the financial viability of these industries. The involvement of Pacific Island women is therefore critical to various countries entry into and position within the industrial tuna processing industry, supported by current regional fisheries policy which emphasises development of domestic fishing industry in the region and increased shore-based activities where women could more actively participate. 2.1 WOMEN IN DEVELOPMENT

Much of the WID programming of the 1980s has been recently renamed and redirected toward community development, for good reasons. Gender issues cannot be isolated from the larger population of any community, and the more one refers to women as an adjunct population, the more marginalised one’s efforts and impact will be (Naisara, pers. comm.). Gender is but one axis by which to approach poverty, need and human development. Furthermore, it would be incorrect to separate ‘monetary’ from livelihood’ sectors of Pacific Island economies, and to assume the growth of one comes at the expense of the other. Whilst more women working in fish canneries and loineries means (in theory) more income in the community, in practice it can also mean less household income, lower livelihoods, and more structural inequity between urban and rural poor, landless and landed communities, women and men. Poverty in the developing world is less about income than about spending, and the wellbeing of both a monetary and a subsistence economy, and building on the balances of labour that already exist between all members of the community. The tuna industry holds unlimited possibilities for both men and women in PIC, and to ensure its benefits continue to outweigh the costs, a concerted effort must be made to cultivate women’s participation.

1 The WorldFish Center web page www.worldfishcenter.org


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2.2 FISHERIES AND THE EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN

Women are essential players in all aspects of Pacific Island fisheries, from collection to marketing, processing and preparation – in Fiji and PNG they have expanded their traditional roles from catching and preparation to include post-harvest, distribution and marketing activities, and that they have done this by relying on traditional community networks. The formal economy now offers them employment opportunities that promise to bring in more cash, while not necessarily impinging upon their traditional activities and authority. The problems arise when, by providing cheap labour in processing plants, they are absent from artisanal fisheries and subsistence strategies at home. As they continue to dominate the processing sector of the industry, special attention must be paid to their specific needs as multitasking members of their communities, as mothers, wives and fishmongers, matriarchs and homemakers. Safeguards to protect their health and lifestyle well-being will ensure their continued dedication to the industry and attract them to wider opportunities in value added processing and other shore-based enterprises. Their health and safety represent a cornerstone of this flourishing industry, especially as it builds on viable local communities and their formal and informal contributions across the Pacific Islands. The participation of women is little recognised in the formal economy, and finding ways to calculate its value has been a central concern for economists in Pacific Island fisheries (Kronin 2007; Ram-Bidesi 1995; Matthews 1995). The study team has attempted to research this issue within each of the three countries and Table 1 overleaf summarises the data collected and analysed during the study. Drawing comparisons with other PIC (or an average figure for the region) and other regions of the world (in particular SE Asia) would also have been useful but was not possible within the timeframe of the study, primarily because the data is not readily available.


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Table 1: Economic Data – The Role of Women

Indicator Fiji Islands Kiribati Papua New Guinea No. of women working in the formal (fish processing) sector

Approximately 600 (PafCo = 544)

6 (at CCPL) Between 4,620-5,000 of a total estimated workforce of 6,600 (RD Tuna, SST, Tossa Bussan and Frabelle)

No. of women marketing fish (informal sector)

Figure unknown Estimated 1,000 fish traders (90%+ women) on South Tarawa

Figure unknown

Total annual earnings for women formally employed in sector, as percentage of total employment earnings

PafCo = F$2,397,606- F$3,557,409 Women’s wages proportional to gross value at PafCo = 2.2%. Women’s wages (80% of total workforce) is 3.4% of the gross value of processing.

1,000 traders in Tarawa making AU$3,900/person/yr = AU$3.9 million

RD Tuna – 3,000 women on min. wage =US$1,875,000 SST=US$360,000 Frabelle=US$450,000

Estimated value added by processing or marketing by women in informal employment

100% added value for processing overall (canneries) No data on small scale marketing value added

0% value added for small scale cooked shellfish sales (versus raw) No tuna data (value added from tuna jerky estimated to be at least 200%)

Estimated 100% value added for processing (canneries) Estimated 100% value added for smoked tilapia No data for tuna

Pattern of expenditure by women?

Foodstuffs for the family for the majority of unskilled workers

Household utilities and foodstuffs for unskilled workers

Retail foodstuffs –retailers in Madang and Wewak primarily foreign owned

Importance of women in processing and marketing tuna relative to other industries

Role of women in processing fish disproportionately greater than their share of the benefits in the formal sector but generally equable for the informal sector

Majority of processing and informal marketing is by women (95%+)

Role of women in processing fish disproportionately greater than their share of the benefits in the formal sector but generally equable for the informal sector


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COUNTRY REPORT - FIJI ISLANDS

3.1 INTRODUCTION

This country report was prepared as part of the EU funded DEVFISH Project ‘Study on Gender Issues in Tuna Fisheries’ undertaken by Fishtech Management Consultants, UK. Field work was undertaken by Dr Nancy Sullivan and Dr Vina Ram-Bidesi during May and June 2007 and further research undertaken in September 2007. The field work was confined to interviews in and around Suva and on Levuka. This country report is co-authored by Dr Ram-Bidesi with contributions from Dr Sullivan. The focus of the research in Fiji, as prescribed in the ToR, is primarily on the role of women in the industrial tuna processing industry. 3.2 BACKGROUND TO THE SECTOR

The Fiji Islands are located 17 degrees south of the equator, which is roughly 7 degrees short of the ‘tuna belt’ that straddles the equator. PNG, by contrast, lies 4 degrees south of the equator, firmly within the belt, where boats catch tuna all year round. In terms of contribution to GDP, Fiji’s tuna industry is spread across two sectors: the manufacturing sector and fishing sector. The shore-based tuna industry in Fiji can be characterised into four categories: cannery operations together with loining for further canning (operations of PafCo); fresh whole tuna, frozen skinless tuna loins, pre-cooked tuna loins for sashimi exports; frozen tuna exports for cannery (domestic long-line) and domestic sales of tuna and by-products (domestic marketing and near-shore pelagic). The harvesting sector is comprised of locally-owned vessels, domestic based foreign vessels and foreign vessels all of which may either fish in Fiji’s EEZ, neighbouring waters and/or in international waters. Women’s participation in the formal economy has increased over the last two decades, some of which is due to special incentives such as the Tax Free Factory Zone that started in the late 1980s as a means to generate economic growth. 3.3 FISHERIES POLICY FRAMEWORK

The fisheries sector strategic development framework (2005-2008) specifically outlines the fisheries sector policy as follows: • To ensure sustainable development of marine capture fisheries and aquaculture • To promote production and export of value added fisheries products • To increase local participation in all areas of the industry • To provide appropriate institutional and physical infrastructure to support and manage

development in the sector • To provide human resource institutional strengthening and appropriate capacity

building • To promote applied developmental and market research The above policies in the context of tuna fisheries are integrated into Fiji’s Tuna Management Plan (2006-2010). This tuna management plan is phase II of the First Tuna Management Plan (2002-2005) that provided the first comprehensive policy framework for tuna fisheries in Fiji. The formulation of the current Tuna Management Plan (2006-2010) has been following the audit of the first phase with the major objective of devising policies that would create a framework for a stable and profitable fishery. The key management policy objectives of the Tuna Management Plan address four areas:


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• Economic gains - tuna resources to provide jobs for men, women, export earnings and government revenue

• Sustainability- ensure compliance with international agreements for long term sustainable use

• Enhanced participation by indigenous Fijians – to promote further participation by indigenous Fijians as investors and owners of tuna businesses

• Enhanced catch history for any future regional catch allocation process

While there has been consultation with women’s groups in the planning process, progress in addressing social impact issues and establishment of a fund in this regard has not materialized. The Fisheries Department however has increased the number of women staff including women field officers, scientists and in the data and information section. Employment of women in the private sector such as in processing has also increased although the number of employment levels in all processing establishments was difficult to accurately determine during this study as currently there is no such (publicly available) data available for the tuna specific sector besides catch data. However, the increased trend in employment in the processing sector is not however considered a direct outcome of any specific government policy to boost women’s employment in the sector but more because women need to join the cash economy to support themselves and their families. 3.4 GENDER POLICY FRAMEWORK

The Government of Fiji recognizes that an important aspect of the improved status for women is their greater participation and involvement in decision making processes at the national level. As such government will continue to assign 30-50 percent of representation of women on Boards and Committees approved by the Cabinet in June 1993 and will actively support the participation, training, appointments and promotions of women with merits and skills at levels in both public and private sector (Ministry of Women and Culture, The Women’s Plan of Action, 1999-2008, Suva. 1998: 75-6; cf Chandra and Lewai, 2005). Fiji has made commitments to eight major international agreements and programmes for action on gender equality and the advancement of women. It has also made commitments to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), including those associated directly or indirectly with the status of women and gender equality (ADB, 2006). The goals and policy objectives for gender and development and gender equality in the Strategic Development Plan have been closely based on the endorsement by government (in 1999) of the Women’s Plan of Action (1999 – 2008). In advancing the economic, legal and political status of women, the government in consultation with other stakeholders, NGOs and women’s groups have selected five areas of focus for its gender commitments (Ibid). Amongst these include: • Mainstreaming women’s and gender concerns in the planning process and all policy

areas • Review laws that are disadvantageous to women • Allocate additional resources to develop women’s micro enterprises and encourage

financial institutions to review lending policies to women who lack traditional collaterals

• Work towards achieving gender balance partnerships at all levels of decision making • Campaign to promote a sound and stable environment that is free of violence


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Several advances have been made in the area of legislative reform following the enactment of the 1997 Constitution. The Bill of Rights within the Constitution establishes an equal employment opportunity policy. The Fiji Human Rights Commission employs an officer specializing in gender equity cases. A Law Reform Commission has been established to review laws relating to sexual and family violence. The Family Law Act (2003) also provides the framework for more equitable gender legislation. As pointed out in the ADB assessment report (ADB, 2006), the responsibility for achieving gender policy goals are assigned to the Department of Women under the Ministry of Women, Social Welfare and Housing. This creates a structural problem because the Department of Women is not a policy agency but a line department focusing on community development. In relation to tuna fisheries, there is a lack of congruence between the gender policies of government under the Department of Women and those of the Fisheries Department under the Tuna Management Plan. The current Tuna Management Plan is vague on specific gender issues because its priorities are towards consolidating and strengthening domestic development through increased indigenous participation. It is not explicit about whether this means addressing gender issues as stated in the National Strategic Development Plan. 3.5 LABOUR ISSUES

The Ministry of Labour and Industrial Relations administers the labour laws and oversees labour relations and welfare of workers. The Employment Act (Cap 92) regulates minimum terms and conditions for employment of all employees at their workplace. Other labour laws in Fiji include the Workmen’s [Worker’s] Compensation Act (Cap 94), the Health and Safety at Work Act, Trade Dispute Act, Fiji National Training Council Act, Trade Union Act and Fiji National Provident Fund Act. There is also a Wages Council Act (Cap 98) which provides for establishment of Wages Councils which in turn decide on the industry/sector based minimum wages and terms and condition where no adequate collective bargaining machinery exists. The Ministry of Labour indicated Deputy Secretary, Mr. Vimlesh Maharaj, and Manager for Labour Standards and Service, and Executive Director of the Wages Council, Mr Harbans Narayan, explained that the new Industrial Relations Bill (passed in October 2006) has clarified the issue of equal employment opportunities for women. The law comes after a long lobbying effort by, amongst others, the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, which prepared a Lobbying Manual under its Women’s Employment and Economic Rights Project. Unfortunately the Bill’s future is uncertain, having taken effect on the eve of the present government (Chetty, pers comm.). The Bill was to come into effect on October 1 2007 but the government has agreed to postpone after much opposition from the Fiji Employers Federation (The Fiji Times, September 15 2007). But the improvements are considerable for women, and they include: • New provisions for 84 days maternity (full pay for 3 births and thereafter half pay) • Spot checks on workplaces (without 14 day notification) • 30% minimum female representation on the Labour Advisory Board • Transport and overtime for night workers • ‘Visual material of a sexual nature’ to fall under definition of sexual harassment • Employer liability for workers’ and subcontractors’ actions in terms of sexual

harassment • A minimum wage across all sectors (to prevent the discrimination by sector in female-

dominated field, like the garment industry)


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While Wages Councils comprise of 3 employers representatives, 3 employee representatives and 3 independent members, in practice Councils are comprised of union and company figures only, and thus dominated by the larger players, overwhelming the concerns of smaller stakeholders (Narayan, pers. comm.) Although Narayan feels Fiji cannot afford to have a single minimum wage, as it would cripple certain industries, he agrees with the recommendation of Dr. Wadan Narsey, whose recently published Just Wages for Fiji (Narsay, 2006) advocates opening up the Councils to more independent stakeholders. While PafCo has a workers union to represent workers interest, there are no such unions for the domestic long-line industry workers. Most of the employees’ wages are determined by a combination of factors which includes their respective skills under the specific wage council which sets the minimum wages such as whether it is for wholesale and retail trade; manufacturing; or a building, civil and electrical engineering. The competitive demand for the labour and employer and employee bargaining also is important for the operators in the long-line industry. Concerns were also raised in relation to the hiring of casual workers under the new employment relations bill. According to a factory production manager, the bill is likely to deter the employment of casual workers for longer periods since employers need to have proper documentation and procedures for employment similar to permanent workers. “This is likely to increase cost of administration and operation, therefore use of casual workers will have to be minimised”. This can indirectly affect the informal women workers who work at processing plants on a needs basis. While the implementation of employment relations bill has been postponed, its impact on the various sectors of the tuna industry must be evaluated more thoroughly so that risk for both employer and employees could be minimised and the objectives of the bill to be more fully understood and appreciated. The Labour Department’s Harbans Narayan and Vimlesh Maharaj confirmed (pers. comm.) that the popular wisdom of school leavers heading for the bright lights of Suva and never returning seems to be justified. In Fiji graduates don’t return to the village (the way they tend to in PNG) partly because transport to/from the islands for holidays is not a major obstacle (as it often is in PNG). 3.6 PACIFIC FISHING COMPANY

3.6.1 Cannery & loining Operation In 1964 a joint venture between the colonial government of Fiji and two Japanese companies, C. Itoh and Nichiro Ltd was set up to operate a cold store trans-shipment base on the Island of Ovalau. By the late 1960s, the administrative capital was shifted to Suva. The trans-shipment base was expanded into a joint venture cannery operation with a 10 year agreement: the Fiji government 25% held shares, local citizens 4%, Nichiro 10% and C Itoh held 61% shares. The agreement also included the assurance of a progressive localisation of personnel and an obligation to purchase skipjack and other tuna from local fishers (see Ram-Bidesi et al, 2003). Whilst the Pacific Fishing Company (PafCo) did record profits in some years, C. Itoh did not seek an extension of its agreement and the Fiji Government nationalised the operations; the government shares increased to 98% and 2% were held by locals. Since nationalisation profits were recorded until 1991, but then PafCo went into financial difficulty for various reasons including lack of supply of fish, depressed market prices,


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and high operating costs. The amount of government assistance to PafCo required between 1994 and 1997 amounted to over F$11.5 million (Arthur Anderson, 1997). In August 1997, PafCo signed a Memorandum of Agreement between Bumble Bee and the Fong Chen Formosa (FCF) Company. Under this agreement Bumble Bee provides raw tuna for processing through FCF which is a global company that supplies fish to all Bumble Bee plants for processing. Bumble Bee provides technical expertise and is responsible for the marketing of processed fish while PafCo provides the processing facilities for canning and loining, labour and infrastructure. The current agreement will expire in 2009. As part of this agreement, PafCo has had a major upgrade of the processing facilities to meet international sanitation and hygiene requirements. The Quality Control Manager (a Bumble Bee employee) confirmed that the PafCo facility meets the hygiene and quality standards (HACCP standards) for exports to the EU and the US markets. The number of workers employed by PafCo during any given period is dependent on production requirements. There are periods when fish supply is regular and the factory operates on a two eight-hour shifts, coinciding with seasonal catches in the Fijian EEZ. When supply of fish is low, PafCo operates one eight-hour shift during the day. In 2001, PafCo paid $75,000 dividends to the Fiji Government (Ram-Bidesi et al, 2003). Interviews with informants also revealed that last year PafCo paid $450,000 dividend to the government and the acting general manager indicated that last year was a good year in which PafCo processed about 31,000mt of whole round fish. Officials at the Ministry of Labour indicated that there has been an agreement between the PafCo management and the union to review wages every two years. Since a major strike in 2003, no review has been undertaken. Productivity of the workers continues to be an issue. Initially, workers complained about the productivity based bonuses where standards set were high and so seldom targets could be reached (Rajan, 2005). Currently, supervisors (and upper management) impose strict working regimes on factory floor workers to help meet their targets which some factory floor workers resent. 3.6.2 Employment at PafCo The company’s employment details were not made directly available to the study team from their records. Although interviews with the Acting General Manager and management staff provided some insight into the nature of employment, figures varied widely from different sources. What is certain is that the company’s operations are influenced by the availability of fish and the market price for frozen tuna. Much of their supply comes from outside of Fiji’s EEZ since tuna is seasonal in Fiji waters. As a result, the factory is known to have temporary shut downs during periods of low supply. Interviews with workers indicated that temporary closures were equivalent to about six weeks per year. However there are times when the supply of fish is high and the factory operates two shifts, generating employment for additional casual workers. At the time of study and interviews by the study team (May 2007), the factory was operating on a five day week and one eight-hour shift or 42.5 hours per week. However some workers are also required to work over the weekend on unfinished and essential tasks. PafCo has about 580 permanent workers (main list), 110 casual workers (on temporary appointments) and about 100 pooled workers. Information from company sources provided the following summary on the current employment status over the last two years – see Table 2.


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Table 2: Summary of Employment of by Gender 2005 2006 2007 (May)

Female 593 582 544 Male 216 216 198 Total 809 798 738

The breakdown of employment by various job types is indicated in Table 3 below. Job descriptions have varied over the period in the restructuring of the factory; therefore the list is summarised and may not represent exact employment categories. For example in 2005 there were 11 males and 90 females working in the loining section of the factory. This activity has however been incorporated under cleaning, moulding and skinning in 2006 and 2007. Likewise the ‘wet process’ in 2005 is described as cleaning/cleaner in 2006 and 2007.

Table 3: Activities Performed by Men and Women at PafCo Job type 2007 (May) 2006 2005

Male Female Male Female Male Female Butcher 3 19 3 20 Canning 3 19 4 18 5 32Cleaning/cleaner 9 152 13 184 CV operator - 10 - 10 Driver 3 11 4 14 Labelling 11 13 12 14 Moulder 4 146 4 18 Skinner 127 76 145 77 Sorter 2 12 4 11 Supervisor - 17 - 18 Unloading 1 17 1 24 Flakes - 10 Mechanic/ Mechanical 2 5 2 8Sanitation 4 12 Quality Control 6 10 25Clerical 8 Day care 3 3 Raw materials & logistics 5 31Wet process 159 310Loining 11 90Fish meal 3 9Utilities 2 8Human resources 1 9Electrical 1 2Automotive 4 13* Others 33 34 26 147 13 56Total 198 544 216 582 203 537* others include management, sanitation, recorder, pusher, palletizing, nurse, loin evaluator, laundry, door clerk, tally clerk, tag man, bagging, dockside inspection, dryer, etc.

The only task in which men dominate is the skinning of fish, which requires manual handling of large and heavy fish. Interviews with employees indicated that men dominate in the unloading of fish, the freezer area and the maintenance of machine and skinning of fish, whilst women are dominant in the processing lines.


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About 70% of the PafCo workers are women (Prakash, pers comm.). There are 580 workers on an hourly paid rate, and 40 salaried staff on a monthly wages, of which about 24-26 are middle management and 13-15 are at senior management level (Ibid). The bulk of PafCo employees are in the production section. Table 4 provides the breakdown of employment by gender type in a typical production shift.

Table 4: Staffing of Typical Production Shift at PafCo Activity Supervisor Salaried

Staff Non-salaried

staff M F M F M F Preparation 2 2 2 Cleaning 14 13 150 Canning 2 8 18 Freezing & moulding

2 4 18

Labelling 2 Quality control 2 2 4 2 2 Total 2 22 8 6 21 190

Table 4 reveals a dominance of women as supervisors and non-salaried staff in production. 6 of the 14 salaried staff (43%) are women and 90% of non-salaried workers are women. The dominance of women on the factory floor has been well documented in canneries and food processing industries all over the world. In 2000, the company’s Quality Control Manager explained that, “women are capable of dexterous work, better with their hands, more productive and more committed than the men” (Rajan, 2005). The study team heard the same message from many quarters in both Levuka and Suva. Emberson-Bain (1995) noted that women had replaced men at PafCo because men refused to do monotonous and ‘demeaning’ tasks like cleaning, gutting and preparing fish to be canned (as reported in Rajan, 2005). Women with minimal skills or education are willing to take up what ever employment opportunities are available to them, and are therefore more likely to follow orders when the one means of earning income for their family is at stake. PafCo interviewees also told us that women are not barred from work otherwise dominated by men, such as electrical and mechanical tasks, or operating forklifts and machines. However, one [male] interviewee said that a female worker has to be exceptionally good and physically fit to perform such duties. Women generally do not seek jobs that require heavy lifting or pose health risks, such as stevedoring or work in the freezer section. But risk is relative, and employees also suggested that production line work has its own risks. This could not be verified as visitors are forbidden to view factory processing areas (Prakash, pers comm.) The PafCo Personnel Manager told the study team that the first generation of PafCo women employees is now 40-50 years old; she herself started working at the factory in 1981. She also maintained that there is now a more educated workforce in Levuka waiting to gain employment at the factory; they are all educated, very qualified, and have applied for positions that are still filled by the older permanent employees. For example they had 160 local applicants from Levuka, some of who had computer skills but only 30 were employed.


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3.6.3 Economic Assessment of the Role of Women at PafCo In the absence of accurate quantitative data, the following assessments were made based on varying assumptions and calculations as to the total annual income (returns to factors of production) earned by women at PafCo: Assessment 1: Income of Female Factory Floor Workers Factory floor workers receive an hourly wage rate of F$2.75 (referred to as “unskilled”) whilst the “skilled” category rate varied from F$3.10 to $3.50 per hour. In May 2007, there were a total of 742 employees of PafCo of which 580 were permanent workers and 40 staff and 7 in administration and management. At the time of interview (May 2007), only permanent workers were employed, and 115 workers who appeared on the records were assumed to be casual workers or employed on a needs basis. Of the 580 factory workers, 70% are women and 30% are men (Prakash, pers comm.). Thus about 406 women working at F$2.75 for 42.5 hours/week received a total wage of approximately F$47,451 per week. Periodic closures total about 6 weeks per year. Given that the factory operates 46 weeks a year and given the current state of operations (single shift operation) the annual wage bill for female workers on the factory floor at PafCo is estimated at F$2,182,756. Assessment 2: Income of all Female Workers & Staff Interviews indicated that approximately half the staff positions at PafCo consist of women: 20 female staff at F$3.50 per hour over 8 hour shift for 5 days means they are paid F$2,975 per week. 46 weeks will give a total wage bill for female staff of F$136,850. One assistant manager receives F$1,500 per month while the other received F$2,000, giving a combined total salary for both of F$42,000. There is only one other female senior management staff whose salary level was not known but estimated to be at least F$36,000 per year (assuming she receives twice as much as assistant manager, ie F$3000 per month). Thus the senior female staff salaries add up to F$78,000. It is therefore estimated that female workers at PafCo from all levels of operation are annually paid approximately F$2,397,606. This is only an apparent estimate based on the information provided through interviews. The calculation is also for one eight hour shift that is currently in operation. If an additional shift is added, these figures would change. Since February to May is generally seen as low season and there is a period of about 6 -7 weeks of shut down, double shifts would therefore effectively operate for about 6 months. Thus the wage bill for production workers and staff for additional 6 months for an additional shift will be equivalent to F$1,091,580. This is half yearly payment for additional 8-hour shift for 5 days per week for process workers and 20 staff. If the double shift is factored into the assessment, the total wage bill would be approximately F$3,557,409. 3.6.4 Comparisons with Men 30% of the permanent factory floor workers and 50% of the staff is male. In a single shift operation, their annual wage bill is approximately F$935,486 at ($2.75 per hour). The 20 male staff receives a similar level of wage as their female counterparts ($3.50 per hour) which equals approximately F$136,850. In total, this amounts to F$1,072,318. There is six senior male staff whose salary level estimates were unavailable. If a double shift operation for additional six months is added, the total wage bill for male staff and permanent factory floor workers would be approximately $1,628,886. (It was not possible to determine the total wage bill for 6 male senior management staff or for the casual and pooled workers who are employed on a needs basis).


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While there was clear division of labour by gender, it was not possible to compare the relative wages of males and females. For example, the 6 male staff at the senior management level could not be meaningfully compared to the 406 women at the factory floor since the tasks performed were different. What was clear from the interviews was that wage differentials that previously existed between gender for the same work was no longer the case due to the new Labour Laws in Fiji (Narayan, pers. comm.). 3.6.5 Women’s Apparent Value-Added Labour Input Gross Figures Interviewees indicated that 80% of the tuna at PafCo is loined, and 20% is canned (at a rate of 200 cans/minute or typically 60-80,000 cans per day). It is projected that almost 20,000mt of fish will be processed during 2007 (Prakash, pers comm.). Management also indicated that this year (2007) was going to be a low operating year (20,000mt compared to last year’s 33,000mt). The loss of weight per mt of fish is about 500-550kg (Ibid). Therefore 20,000mt of whole round fish will give approximately 11,000mt of fish, of which 8,800mt is assumed to be turned into loins (80% of the total) and 2,200mt (20%) canned. The FCF Company has an exclusive contract with Bumble Bee to supply fish to PafCo for processing. Since PafCo provides the processing services, it charges a fixed processing fee within the range of F$3000-F$4000 per mt (Ibid). If 20,000mt is the throughput for processing, the company is likely to earn gross revenue of at least F$70 million.2 It is assumed that the 2007 estimated throughput of 20,000mt of round fish will consist of: • 80% albacore (with a market value of US$29.6 million)3 • 15% yellowfin (US$4.95 million) • 5 % skipjack (US$1.0 million) The total cost of raw material supply is therefore US$35.55 million (F$57,235,500). The cost of both procuring and processing this volume of fish for export to Bumble Bee under the given scenario is therefore estimated to be around US$79.03 million, based on processing costs of F$70 million (US$ 43.48 million) and fish supply costs of USD $35.55 million. Whilst the cost of fish, fuel and other inputs are not considered here, the wages received by women (who make up 70% of the labour force) is approximately equivalent to 3.4% of the gross value of the processing fee charged by PafCo. Loining An average weight of a processed albacore loin is about 10.5kg with an average price of US$67.00 (one company employee told the study team). PafCo both loins and cans albacore, although some yellowfin and skipjack are also used, for which prices differ. Assuming a total loined (processed weight) of 8,800mt and that 800mt of this is loined yellowfin and skipjack, then 8,000mt of loined albacore (with an average loin weight of 10.5 kg at US$67 per loin) generates a gross revenue of US$51,047,619. Assuming that the rest of 800mt of loined yellowfin and skipjack with averaged price per loin (conservatively) of US$20 per 5 kg, this yields an additional gross revenue of US$3.2 million. The value of loins packed for Bumble Bee is therefore estimated to be a combined US$54.25 million, equivalent to about F$86.8 million (at US$1 = F$1.61).

2 20,000mt at average processing cost of $3500 per mt = $70,000,000. 3 Albacore price US$1850-1900 per mt; Skipjack price US$1080-$1130 per mt; Yellowfin price US$1650-$1700 per mt – Bangkok canning tuna price estimates – FFA Tuna Market News April 2007, Issue No.81, 18 May 2007


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These loins are further processed by Bumble Bee in the United States into canned tuna or made into tuna steak fillets and tuna pouches which can fetch a retail price ranging from US$2.13 - $3.99 per 114gram to 170gram packs (Bumble Bee, 2007).4 The gross value added on the loins exported from Fiji is therefore more than doubled as 8,000mt of albacore loins will yield approximately 47 million x 170gram tuna packs, which at an average retail price of US$2.50 a pack generates an approximate retail gross revenue of US$117 million (F$188.4 million). Based on current estimates and forecast by management of fish production at PafCo in 2007 (for around 20,000mt of whole round fish), the total gross value of processed loins and canned tuna for Bumble Bee from PafCo is calculated to be approximately US$67.19 million (F$ 108.17 million). The proportion of wages received by women at PafCo in relation to the estimated gross value of products processed for Bumble Bee by PafCo (during a low production year) is therefore estimated to be 2.2%. 3.6.6 Strategic Planning & Potential Benefits The afore-mentioned calculations are based on estimates and ignore the cost of various factors of production and are not the real figures and the various costs are not adequately factored in. However they do resemble what could be the most likely scenario for an estimate of gross revenue and key input costs such as labour and raw material supply. Despite its shortcomings, the analysis does give an apparent indication that the agreement between Bumble Bee and PafCo is one that is currently profitable to Bumble Bee even though PafCo is a very small partner for Bumble Bee.5 PafCo may therefore have the potential to seek greater mutual benefit from Bumble Bee because of its strategic location in the Pacific close to albacore tuna fishing grounds. Whilst PafCo has a contract to process fish for Bumble Bee and prefers to have a stable market and some degree of security in the face of competition from SE Asian or Latin American processing plants, the profit margins suggest that there is room for negotiating more favourable contract terms which could be beneficial either directly to the workers or through the operations of the processing plant. The latter could be negotiated through assistance in research and development and/or improvement in technology and equipment. Such detailed recommendations are beyond the terms of reference for this study. Nevertheless, these strategic moves have an important bearing on the welfare of women working at PafCo. Trade and market predictions indicate that the market for loins may exist only as long as the US trade policy continues to protect domestic canning sectors, thereby generating a market for loins. Their specialisation in albacore tuna for up-market brand labels may still provide the option for increased canning operations if PafCo is able to maintain its strategic alliance with Bumble Bee with its differentiated product. The likelihood of increasing workers welfare (a large percentage of who are women) should also be seen within the above macroeconomic context for PafCo. If the industry is economically viable 4 The major canning business of PafCo is for Bumble Bee’s Clover Leaf brand, which is albacore for the Canadian market. The average retail price in this market is US$1.95 per 170gram can (See: http://www.Bummble Bee.com). 5 In 1999 Bumble Bee purchased BC Packers (which sells leading brand of tuna "Clover Leaf") and around the same time established the agreement with PafCo. In 2004 Bumble Bee Seafoods, LLC combined its business with Connors Bros Income Fund to become the largest branded seafood company in North America. In 2005, Bumble Bee changed its name to Bumble Bee Foods, LLC to reflect its diversification into other food products. Bumble Bee Foods LLC now operates as a subsidiary of Connors Bros Income Fund together with Clover Leaf Seafoods, LP and together they comprise North America's largest branded seafood company


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and stable, all workers irrespective of gender are more likely to reap the rewards of their labour. One of the basic principles for increasing women’s involvement and improving their economic and social status therefore lies in having sound macroeconomic industry policy support for PafCo. To achieve this goal professional training on fisheries sector policy and planning, business economics and technical aspects of tuna industry operations such as marketing and product development is required within the government administration and senior company management. More women should be promoted to take up career opportunities at higher levels of decision making wherever possible. This could be through the provision of scholarships and other training opportunities for young females already employed at PafCo. It makes more sense to target female workers (who make up almost 70% of the cannery workers) as they are likely to be more sensitive to addressing women and communities’ economic needs. 3.6.7 Contribution of Women to Local Economies Factory Floor Workers Profile Whilst the study team interviewed several other factory workers, the detailed case study in Box 2 and Box 3 (see Annex 4) is considered representative of the profile of two very different types of female employee at PafCo. Other examples include: • Sera, a single mother with two children who works as a cooker and sometimes also

cleans the fish has been working for PafCo for the last 10 years and is a permanent worker. She is a Union member and her net weekly wage is F$114 but after expenses and deductions she has only F$2.00 left to save. Sera is totally reliant on her job at PafCo to support her family as she does not get time to do her own gardening and only occasionally goes fishing.

• Amelia lives with her husband, six children and brother-in-law who own the house. Her husband and brother-in-law are both farmers while Amelia works at PafCo as a cleaner in the Production Department. She has been working for PafCo for 13 years and receives a weekly wage of F$116.00. Her weekly expenses are F$107.50, leaving her just F$8.50 disposable savings. Whilst her husband also sells vegetables and they rely on their garden for supply of root crops and vegetables, she is the main ‘bread-winner’ in the family.

In summary, the pattern of income and expenditure for workers on the factory floor shows that while female workers’ savings after expenses and deductions is generally very low or almost nil, deduction at source allows them to keep up with their repayments. Women are the major clients of the Employees Credit Union who often borrow money to pay of food or family related expenses. Considering the pattern of expenditure of majority of women workers at PafCo, one can say that they play an active role in the cash economy of Ovalau. A local shopkeeper commented that "women often use their wages wisely, in comparison to men who may use part or most of their pay packet at the bar or on kava". It should be noted that the current wage rate of F$2.75 compares favourably with a wage rate three years ago for permanent workers of F$1.75 (Rajan, 2005). This represents an increase of some 57%, not taking into account the annual inflation rate of around 3%. In comparing the minimum wages of workers at PafCo and other manufacturing and retail industry as indicated in Box 3, one can say that the PafCo wage is relatively competitive. Comparing wage rate of PafCo to that of garment factory workers such as machinists in the tax free zone near Suva such as Kalabo who receive a normal wage of $1.80 per hour, the wage rate is at least 25% higher at PafCo – see Box 1 overleaf.


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BOX 1: A COMPARISON BETWEEN PAFCO & OTHER INDUSTRIES, FIJI

In 2003 the minimum wage for the garment sector, for a new worker, was F$1.15/hour, and for an experienced worker (with more than six months experience) F$1.36 (Storey 2003:31). The 2006 minimum wage for cadets with technical skills was F$1.48, and for Hotel and Catering cadets, F$1.25 (Hodges 2006). The average minimum wages in the manufacturing sector is F$1.70/hour. Average wage for learners: F$1.60, casual workers: F$2.50, other ordinary workers: F$2.00, and skilled workers F$4.85 - F$12.00 (Fiji Trade and Industry Board website 19 June 2007). The current minimum wages for a forklift operator is F$2.43/ hour; packer over 18 years of age is F$2.11, unskilled workers over 18 years is F$1.98 under the wholesale and retail trade. Minimum wages in the Building, Civil and Electrical Engineering trade for unskilled workers is F$2.25, light plant operators is F$3.10 and for a clerk is F$2.68. (Fiji Trade and Investment Bureau, 20 September 2007). 3.6.8 Social Assessment of PafCo PafCo workers have certain unique benefits - a laundry in the plant for cleaning uniforms; access to three canteen vendors with two morning tea breaks of 15 minutes each allowed, a 1 hour lunch (versus half-hour in other plants) and a mid-afternoon tea break for 15 minutes. The shifts are staggered, and overtime workers get transport free. They have an active union and a credit union, with local credit card arrangements. Some mobility exists between middle and upper management, although there appears not to be between production and management. Some workers must pay as much as F$2.50 each way from distant villages, but they come to work nonetheless. Roughly 15-20 women from each of the farthest villages are permanent employees; they still find it beneficial to commute because the social and long-term benefits are important to them such as building skills, establishing credit, forging an employment record, and so forth. 3.6.9 PafCo Employees Union v Management Workers pay the union F$5/week, which is non-compulsory to join. There are reportedly 80 non union ‘free-riders’ on the factory floor and people interviewed suggest that there is blatant bias against union members. The Union says PafCo has failed to comply with the requirements of the company’s Occupational Health Scheme; too few fans, hot working environment, sick leave without pay, maternity leave without reinstatement, abusive supervisors, some sexual harassment, women forced to carry heavy loads, some forced to wear wet clothes from the laundry etc. One of the most striking factors that continue to persist at PafCo is the management and worker attitude that conditions the state of affairs within the company. This is seen as detrimental to both the company and employees at the operational level. The ongoing concerns of PafCo workers (as expressed by the Union) range from unjustified lay-offs and inadequate settlements from prior disputes to the inability to make a living wage. Interviews with the union workers and management indicated that relations have been unnecessarily polarized as a result of mis-communication, and that there is little interaction between the production floor and the senior management level. In all tuna processing plants there is a marked difference between the air-conditioned suites of the management floor and the hot, noisy and smelly factory floor below. Ironically, PafCo has a lot to be proud of, and much has changed since various


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investigative reports first condemned the place. The women of Levuka earn more than their colleagues elsewhere in the Pacific and remain relatively free to choose against factory work. The plant itself has been refurbished and from all reports is clean and well maintained. The Employees Union members also claim that the company discriminates against them because of their demands for better wages and working conditions. There have been several industrial disputes in recent years between the employees union and PafCo management (the most recent and serious in 2003). Employees feel that PafCo management is not sensitive to their needs and is serving the shareholders interests despite a majority government share-holding. The PafCo management reply to these concerns is that Levuka is a high cost production area since the pool of labour is limited on the island and the people feel that they have monopoly power over the company. It is difficult to attract skilled labour from elsewhere because the people from Lomaiviti are given the first preference and Levuka does not have the services that are available in larger towns of Fiji. Besides labour cost problem, transportation is another major cost factor as fish has to be trans-shipped into containers in Suva and then transported to Levuka – the additional cost per container is F$1,000 if fish is shipped via Suva to Levuka (Prakash pers comm.). The company management also continues to raise concerns over worker absenteeism that affects productivity. 3.6.10 Credit Issues (PafCo Employees Credit Union) The PafCo Employees Credit Union has a membership of about 400, including 15 PafCo staff, and it operates under a supervisory committee, and a credit committee that vets loan applications. Union membership deposits range from F$5 to F$50 per week, deducted after provident fund, union fees, credit card and rental deductions. The majority of the deductions are on loans ranging from F$20 - F$25 per week, and these are at an interest rate of 1% (compared to commercial banks, 15-16%, or money lenders, 20-25%). Applications for credit are usually to meet family's educational, medical, social (church or social obligations) and personal needs (payment of bills). Employees can also take a bereavement loan of up to F$400. A levy of F$1.50 per week is charged for any unsecured loan. Colonial Insurance was the original insurer but they withdrew their support so the company’s retirement fund is used as security. The number of delinquent loans has unfortunately risen, the Union reported, since the 2003 strike, when many workers were made redundant. In such cases, the credit union takes a debtor to a small claims court. The majority of members are women, and the union says that it does not issue funds to the husband without the consent of the wife. 3.6.11 PafCo Community Relations & Other Issues Women who have worked on the factory-floor for many years spoke nostalgically about the Japanese era at PafCo. They remember the Japanese as employers who also socialized with them, brought ice cream to the production floor on occasion. They also held staff meetings. Those who joined the company more recently could recollect that the previous CEO, Mitieli Baleivanualala, would gather everyone together and talk abut performance once in a while, so “you felt you were part of a team.” He knew how to cultivate morale, and he also lived in Levuka, which made all the difference to the staff. The former CEO left in 2004 and today PafCo is more production oriented, the standards are high and management is task-oriented.


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The Lomaiviti Provincial Council Assistant Roko, Ratu Epineri Uluiviti, also recalled how the previous CEO worked closely with the Council and maintained good relations. He opened discussions in the villages about quality control and sanitation, and helped the Council run a competition for the cleanest village and the cleanest family, for which PafCo gave prizes. The former CEO used to brief the Council on fish supply, profits, etc but there have been no briefings since 2004. Mitieli Baleivanualala also initiated the rotating village stevedoring plan. The boats used to stay 30 days in shore, but now they stay a maximum of 10 days. Now they have a stevedoring union, and each worker gets paid an hourly rate although some of the income earned from unloading fish still goes to the Village Development Trust. Barclay and Cartwright (2006) report that the (former) Public Relations Officer, Inoke Navuetaki, worked on setting up local companies to gain spin-off benefits from PafCo. In his words “PafCo has been here a long time but the money circulates around town, you don’t see the benefits of the money in the villages”. His job was to ensure the benefits from PafCo became more connected to the village economy. The fact that PafCo paid out F$400,000 in dividends in 2006 clearly does not engender themselves well with the Provincial Council when less money is now spent (or at least perceived to be spent) in the local community. “The PafCo smell used to be worse”, Uluiviti says. The company has under the new management made improvements to the pipeline so that the fish waste is now pumped moved beyond the reef-line. According to the Provincial Office official, PafCo does not communicate with the Provincial Council unless there are village conflicts, and then they go through the village Chief to the Council. For example, at the time of the strike for higher wages (in 2003), they laid-off workers without any warning to the community. A village dam supplies all PafCo water. One of the village landowners had a complaint and the PafCo employee he talked to snubbed him, saying “It’s wasting my time talking to you.” So he went home and turned down the pressure in the dam. So the company turned to the reservoir for water until they made an agreement. But there is no long term agreement between the water supply PWD and landowners or with PafCo. The Provincial Council is currently trying to establish an agreement between PafCo and the landowners. 3.6.12 Alternative Sources of Income for Women A number of enterprises could earn more money for those prepared to work hard: fish cooperatives, market sales, kava sales and weaving mats. In the future tourism may also provide alternative employment opportunities. Even if people would make more money in small fishing cooperatives, workers interviewed indicated that for now they had no entrepreneurial incentives, and they found it easier to work at PafCo. The quality of life is relatively high for people on Levuka, whether or not they work at PafCo. General expenses include school fees of F$70/yr for Primary, F$70-90/year for Secondary. (Tertiary the students apply for scholarships). There are no hospital fees, and most people fish for family consumption. Grog [kava] and cigarettes (both generally for male consumption) are the real money-wasters in Levuka.


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There is some contradiction between the Personnel Office’s claims that a new wave of workers is clamouring to join PafCo, and an often voiced absenteeism problem.6 The company feels constrained by social obligation and Union pressures to retain underproductive workers, apparently. But the new productivity ethos at PafCo exists in dialectic with company’s social responsibility to Levuka, and to lay off older women in favour of more productive younger ones would not merely undermine the social objectives, but would certainly exacerbate what are already strained public relations. The cost could be higher than imagined in strikes, because these workers have proven able to survive strikes for up to ten weeks. 3.6.13 Summary of Key Issues and Opportunities The majority of women work on the factory floor but some have moved to middle and upper level of management as supervisors and assistant managers. The personnel manager is for example a woman who was appointed to the position about two years ago. Although working conditions have generally improved with the up-grade of the factory since the new partnership agreement with Bumble Bee, the following issues have been high-lighted by this study: • Complaints relating to long hours of standing continued to creep by the workers. The

provision for sitting on stools could be explored to reduce the work pressure on the knees.

• The relationship between PafCo management and the workers needs to be improved through a more genuine and proper dialogue where decision making is more open and transparent. There is an urgent need for team building approach to improve the morale of the workers and the management for their mutual benefit. More practical steps such as open days should be organized between management and workers to interact within an informal environment to create a more conducive worker-employer relationship.

• A progressive transfer of government shares to people of Ovalau may also provide some sense of ownership of PafCo. Male and female employees should be given first preference to buy shares should such as option become feasible since they are the key players in shore based processing at PafCo. The sense of ownership will also make the people more responsible and accountable to ensure that PafCo remains a viable economic venture.

• One of the basic principles for increasing women’s involvement and improving their economic and social status lies in having a sound macroeconomic industry policy for PafCo. This should be supported by a training programme. There is also need for a comprehensive business plan for the company to assist in long-term strategic planning and provide direction for various stakeholders. The business plan should highlight the need for policies on working age, training and product development.

• Adopting a gender policy for PafCo can also assist the company to be more transparent and avoid any unwarranted discrimination by union, NGO groups supporting women and from the local community.

• Women and men working at PafCo need training to improve time management to increase efficiency and productivity so that the cannery can continue to operate in a competitive global environment

6 Similar problems of absenteeism were recorded at the tuna loining plant on Majuro in the Marshall Islands in 2001 (S. Diffey, pers comm.)


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3.7 THE TUNA LONG-LINE INDUSTRY

The other segment of the tuna industry in Fiji is the private sector long-line industry targeting the high value sashimi market with increasingly some of the lower-value catch being frozen and sent to canneries either in American Samoa or to PafCo. In the early 1990s the Fiji Government began economic reforms to boost economic growth following the coup of 1987. Focus was on export oriented development with the private sector playing a key role through the provision of incentives such as duty exemptions and concessions. With the granting of tax free status in 1997 and devaluation of the currency in 1998, the long-line industry further expanded with exports of fresh and chilled tuna to Japan and the United States. Exports of sashimi tuna in 2004 was estimated to be F$249.2 million (Fiji Fisheries Department Annual Report, 2004) and the annual catch of 84 long-line vessels licensed in Fiji was 14,945mt of which 8,785mt was catch from Fiji waters (Ibid). 3.7.1 Employment of women The harvesting sector of the long-line industry consists of about 130 domestic based vessels. These vessels offload their catches in Fiji for processing, packing or trans-shipment into carrier vessels or refrigerated container vessels. The shore-based long-line operations include packing of whole fresh fish for sashimi, loining of frozen fish and vacuum packing, frozen fish for further canning, and by-catch processing into steak, loins and other products. Direct participation of women varies depending on the nature of work and type of business operation. There are three major types of company in the harvesting sector: those that focus on fishing only and have their own vessels or act as agents for certain contracted vessels. If these companies own a shore-based office there is direct employment for 1-2 women as clerical staff. All vessel operations and harvesting is done by men. The third type of fishing company is one where the company operates a fishing fleet and uses the processing services of another company and exports the processed fish. In the latter type of operation women also work as office managers and administrators while the fishing operations, engineering and mechanical work predominantly employs men. Shipping agents that facilitate customs clearance, border inspections and provide other services and provisioning for vessels also employ women in clerical type of positions. Table 5 below provides the estimated direct employment in the tuna harvesting related sector by gender:

Table 5: Employment in the Fiji Tuna Long-Line Harvesting Sector, August 2007 Activity No. of

men No. of

women Total %

Women % Men

Company/boat owner/manger

25 3 28 11 81

Skippers 90 0 90 0 100 Engineers 180 0 180 0 100 Crew 968 0 960 0 100 Workshop & other

105 25 130 24 76

Office administration

46 82 128 64 36

Total 1,389 110 1,499 7 93


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Comparing Table 5 to direct employment in fishing and related activities in 2001 reported by the Forum Secretariat (Demmke, 2006), the trend shows a small reduction in total direct employment of 1% in long-line fleet operations whilst the number of women in shore based activities related to fleet operations increased from 3% to 7%. Employment of women in office administration has more than doubled to 64% since 2001. In shore based long-line tuna processing, the involvement of women depends on the level of primary or secondary processing. As of August 2007, there were 36 companies that were registered as tuna fish exporters. The two major companies involved in combined harvesting and processing are the Fiji Fish Marketing Company and Hangton Pacific Limited. TriPacific Marine and Celtrock Holding Limited provide processing services to other companies. Two other large processing establishments are Golden Ocean and Tosa Bussan which rely on fish mostly from contracted vessels and other vessels to provide the raw materials for further processing at their processing plants. Table 6 provides a breakdown of employment at these shore-based processing establishments (ignoring employment at PafCo and fleet operations included in Table 5).

Table 6: Employment in the Fiji Tuna Long-Line Processing Sector, August 2007 Activity No. of

men No. of

women Total %

women % men

Company/managers 11 5 16 31 69Processing/packing 238 125 363 34 66Office administration 56 38 94 68 32Workshop & other 52 5 57 10 90Total 357 173 441 39 61

Women therefore make up 68% of labour in office administration and one third in processing and packing related employment; the latter includes mostly stock control, loining, packing, labelling, quality control and acting as supervisors. All the long-line companies also employ casual or temporary workers upon demand. These workers are paid on an hourly basis and are drawn from nearby settlements or through networking with permanent workers. In two processing companies women are known to make up one third of the casual workers who assist in cleaning, loining and packing. Concerning vessel un-loading, if there are several vessels coming to port around the same time, casual labour pool of men are usually used and women are not employed in this activity. Indirect employment related to fleet operations is more complex to quantify by gender. What is apparent is that there is increased processing and unloading in Fiji, particularly in Suva and Fiji is increasingly being used as a trans-shipment and transfer base for foreign crew, vessel provisioning, and for vessel repair and dry-docking because of its strategic location. This point can be substantiated by the increase in the number of shipping agents handling fishing vessels for immigration, customs and quarantine clearance. Crew may spend up to one to two weeks in port. Consequently, there is demand for more night life related activities (sex workers, night clubs, restaurants and other entertainment industry employment). Indirect formalised employment benefits include the airline and travel agency business and boarding and inspection officers where women are likely to be more compatible candidates. The numbers of women employed however are difficult to quantify. In the processing sector, there are indirect employment benefits is a result of horizontal linkages such as the supply of packaging materials and processing equipment, operation of ancillary facilities (works canteens etc). While many of these ancillary activities depend


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on raw materials that may be originally imported, employment is created if these are semi-processed locally or supplied by local companies which may employ women. More direct spin-off activities result from women employed within the long-line related operations who spend their income in purchasing food, clothing and other household items. Thus, the increase in direct employment of women in the industry has a multiplier effect in contributing to the wider economy and providing employment opportunities for women in other (primarily service-related) industries. The quantification of these benefits is beyond the scope of this study. All tuna processing establishments are export-oriented and therefore have to meet the factory HACCP standards of the importing country – the consequences of this for female factory workers is better working conditions, with the requirement to wear protective gear (boots, overalls, hand gloves and scarves). Fiji Fish Company and Tossa Bussan are the two largest local long-line tuna handling, processing and marketing companies where women are employed as casual labour, permanent factory workers and office administrators up to senior management level. 3.7.2 Employment at Fiji Fish Marketing Company Fiji Fish is a group of 14 companies that operates a fleet of about 38 vessels and handles about 30-40mt of fish a week. There are no women engaged in the harvesting sector. The onshore facilities are divided into two sections: Support Services and Processing & Administration. The Support Services includes the engineering workshop, dry-docking and electrical services which are dominated by male workers. In the engineering section, there are five men and two women engineers, both with trade certificates from the Fiji Institute of Technology. In the Administration Office the Secretary, Chief Accounts Officer, Accounts Officer and other clerical staff (five in total) are women. The processing section consists of about 50 workers as permanent staff, of which 70% are women (The Labour Ministry records 92 males and 43 females for 2005, Narayan, pers comm.). There is one line of women workers in packaging and one in loining. Managing Director Russell Durham says, “We prefer women. They’re more reliable than men”. They make F$2.25/hour as unskilled workers. One of their Supervisors on the line, Leba, makes a rough salary of F$17,000/year, having started 10 years ago as an unskilled worker. Section Heads, two women and one man, are on hourly wages (Durham, pers comm.). When asked about the potential for increased value adding, Durham’s response was ironic. “A top-grade fish is usually one that is ‘whole’ and requires least handling or ‘no value adding’ especially for the Japanese sashimi market.” In other words there is little opportunity for value-adding locally when targeting the premium Asian market. Some possibility exists for value adding for the EU market includes cooked and frozen loins for making tuna steaks. However the problem with shipments to the EU is the transport cost as well as stringent quality control measures. If a business can tackle these, Durham explained, the potential exists for local value-adding as Europe remains one of the largest tuna markets in the world. The company mostly employs women from the nearby settlements, and it does provide transport when there is over-time and night shift work. Since the factory exports to the EU, USA and Japanese market, maintaining quality standards are critical. Therefore workers are required to adhere to good hygienic practices including wearing of personal protective and safety gear provided by the company. In comparison with the minimum


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wage rate of F$1.79 set for the manufacturing sector by the Wages Council, the workers at Fiji Fish Company receive a much higher wage - but still slightly lower than PafCo workers. The working environment at Fiji Fish is more open, well lit and ventilated, and fish handling shifts usually last for 5- 6 hours only. 3.7.3 Employment at Tossa Bussan (Fiji) Limited Tossa Bussan started its operations in Fiji with the processing of skipjack for tataki through blast freezing to ultra low temperature (-60ºC), then loining the frozen fish, partially cooking and vacuum packaging in plastics and blast frozen again for export to Japan. Since 2005, besides making tataki, Tossa Bussan has also moved into ultra low temperature frozen skinless loins for the Japanese sashimi market. The company buys frozen big eye and yellowfin from vessels that offload in Suva. Whereas Fiji Fish requires less handling of fish and so employs about 35 women on a permanent basis, Tossa Bussan requires much higher fish handling, and employs only about 9 female workers at the factory floor while men dominate the fish handling section. The company processes about 15mt of frozen fish daily and about 120mt of fish is exported to Japan per week. The company employs about 89 workers of which 90% are men and 10% women. Men dominate the production line because they have to lift heavy fish and work in the freezer areas (ie very cold working conditions). The men dominate the start of the production line whilst women concentrate on packing and inspection. The company also at times employs casual workers who are both men and women. Employment of women is at all levels including a shareholder who is also the Factory Manager, a Quality Control Manager, Supervisors, factory workers as processors, and office administrators. Wages are based on levels of experience for hourly paid workers starting from F$2.00 up to F$2.40 per hour for those that operate the machines. The company also provides a workers’ kitchen where they can have free tea. Their uniforms and safety gear are also free. The middle management interviewees indicated that workers were generally happy with their work environment, particularly in comparison with their previous jobs. They felt that joining the company had placed them in a progressive context. Their positive attitude may be a good indicator of management relations with the workers. In particular, according to the workers interviewed, the managing director of the company is a likeable boss even though he sets high standards but is both flexible and approachable to workers. People work overtime roughly three times a week and although they know the wages are better at TriPacific (for example), they know the conditions and benefits are better at Tossa Bussan. 3.7.4 Employment at Solander In 1994 the Fijian government required the New Zealand-owned Solander to sell 30% of its shareholding to Fijian citizens. As a consequence, the Great Council of Chiefs member Ratu Cokanauto Tu’uakitau became the Chairman and shareholder of Solander Pacific. The company generates gross annual sales of between F$12-20 million, and although they experienced a slump in 2003 and 2004, they had recovered by 2005. The company employs about 250 employees and 100 casual workers. Solander has a preponderance of women in the office and all report real job satisfaction at Solander. There are six women employed in the Accounts/Payroll Department (one of which is paid to do the accounts for South Sea Engineering) and one female receptionist. The General Manager David Lucas says “I have to think they are all here for their merit.” One of the women suggests that there is no ‘glass ceiling’ in the industry, and she’d like


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to see more women going out to sea too. The study team asked if women would be okay on the boats. “Of course,” she says, “There are women at the Maritime school here. They’re safe and okay. And women have done well on the boats too.” (Editorial note – this comment is probably not representative of the opinion of other women working in the industry as there are clearly many physical and social barriers to women seafaring). David Lucas also suggested that he considers his Fijian crews to be more family oriented than most, and assumed most (but not all) come ashore and go back to their families. Others, however, may do otherwise, but he doesn’t hear much about it. In fact, women are not able to come to the wharf now that the military are providing increased security since the coup. 3.7.5 Employment at CPK Shipping CKP and Tuna Pacific share the same owner, and deal mainly with Korean ships, to which they also supply Fijian crew. They are agents for about 20-30 vessels. They no longer offload fish in Fiji but send it directly to Japan, Korea or Pago Pago. The vessels dock locally for bunkering and landing the crew only. The company has three female workers: a Boarding Officer, Accounts Manager, and a clerical officer. Ships that come for maintenance stay 2-3 weeks, but for trans-shipment only 3-5 days. They undertake crew changes and arrange accommodation for the captain, officers and crew. One of the officers interviewed said that they have no problems with prostitution. The clerical officer has worked for the company since 2002, when she was recruited from the Fisheries Department. However, this claim could not be substantiated given the rapid increase in nightlife activities around Suva City with boat crews. 3.7.6 Earnings by Women from the Domestic Long-line Industry Details on earnings by women engaged in the individual companies were difficult to obtain because the information was treated as commercially confidential. This was the case for the processing plants which operate in a very competitive environment that resembles an oligopsony.7 Some workers interviewed had moved from one processing plant to another because of a slight variation in wages or better terms and conditions of work. For example one interviewed factory manager in one prominent company has worked for several years for another processor where she had received most of her training in quality control and HACCP. Another factory team leader of a processing line for loins had worked for another processor for seven years and decided to move to the current position where wages are only F$0.90 per hour higher. The economic contribution by women in fleet operating business is largely limited to office-based clerical and administrative work. Companies were also reluctant to reveal their annual turnover in order to meaningfully be able to determine women’s wages as a proportion of the total wages and company returns. Details on two companies that did provided some estimates are given below: Company A operates a fleet and a processing plant: It employs 90 men (mainly boat crew) and 10 women; 3 in the processing area and 7 in office administration. The average weekly wages for the 3 females in processing is F$120 each (equivalent to a total of F$1,440 per month and annual combined wages of F$17,280). The females who work in the office receive on average of F$600 per month (a combined annual wage of 7 A market condition in which the number of buyers is small while the number of sellers in theory could be large; an example of a labour market where the few processing companies compete to obtain skilled labour (as a factor of production)


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F$50,400). The total annual earnings of the 10 women is therefore F$67,680. According to the company estimates, the total wages bill for the company last year was about F$300,000 while the annual turnover was recorded as F$8.9 million. Women represent 10% of the workforce but 23% of the total wages. Women’s wages as a percentage of the total turnover of the company was 0.7%. Company B operates a processing plant by providing services to other companies: The Company employs about 43 workers of which 6 are women. Two women are in the packaging section while 4 are in office administration and accounts. The wages for those in the packing was given as F$200 per week while the average in the office was F$660 per month. The total annual wages for women in the packing section is F$19,200 and in the office administration is F$31,680; a total annual estimated wages for women of F$50,880. The annual wages bill for the company was given as F$450,000 while annual turnover was around F$3.5 million. The total wages for women therefore represented about 11% of the total wages bill for the company and represent about 1.5% of the total gross earnings of the company. In comparing the wages of the two companies, it seems that company B has a slightly higher wage bill for women but this represented a much smaller proportion of the total earnings of the company. On the other hand, Company A had only 10% of its staff as females but their wages bill was almost 23% of the total annual wages cost. One possible explanation for this difference in wages is that Company B employed women in more skilled positions in the office and in the packing line as supervisors compared to Company A which employed more people as crew (mainly men) and in less skilled factory work. 3.7.7 Climbing the Ladder – Success Stories of Women in the Long-line Industry In the domestic long-line industry, as previously discussed, most women are engaged in shore-based activities. In contrast to the cannery operation, the women in the processing sector perform more specialised tasks even though some may still be categorised as “unskilled” when compared to tasks performed by men. Women mostly work in management and administration, quality control, specialised cutting and packaging or as technicians while the majority of the men work as stevedores, fish handlers or as crew. There are a number of women who have excelled into middle to high positions including business executives in their own right. As a boat owner and a fishing company shareholder Unaisi Kolitagane is one such good example – see Box 4. Other women’s stories are recorded in Box 5 (see Annex 4). Other women it was not possible to meet include Radika Kumar, the Solander Business Manager, who previously worked at Celtrock and then Carpenters before coming to Solander. She is one of a handful of women known across the industry in Suva. Likewise, Betty Wong, the owner of Agape Fishing which owns five long-line vessels is also a well known operator. Like Unaisi, Betty is also a very busy woman who hardly has any spare time and works almost seven days a week. An industry informant however commented that Unaisi and Betty both try to do much of the paper work themselves rather than employ assistants. In this way, they feel that they have a better handle on the state of affairs of their business.8

8 For example a planned interview with Betty Wong was arranged but kept on being postponed because of her busy schedule.


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Excelling to higher positions in the fishing industry largely depends on individual skills and ability. There are no jobs reserved for men, although there are tasks that may well attract more men than women. Having specific training and skills in shore-based activities such as in the processing sector, marketing and business administration provide better options for women than in the male dominated jobs of vessel operations and maintenance which require engineering skills and long periods away from home. 3.7.8 Economic Assessment of the Role of Women in the Long-line Industry A realistic economic assessment of the role of women in the long-line industry is more difficult to ascertain (compared with PafCo for example) since women are largely involved in office work with fewer involved in processing and packaging (particularly secondary processing). While women are engaged in loining and supervising, men still predominate in the actual processing and handling of fresh fish because of the large size of the whole fish. This is the general perception of most people interviewed in the industry (from factory worker through to management) that this situation is unlikely to change because of the heavy lifting work involved. Women are also employed on a casual basis depending on the demand for urgent labour to speed up shore based handling and processing. Employment of casual labour can vary between a couple of hours work a day to weeks and months per year. Companies were again reluctant to disclose information on the level of employment of casual workers because of the variability in supply of catches to their processing plants. One company however indicated that casual labourers were paid between F$20-30 per day. This rate is similar to other casual workers in the manufacturing and retail industry in Suva. While quantitative data was not available, it was quite apparent from the various industry interviews that employment and economic returns have increased in the domestic economy as companies have expanded the amount of value added processing done locally in recent years. This has increased the chances of employing more women, as in the case of the Fiji Fish Company and Tosa Bussan Company where there is some secondary processing (pre-packed sashimi and tuna steak). In contrast, Hangton Pacific, which exports fresh and frozen fish as does no secondary processing, the employment of women in direct processing is limited. As a general statement therefore, as the amount of value adding increases (cutting, cleaning, cooking, processing and packing) into secondary products, so the number of jobs for women increases. 3.7.9 Income and Expenditure and Contribution to the Local Economy Like the women at PafCo, most women interviewed working within the long-line industry also spend a large proportion (over 85%) of their income to purchase food items and basic necessities for their families. The study findings suggest that women workers in the long-line sector are generally viewed as ‘contented’; the following are two illustrative examples: Akanisi M works as a team leader at a processing company in Suva where she receives a weekly net wages of F$120.00 for working six days a week. Her main task is to oversee a line of about eight men who sort, clean and pack fish. A typical weekly expenditure pattern (totalling F$110) includes: food F$20, transport F$20, school expenses F$10, utility costs F$10, church F$10, clothing F$25 and credit repayments F$15. Akanisi is a single mum who has a twelve year old son and she also owns a small canteen in the village where she employs her cousin to look after the canteen while she is at work. She lives with her uncle and aunt and her son and so does not have to


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contribute towards house rent. After paying her cousin’s wage, Akanisi is able to make on average of F$80-100.00 per week in her canteen business. She has attended two training courses, one on quality control and the other on cutting fish organised by the Fiji Fisheries Department. Nikita is 22 years old and single and was appointed as a laboratory technician/clerk in a processing factory about 9 months ago. Prior to working for this fishing company, Nikita worked as a lab technician in a dental company. Nikita has a Diploma in Industrial Laboratory Technology from the Fiji Institute of Technology. She lives with her brother’s family in Suva. Since the company has not yet established a laboratory testing facility, her current task in the interim is to ensure product quality is maintained. She is responsible for weighting, recording and ensuring that all catches are properly documented. She also works closely with the Accounts Department where she prepares vessel summary information. Nikita receives a net income of F$536 per month and her average monthly expenditure (totalling F$218.50) includes: food F$50, transport F$40, contribution to house rental F$30, utility costs F$8, social/religious expenses F$5, clothing F$30 and credit repayment F$55. From a net monthly income of $536, Nikita is therefore able to make a saving of around $317.50 per month. Nikita is happy with her current job but does have concerns as to when she will be able to work as a lab technician, the job she applied for. Like Nikita and Akanisi, most women who were interviewed seemed relatively unconcerned about their wages. Saira, a receptionist at one of the processing companies commented that most women employed consider themselves lucky as the general unemployment rate is high. Margaret, a company secretary also commented that jobs at the fish processing establishments were perhaps more attractive than garment factories or other food processing and manufacturing companies. This is because of the flexible hours provided in the processing plants. Often, there are times when one needs to work long hours and over-time but there are several periods of downtime or when no boats come in, and workers can take time-off. In the case of garment workers, while over-time may be provided, work schedules are very rigid. When comparing wages rates for unskilled labour, women at fish processing plants are much better paid than garment factory workers. For example the garment workers get F$1.80-2.50 per hour compared to fish processing workers who may receive between F$2.25-2.75 per hour.9 Female food packers and cashiers at a prominent retail supermarket chain outlet in Suva receive F$2.11-2.30 per hour (see also Box 1). 3.8 PROSPECTS IN THE ARTISANAL SECTOR

There has been an on-going programme to assist fishers in the coastal areas to move further beyond the reef and near-shore areas, the target group has largely been men. This Fisheries Department programme involves a 2-4 weeks training, purchase of subsidised vessel and the provision of ice supply and deployment of FADs. A number of fishers therefore successfully target tunas and other bill fishes around the FADs and supply to local markets, hotels and restaurants. Women here mostly play a subsidiary role in the household. Sometimes women may market the catch while the male household members may involve in harvesting.

9 Interviews held with garment workers at Ranjit Garments Factory, Vatuwaqa, Suva


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At the Suva market five women regularly sell tuna that is either caught by their husbands or other male family members or is bought as bycatch from a fishing company or a processing operation. The species sold are mostly juvenile yellowfin and bigeye, skipjack or marlin. As the population of Asians and Pacific Islanders increase in Fiji, there is a growing local demand for pelagic tuna like fishes for sashimi, kokonda and other island and Asian style preparations. The potential therefore exists for women to venture into new types of value adding provided they have adequate training in post harvesting handling – such as supplying fish cakes, grilled tuna steaks as lunch packs in schools, hospitals and hostels. The Ministry of Commerce has a special micro-credit scheme to assist in such projects if they are viable options. Feasibility studies and pilot projects need to be carried out that target specific niche markets, such as mothers’ clubs, women’s groups or even trained individuals such as new graduates. 3.9 SEX TRADE ISSUES

In the context of the tuna industry there are divergent views on how the sex trade should be handled. One view is that it is an industry that cannot be eradicated because of the lifestyle of seafarers/fishermen and therefore the risks associated with the industry should be managed and minimised for all those involved. On the other hand, in more traditional society circles, the subject matter is treated as a ‘taboo’ and decisions therefore evaded when any critical issues arise as a consequence (such as for example a reported occurrence of HIV/AIDS). What is clear however from anecdotal information is that the increased unloading and trans-shipment of fish in port also leads to an increased demand in the sex trade, plus increased cases of alcoholism, drug and substance abuse when crews come ashore after spending long periods of time at sea. The extent of the problem in Fiji associated with the tuna fishing industry is still largely unknown and it is considered beyond the scope of this current study to carry out any detailed assessment. At present, the problem of young women ‘plying their trade’ on fishing vessels is minimised as a result of security fencing around the main wharf area and the placement of security officers at the entry points to the wharves. There is however, little control over such activities within the urban areas immediately outside of the port. Asela Naisara, Acting President of the National Council of Women, reports that she made an informal study of seafarers’ women two years ago, and found that most of them operate from small hotels in Suva, where they meet the men who come ashore. These are low-budget hotels and in some cases their proprietors arrange with the shipping agents tasked with booking the shore stays for crews. Naisara says the girls she spoke to were all using condoms and having regular pap smears and checkups. They knew the schedules for the major ships and had regular clientele. Naisara stated that the women reported the seafarers (mainly Asian men) treated them well, and that a handful maintained more exclusive relationships with individual men. Certainly for the women acting as ‘call girls’, just as for the girlfriends, these men are an important source of income, and it may be assumed quite a few households are dependent upon them. Organisations such as the UNAIDS, Fiji Council of Churches, Fiji Red Cross, Fiji Women's Rights Movement and Fiji Aids Task Force do provide technical and social support such as educational materials (public awareness information such as epidemiological fact sheets on HIV/AIDS and other STI), counselling services and short-


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term refuge. However a more coordinated multi-sectoral approach is needed between Ministry of Health, NGOs, media, Fisheries Department, Social Services and the police. A separate focussed task force or a committee could be established with a clear mandate to look at the problems and issues associated with the sex trade and other social problems associated with seafarers. 3.10 SUMMARY OF ISSUES & RECOMMENDATIONS

A number of interventions to encourage greater participation of women and to address the current concerns of women engaged in the tuna industry are presented overleaf in Table 7. These interventions address both immediate and longer-term issues and there are some cross-cutting and interrelated aspects such as need for training and capacity building.


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Table 7: Issues & Interventions – Fiji Islands Practical/Strategic Need Intervention Target, focus group or

stakeholders PafCo

Practical Need: A system of bonuses could be re-introduced for workers on the factory floor to create productivity incentives for the workers. Confining them to the supervisory level, as is the case currently, leads to worker-management resentments and has created tensions between people who live and work together, are often related, and are currently made antagonists on the production line over a negligible difference in pay

Re-introduction of a reasonable bonus system as an incentive for all workers to improve productivity and social relations

PafCo management, union and workers

Practical Need: Provide routine physiotherapy women workers during breaks, or supply foot support cushions for their boots.

Appoint a part-time physiotherapist or make provision for workers to access such services at subsidised rates

PafCo management, workers, health clinic

Strategic Need: The relationship between PafCo management and the workers needs to be improved through a more genuine and proper dialogue where decision making is more open and transparent. There is an urgent need for team building approach to improve the morale of the workers and the management. Training and awareness programmes need to be streamlined to improve the relationship between the management and staff at PafCo. The company needs to be explicit to itself, as well as to its employees about the importance of the relationship between productivity and social obligation in its operations (and what causes one to pre-empt the other).

Create more informal social gathering, management to keep people informed on the status of the operations, union to be more receptive to PafCo business plan and the need for it to remain competitive Increase and open dialogue,

PafCo management, union, local community, Levuka rate payers and town council, Provincial Council Ministry of Public Enterprises, PafCo Board and management, workers, business partners

Strategic Need: A progressive transfer of government shares to people of Ovalau may also provide some sense of ownership of PafCo. All workers should be given equal and first preference to buy shares should such as option become feasible.

Government to reconsider innovative ways to deal with its investment that is based on sound economic principles as well as meets the aspirations of the local communities

Government, PafCo Board of Directors, shareholders, community leaders

Strategic Need: If the industry is economically viable workers are more likely to reap the rewards of their labour (a large majority of who are women). A basic principles for increasing women’s involvement and improving their economic and social status lies in having sound macroeconomic industry policy decisions. To achieve this goal gender sensitive professional training on policy and marketing aspects of industry is required

PafCo to have a more pro-active Board and management who are knowledgeable on the dynamics of the tuna industry including market trends. Government policy to support higher education for girls in fisheries related studies and create incentives for factory floor workers to be promoted to supervisors and staff positions. PafCo to appoint skilled women in higher levels of authority

Government, PafCo Board, Shareholders, training institutions, staff


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Practical/Strategic Need Intervention Target, focus group or stakeholders

Strategic Need: PafCo should have a comprehensive business plan that clearly outlines among other things - procedures for product development and market research, training and a strategy for promoting its products and business

Carry out a SWOT analysis and address the issues identified. Seek government or outside assistance if necessary using a team approach

Government, PafCo Board of Directors, shareholders, community leaders, donors, development assistance agencies

Strategic Need: Diversification of income sources The Levuka Catholic Women’s League buys mats and sells them in Suva, some for F$400-600, taking a minimal cut. There remains a constant market for them, and this therefore represents a good outside source of revenue for women. During seasonal lay-off such markets become important, and should be promoted, perhaps with organized shipping schedules.

Women's groups, NGOs, community groups, PafCo Union

Domestic Long-line Industry Practical Need: Product development - Scope for increasing women’s employment within the long-line industry rests on the ability of industry to break into secondary processing such as gourmet products that target specialised niche markets –exporting pre-packed sashimi loins, skinless loins and tataki.

The feasibility of exporting tuna in pouches to the growing US and EU markets needs to be explored as this holds potential to employ more women.

Provide incentives to industry for research & development into new products e.g. subsidies, technical assistance Innovative ways to market Fiji products in major markets (certification measures) Seek development assistance for women to attend tuna industry expos exhibitions and visit overseas markets to meet other overseas industry executives to network for trial of new products

Government policy, industry support, motivated young women Short term hiring of marketing experts with networking ability with major buyers or importers Seek donor assistance and industry partnerships

Practical Need: Local market development projects targeting women

Carry out market feasibility studies on new products in the local market - sashimi bentos and sushi bars Pilot project on small cottage industries - grilled tuna steaks, fish cakes and lunch packs. Identify the feasibility of processing of by-products wastes ( blood & bones, etc) into fish meal, fertiliser and small -scale processing of smoked tuna, marlin, etc to target local hotels, restaurants, supermarkets

Women's' groups, mothers clubs, young graduates, innovative individuals, Development Bank through micro-credit scheme, Fishing Industry Association


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Practical/Strategic Need Intervention Target, focus group or stakeholders

Practical Need: Training & capacity building for women Training in HACCP and quality control, fish inspection, fish audits, fish cutting and secondary processing surimi, fish cakes, fish paste, smoked fish & vacuum packing More opportunities for women in boarding and inspection and fish sampling Language training for women so that they can establish business partnerships (Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish)? Higher tertiary training on fisheries planning and policy, international relations & diplomacy, business management, food science

School of Marine Studies (USP), SPC, Fisheries Department, Public Service Commission, Ministry of Women & Culture Provision of scholarships and access to training institutions for women Respective Embassies, Fishing industry, donors, USP, overseas universities, government scholarships, FFA

Strategic Need: Institutional strengthening through representation within the Tuna Industry Association and feed back on regional decisions such as FFC and WCPFC is important Strengthen inter-sectoral linkage between Department of Women and Fisheries so that there is a gender analysis of the Tuna Management Plan to ensure gender issues are incorporated in the Plan.

Female industry members to be part of the PITIA

PITIA, National Industry Association, national Government, FFA, WCPF Commission

Strategic Need: Develop a coordinated approach to minimise risk for women associated with the sex trade Set up a committee to look at the social problems of the seafaring community and how to mitigate some of the problems that arise, reduce risks and solicit support from relevant authorities

Provide public awareness materials in key locations such as hotels, bars, restaurants - on aids, STDs, impact of substance abuse Provide easy and affordable access to medical advice and support including counselling and provide rehabilitation projects for women victims

NGOs - FWRM, National Council of Women, Ministry of Women, Fisheries, Police, Health, religious groups, Fiji Aids Task Force, other welfare organisations, UNAIDS, UNFPA Ministry of Women, UNIFEM, Women's Groups

Strategic Need: Support legislative efforts that strengthen women's rights

Support fair employment and industrial relations policies, women's access to easy credit, human rights Representation of women's interest in tuna related consultative process

Support national legislative process that addresses gender equity and equality Women industry representation


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COUNTRY REPORT - KIRIBATI

4.1 INTRODUCTION

This country report was prepared as part of the EU funded DEVFISH Project ‘Study on Gender Issues in Tuna Fisheries’ undertaken by Fishtech Management Consultants, UK. Field work was undertaken by Dr Nancy Sullivan and Dr Temakei Tebano during May and June 2007 and further research undertaken in September 2007. Field work was confined to research on North and South Tarawa, partly because of the primarily subsistence (as opposed to artisanal) nature of the tuna fishery on the outer islands10 and partly because of time and budgetary constraints imposed by the Terms of Reference. The inclusion within the study team of an I-Kiribati researcher is considered to mitigate any failing to visit the outer islands (ie, away from Tarawa). This country report is co-authored by Dr Nancy Sullivan and Mr Simon Diffey. The focus of the research in Kiribati, as prescribed in the ToR, is primarily on the role of women in the artisanal tuna fishery – namely tuna caught for sale in the cash economy. 4.2 BACKGROUND TO THE SECTOR

4.2.1 Fishing Activity Kiribati is an archipelagic nation comprising 33 islands with a total land area of only 810 sq. km. but with a surrounding EEZ of about 3.5 million sq. km that includes some of the most productive tuna fishing grounds in the Pacific. Subsistence and small-scale artisanal fishing is conducted throughout the islands using traditional canoes driven by sail or paddle, from plywood canoes powered by outboard motor and from larger outboard-powered skiffs (there are currently estimated to be 200-300 skiffs located on South Tarawa, of which approximately 50% are aluminium). Fishing is by bottom hand-lining, trolling (the favoured fishing method for small-scale tuna fishing), pole-and-line fishing (commercial tuna fishing), mid-water hand-lining, spearing, trapping, netting and reef gleaning. The majority of small-scale fishing activity in Kiribati is for subsistence purposes. On the outer islands customary obligations relating to the sharing of catch among family and kinship groups still prevail. Small-scale commercial or artisanal fishing (namely fishing for an economic return) is concentrated around the capital island of Tarawa where approximately 30,000 (32%) of the total population of 92,500 live,11 some ice and cold store facilities and a cash-oriented economy create better market conditions. The commercial fish catch from the coastal zone is principally made up of reef and deep slope fish (54%), molluscs (25%), and pelagic species (21%), primarily tuna (FAO data, 2000). 4.2.2 International Treaties & the Industrial Tuna Fishery Kiribati is a member of the all of the important regional institutions dealing with fisheries management and marine environmental issues (SPC, FFA, SPREP and WCPFC) and is also a party to a number of regional and international treaties and agreements relating to the management of (primarily tuna) fisheries. There is a Fisheries Partnership agreement between the EU and Kiribati which entered into force in 2003 for a period of three years and was renewed in 2006. It will continue to provide access for 16 vessels (12 long-liners and four purse seiners). The annual EU 10 Except to some extent on Christmas Island in the Line Group 11 2005 provisional data from National Statistics Office (NSO) website


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financial contribution under the FPA will amount to € 478,000 - € 416,000 compensation for a reference tonnage of 6,400mt of tuna catch per year plus an allocation of € 62,400 to support the application of Kiribati's national fisheries policy. The agreement also provides for a vessel monitoring system, and pending the creation of a regional observers' scheme within the framework of the WCPFC, Kiribati may also appoint observers onboard these vessels. This may represent a limited opportunity for female staff within the MFMRD to seek employment at sea for limited periods of time (typically there would be two observers on each vessel). 4.2.3 Fish Consumption and Tuna Catches The proportion of fresh fisheries resources caught and locally consumed in Kiribati ranks the country amongst the highest consumers in the Pacific region. Estimates of per capita consumption of fish vary widely, even within the same report, from 112-150kg (Gillett and Lightfoot, 2001), 80kg quoted in a FAO paper on fish consumption (undated but data from 1990) and 181.6kg quoted on the SPC ‘Coastfish’ website (July 2007). Another report suggests that coastal-fish catch (not necessarily consumption)/capita is close to 160kg annually, surpassed only by New Zealand (Adams et al. 1999: 367). Finally Gillett and Lightfoot (2001) quote Nube (1989) who, using information from the 1985 census, estimated the daily per capita fish consumption for the 18 islands in the Gilbert and Line groups to range from 0.45 kg in South Tarawa to 2.86 kg on Arorae in the southern Gilbert Group. Of the 18 islands listed, 11 (61%) of the islands have a daily per capita consumption of fish greater than 1 kg per day (Ibid). What is clear is that (a) fish and fish products remain a very significant part of total animal protein supply in Kiribati (probably in the order of 60%+) and (b) tuna species remain the single most common and important marine resource consumed in Kiribati. Data from Gillett and Lightfoot (2001) suggest that tuna landings on South Tarawa (where data is most reliable) are between 26-33mt per week. If an average of 30mt is taken for 50 weeks a year this would, for a population of 30,000, equate to annual landings of 1,500mt on Tarawa and an annual per capita consumption of 50kg of tuna. Inshore fishing therefore provides the bulk of the protein for I-Kiribati, even in urban South Tarawa (Macdonald, 1998 and WHO, 1998) although in recent years the population have become increasingly dependent on imported foods. This is partly as a result of increased population density. Problems with the taro beetle, environmental changes and poor soil are also major contributions to reduced agricultural production, despite the easy conclusion that lifestyle changes are the root cause. 4.2.4 The Economy, Household & Employment Data The receipt of foreign remittances play an important part in the economy as Kiribati is a MIRAB12 economy in the classic sense of the term: dependent upon migrants sending money home, on foreign aid, on distant water fisheries access licenses, and income from the phosphate trust fund. Macro-economic data from the World Bank website (for 2005) indicate that the official per capita GDP is US$1,390 (AU$ 1,580)13 classifies Kiribati as a lower-middle income country but amongst the least developed of Pacific Island nations. According to data on Kiribati the UK and USA Government websites only 20% of workforce participates in the formal economy and of this, 60% of formal jobs are in South Tarawa and since 1998 social indicators have marginally improved and international 12 Migration, Remittance, Aid and Bureaucracy 13 This figure seems high compared with other data sources of between AU$970 (UK Government website), AU$700 (US Government website) and US$800 or AU$909 (UN Statistics Division) so this figure may actually refer to GNP and not GDP


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reserves have remained large, but GDP per capita has stagnated at about AU$970. Data provided on the SPC website as baseline indicators for the achievement of the MDG (in particular Goal 1 – the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger) states that 38% of the population in Kiribati live on less than US$1.00 per day (1996 data). While the cash economy has arrived in even the most remote of its 33 islands, a majority of households are still subsistence based and minimally monetised. There are however some people living an urban lifestyle on South Tarawa who live entirely on cash, paying rent and having no land for gardens. Whatever the income generated by a household, the sea is the unifying common feature of people’s livelihood on these islands: virtually everyone in Kiribati lives from the sea, and everything below the high tide mark is common property, so even migrants from other atolls have free access to these resources. Where households do not fish for food on a daily basis, they often buy fresh fish from roadside markets. Women collect shellfish, worms, and other seafood gleaned from the reef, while men do most, but certainly not all, the pole and net fishing, including trolling for tuna. The Kiribati National Statistics Office (NSO) has undertaken three household surveys in the past 10 years – the first in 1996, one in 2000 and the last commenced at the end of 2006 (from which the results are not yet published). Results from the 2000 survey indicate that only 37 women (of all age groups) compared with 217 men were listed in cash employment in the agriculture and fisheries ‘industry’ (the statistics do not disaggregate between these two productive sectors). For women this represents only 1% (37 out of 3,390) of the total listed in cash employment and by far the most significant employment (for both sexes and 70% of women) was in the public administration sector (NSO database, 2007). Only 20 women (out of 3,390) were listed as professionally employed by education in the agriculture and fisheries sector. An estimate of the value of the artisanal tuna fishery (contribution to GDP based on value-added) is difficult to calculate because of both the informal nature of the fishery and the extensive nature of the subsistence fishery on the outer islands. The DEVFISH Project estimates the value (using 2004 data) at US$2.0 million based on annual landings of 2,000mt and a coefficient of value-added (VAR) of 0.514 Given that landings on Tarawa alone (where there is the most reliable data) are estimated at 1,500mt (see earlier data above), this figure may be rather low for the country as a whole, even if the market value of tuna on the outer islands is less than half the market price on Tarawa (ie less than US$1,000/mt or US$1.00/kg) – see also comments on the value of the sector in Section 4.5.1. 4.3 CUSTOM VERSUS THE CASH ECONOMY

People in Kiribati are quick to explain their lifestyle as one of choice: saying they work no harder than they need to, and aspire to income only insofar as it suits their social values. A number of people interviewed for this project were explicit about the differences between monetary and socio-cultural values, much the way Papua New Guineans are – namely that capital accumulation may lead to social isolation. 14 The economic definition of Value Added by the DEVFISH Project is an economic term to express the difference between the value of goods and the cost of materials or supplies used in producing them [intermediate costs]. Value added is thus defined as the gross sales less the cost of goods and services purchased from other firms to produce these goods. In the case of the artisanal fishery in Kiribati the market value is taken as US$2,000/mt - therefore the value = 2000mtxUS$2000/mtxVAR 0.5


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Where business and custom conflict, it is in the best interest of I-Kiribati to opt for custom. This is because custom for I-Kiribati, as for most Pacific Islanders, involved a network of relationships with manifold material and social returns. Not to be generous with one’s family can have material repercussions: people will shun you, exclude you from fishing trips, fail to look after your children, and may refuse to bequeath you land. Nevertheless it should be recognised that as the cash economy has developed (particularly on Tarawa) and with very limited growth in employment opportunities and in the formal economy, so more and more people, including women, have shifted from traditional subsistence fishing activity to part or full time involvement in fishing activities. 4.3.1 Subsistence Fisheries and the Real ‘Value-Added’ Business Whilst this report focuses on the artisanal (cash economy) fishery, it should be noted that even in the subsistence economy, there are specialisations and ‘value-adding’. While marine resources are common property in Kiribati, people interviewed by the study team all had specialisations by skill, preference, or custom. These were sometimes gender based: men generally fish in offshore, the role of women has traditionally been restricted to the inner reef areas ie, those areas accessible by foot and occasionally fishing from small canoes inside the lagoon. Only men have traditionally gone fishing outside the lagoons by boat for tuna, and from which in Kiribati society a certain respect and status are then conferred on those (men only) who are known to be experienced fishers. Whilst the role of women in tuna fisheries has in general been limited to fish marketing, as interviews conducted during this study with various actors has revealed, some women (and men) are known to specialise in the collection of, and/or to cook and market, certain specific marine products – fresh tuna, worms, clams, strombus (conch), and so forth - and neighbours will place orders with them for their own meals. Thus what may be a vestigial barter network that knitted families together in the past (social interdependence is common in the Pacific, where people generally have the same access to resources), now becomes a cottage business. This is the real ‘value added’ in society: women creating special food products or meals and selling them to each other and the public. These are not trade systems - there is (for example) ‘no basket in return for a skipjack tuna or string of smoked worms’. This is business, and it operates across similar networks for handicrafts and mats, and perhaps church fundraising or raffles. Small amounts of money get rapidly redistributed across community networks in ways that provide dietary variety and ensure that each household owns roughly the same possessions. 4.3.2 Socialism v Capitalism When economists say informal and subsistence fisheries are impossible to quantify, this refers not so much to poor book-keeping as to difficult to quantify benefits from participating in the sector itself, as part of a contribution to the community. The cash value of what a household brings in daily, and the low level of productivity achieved when a total catch is shared equally, reflects only part of an equation that people do consciously calculate: to fulfil social responsibilities may be more materially more important to one’s family than to catch more, sell more, and save more in the short term. Economic assessments that pit customary ‘socialism’ against introduced ‘capitalism’ simplify what are really long-term material returns from the former and potentially long-term deductions (from social ostracism) from the latter. It may even be true that short term returns for appearing to be generous will outweigh the rewards of paying a bank loan or reinvesting profits in a small enterprise.


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Small island governments such as Kiribati are currently poised between old and new values – between neo-liberalism (such as in Singapore) and the social harmony of traditional subsistence. Tipping the scales in either direction results in crime, tension, and always, invariably, increased pressure upon the women in a changing society. Whilst the commercialisation of small-scale fisheries may bring much needed cash to households it can come at the expense of over-fishing. Some of this trade-off has become apparent during the last 10-15 years with the demise of bonefish, spangled emperor, Anadara cockles, giant clams, and other lagoon resources in Tarawa lagoon because of urban drift, overpopulation and the construction of new causeways15 (Tikai, 1993 and Thomas, 2001). 4.4 WOMEN’S LIVELIHOODS AND GENDER ISSUES

The fact that I-Kiribati women have always juggled disparate subsistence strategies makes them adept at the mixed economic values of today: working for wages, selling roadside fish, joining handicrafts co-operatives, collecting shellfish, trading, and borrowing from relatives, have all become routine for I-Kiribati households. But factors that combine to make cash more important in the household have increasingly forced more women (those better educated and/or connected) into wage jobs on top of their informal home-economic responsibilities. The expanding Kiribati economy is creating more jobs for women, in middle management and seafaring, tourism, and civil service (note that the public sector currently provides 80% of monetary remuneration). Informants in this study noted again and again that the conservatism of traditional gender roles does not encroach upon modern behaviours – so for example Kiribati already has a woman Vice President. The country’s Solicitor-General, an articulate spokesperson on this subject (as a long-resident Australian married to an I-Kiribati) made an interesting point in an interview with the study team. He said that the way women (or, for that matter, all I-Kiribati) manage modernity (modern attitudes) and gender is to separate the role within different realms. That is, in all things traditional, women continue to observe certain social and political restrictions and norms. This mainly refers to their status within the house and Maneaba, the traditional meeting house (Lambourne, pers comm.). As for ‘modern attitudes’ in recent years some men have begun to take their wives out fishing (perhaps because of a lack of available male crew amongst friends and family or, to increase the family’s share of the catch) whereas traditionally, women would only fish on the shoreline and in shallow waters. Women have been observed fishing using hand-lines in Tarawa lagoon but the study team is highly doubtful if this ‘modern attitude’ has yet extended to the tougher and more dangerous fishing offshore for tuna. A general truism is that women appear to be able to conduct their professional lives in unfettered gender-neutrality. In fact, Lambourne mentioned that there had recently been a discussion in Parliament about women in the Maritime College, and when someone hypothetically asked why women weren’t being trained as able-bodied seamen, there was no huffing or laughter in the chamber, just one discussant saying, “I’ll look into that” (Lambourne pers. comm.).

15 Editorial note: Limited environmental monitoring has been done of the impact of the various causeways, in particular that between Betio and Bairiki. The construction of the Betio Causeway in particular has greatly increased mobility on South Tarawa.


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Wage work also allows women to escape traditional social roles. In Kiribati a strong emphasis has always been placed on women’s virtue, their self-effacement, and their honour, as reflecting a family’s name. In a peri-urban overpopulated community, where sour toddy is common, and a customary tolerance still exists for male kooko (sexual jealousy), where the church and the Unimwane (elders) act as social police, and western music and videos provide a continuous stream of possibilities, the life of a young I-Kiribati woman is not care free. Virginity remains valued in marriage arrangements, and the innocence of young women is still a collective concern for the family. This has become a driving force behind the alienation of young women, especially those who have been used or abused by relatives, friends or strangers, and it propels them away from family into risky activities like prostitution (Bedford, pers comm.). 4.5 FISHING & ROAD-SIDE MARKETING ACTIVITIES

The following nine fish and shellfish, only two of which are tuna species, are commonly sold on the road-side and at the fish market in Tarawa (source: Temakei Tabano).

Table 8: Common Fish Species Sold on South Tarawa

Local Name English Common Name Latin Species Name Bokaboka Leather jacket fish siganus sp. Bawe red tail snapper Lutjanus fulvus Okaoka orange striped emperor fish Lethrinus obsoletus Ikanibong paddletail snapper Lethrinus gibbus Morikoi spangled emperor Lethrinus nebulosus Ati skipjack Katsuwonus pelamis Ingimea yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares Ikarii bonefish Abula glossonda Te nouo Small conch Strombus luhuanus

The majority of the small-scale catch from around Tarawa is sold by women with iceboxes at roadside stalls. In the past, Tarawa’s small-scale tuna markets were damaged by discards from transhipping vessels (that are now required to trans-ship inside Tarawa lagoon rather than on the high seas), when discards were collected on the wharf and resold in direct competition with small scale fishermen. Consumers could see that the fresh caught fish were much better quality but still bought the discards because they were cheaper; as a result, prices slumped temporarily (Barclay and Cartwright 2006). The Town Councils now control the price of market fish whilst Central Pacific Producers Limited (CPPL) maintains an exclusive claim on all discards from transhipments and repeatedly announces over the national radio that no person is allowed to collect or purchase discards from fishing vessels in Tarawa lagoon. This has therefore helped maintain roadside fish prices as the market is not swamped with cheap frozen fish. Fishing can be highly lucrative to families with sufficient capital and labour. Households equipped with appropriate boats for fishing outside the reef-line (such as marine-ply or aluminium skiffs usually powered by 40hp outboard engines), several nets and fishing lines as well as insulated cooler boxes can raise anywhere between AU$200-700/week (Thomas, 2002).


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4.5.1 Employment & Earnings from Fisheries Related Activities The study team has attempted to determine employment numbers and annual earnings for women employed in the sector, although this is complicated by the informal nature of the fish marketing sector (ie, excluding commercial tuna production) and the fact that very few fishermen and fish traders are registered with the Kiribati Provident Fund (from which more accurate employment and tax payment records could be obtained). It is clearly evident from the study team’s research that women are generally not involved in fishing for tuna. As for the division of labour in a tuna fishing household, other than the obvious social obligations of helping to carry equipment to/from a boat that may be anchored on the reef flat, the role of the women is confined solely to the marketing of the tuna when the fishing boat returns to shore. In households where the older women are working (in the formal sector) then the fish may be sold through a relative (male or female) or there may be a formalised arrangement (as is illustrated in the case study – Box 1). There is for example no complicated fishing gear to maintain in the tuna fishery other than the making of elaborate fishing lures, which may involve women indirectly as they traditionally produce the twine from local coconut husk. Imported plastic lures are also replacing traditionally made chicken feather lures. It is also clearly evident from the study team’s research that there are very few woman (or men) specialising in marketing tuna species. The seasonal and variable nature of fish supply and pluralistic strategies of I-Kiribati livelihoods and households means that for the non value added marketing of fish, which is the major domestic trade, it does not make economic sense to focus on selling tuna alone. The reverse is true for the catching of reef-fish or value-added processing of fish and marine products, both of which do involve and encourage specialisation. There are times when tuna species are abundant and there are also times when lagoon and reef fish are plentiful; there are also times when both are scarce or plentiful. So the supply and thus activity of trading fish depends on fish species availability. Consumer preference is usually for reef fish so when there is reef fish sold next to tuna the former will go first. Women fish vendors therefore understandably go with fish species availability. The best information source on employment data for the sector is provided by Gillett and Lightfoot (2001), who quote various sources: 1. Fisheries Division data from 1998 indicates that 12% of households (of a national total

of 11,920 in 1998) do not fish. Of those that do fish, 17% fish commercially full time, 22% fish commercially part time, and 61% fish only for subsistence. If we assume that a quarter of the 17% of households that fish full time are fishing for tuna (and other pelagic species),16 the majority of which would be located on South Tarawa, then this implies that perhaps up to 500 households are reliant on the artisanal tuna fishery.

2. Tinga (2000) states that the artisanal fishing is carried out in South Tarawa by 200–300 motorised skiffs. If it is assumed that all these skiffs are fishing for tuna (and other pelagic species) and land 30mt per week (referred to in Section 4.2.3), this equates to 100-150kg per vessel per week (a realistic catch rate). If each tuna market trader represents 2-3 boats (see Box 6 in Annex 4) then the tuna trade provides direct employment for perhaps 100-150 market sellers, probably +90% of whom are women

16 Given that the subsistence fishery is by definition not full time and pelagic species make up only 21% of total fishing effort (FAO data, 2000)


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3. Savins (2001) states that (i) there are over 200 boats presently active on Tarawa which employ 300 fishermen full time and 300 fishermen part time, and (ii) people engaged in domestic troll fishing make up 31% of private sector employment in Kiribati These figures give no indication of the employment of women but more or less correlate with the assessment above in terms of downstream employment of women (based on an average crew of three fishermen per boat)

4. Savins (2001) states that the artisanal production (on Tarawa) equates to about 5,000 mt per year; this includes non-tuna commercial production. Subsistence production is estimated to be about twice the artisanal production for each island. Using these and earlier figures and a quoted market price of approximately AU$2.50/kg (fish sold fresh whole with no value adding), this means that the artisanal production is valued at AU$12.5m annually, of which about AU$3.75m (30%) is attributable to the artisanal tuna fishery. Divided amongst 100-150 traders this equates to a turnover of AU$23,000-35,000 per trader generating gross income of 1/5 of this or AU$4,600-7,000 and the same again per tuna fishing household (assuming that there is 3 fishermen per boat but only one fisherman per household).17

Based on the analysis of data from other research and the results from field work by the study team, it is concluded that: (a) The annual earnings (total value of goods and services in line with the definition of

GDP) for women working on artisanal boats catching tuna is impossible to calculate and likely to be negligible; and,

(b) The total annual earnings for women working in the informal employment market as tuna fish traders on Tarawa are in the region of AU$750,000 per annum. This is based on a 1/5 share of the market value and divided between 100-150 traders and is equivalent to approximately 1% of an estimated national GDP of AU$72.7million (2006 estimated data from US Government website).

The service sector is estimated (again using data from the US Government website) to compose 75% of total GDP (and the agriculture sector 14% of total GDP). The trading of fish caught in the artisanal fishery and sold exclusively within the local economy therefore represents 1.4% of total service sector employment earnings or 7.4% of total agriculture sector production, dependent on whether fish marketing is valued as a service or included under agriculture production. There is almost no added value to tuna sold from the artisanal fishery as the fish is sold fresh the day it is caught (the DEVFISH Project estimates that the coefficient of value-added is 0.5). There is for example no history of smoking or drying tuna in Kiribati and the only significant added value done in recent years has been the production of tuna jerky by 1-2 private individuals and also some trials by the local commercial tuna company, CPPL – see Sections 4.8, 4.8.1 and 4.9. The real added-value in the subsistence and artisanal sector is referred to earlier (see Section 4.3.1) with marine products other than tuna, a detailed analysis of which is outside the scope of this study.

17 These figures are estimated using the data provided in Box 6 (Annex 4)


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4.5.2 Expenditure Patterns in the Tuna Trade & Other Businesses Whilst it is clearly evident that there are no specialist tuna traders supporting the artisanal tuna fishy, the study team has sought to provide a comparison between the expenditure patterns of tuna fish sellers (in Tarawa) to other types of fish trade – see Box 6 and 7 (the fact that the specialist tuna vendor is male is considered irrelevant as an illustration of the local tuna trade). Providing a wider comparison with other types of retail businesses ie, unrelated to the fish trade, is complicated as there are no traditional fruit, vegetable or meat markets in Kiribati (because of the nature of the agricultural productive sector). However the study team was able to profile one informal trader selling fish and other produce – see Box 8. In appraising the data from these three case studies, it is evident that: • A tuna vendor typically earns AU$70-100 per week but this can be as much as

AU$150. His expenses are minimal;

• A family selling bonefish can make AU$170 a day after paying for variable costs (fuel etc) but before paying fixed costs (boat and engine maintenance);

• A doughnut seller can make AU$200 in a fortnight but only AU$30 net profit; and,

• A stall owner at the airport can gross (before expenses) AU$20-30 per day Clearly the trading of tuna generates a good income when compared with other economic activities, but consumer preference and market demand will always favour those vendors marketing landings of fresh reef fish. This is an inherent problem in a multi-species and mixed fishery where there are several determinants outside of the control of the fisher and market – weather (particularly the amount of rain and level of cloud cover), local currents, phase of the moon, seasonal migration patterns of tuna, skill of the fisherman, amount of fish on the local market etc. These figures suggest that fish traders in general are earning a good income in the informal sector (where no tax is paid other than minimal local council licence fee of around AU$5/day/stall at the fish market or AU$3 at the roadside) when compared with the approximate annual per capita GDP in Kiribati of AU$970 or roughly AU$19 per week; albeit that this figure is an average for the whole country and ignores the significant disparity between the urban and rural environments in Kiribati. The latter, with the exception of 2-3 islands, comprises some 65% of the total population who lead a primarily subsistence existence and where the cash economy is extremely limited.


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4.5.3 Betio Fishermen’s Wives Association Photo 2: Betio Fishermen’s Wives Association This was established 5 years ago and each of the 30+ members pays AU$2/month to their own treasury to help cover the KANGO Union fee of AU$100/year. Recently an FAO worker from Philippines came with a partner to train them in seaweed processing and a future course is planned sea cucumber harvesting. They do not have the land for real gardens, or plantations of kava or breadfruit, but they dry all kinds of shellfish and also collect octopus too. Skipjack is seasonal, and when it is low

season they just catch reef fish—or their husbands do. Each family has a boat and motor, but the fuel cost is very high. They are keen to prepare fish—like tuna jerky, smoked fish, anything that can be value added. They are also keen to have a sewing circle and to make local products for export to expatriate I-Kiribati women living overseas. 4.6 GOVERNMENT SUPPORT TO SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

The Ministry for Commerce, Industry and Cooperatives has a Small Business Development Department and a Business Advisory Centre, both run by men. No data was available on women’s business needs when the study team visited. There was a suggestion made to the study team that women were neither interested nor qualified to run small businesses, despite evidence to the contrary. For example, on the 1st June 2006 the Chamber of Commerce hosted the South Tarawa and Betio Town Council Business Award (2006) which the study team attended. Five companies were awarded for excellence by His Excellency Te Beretitenti Anote Tong: Taotin Trading Co, Utirerei Bus Services, Tarawa Motors Co, MOEL Trading Co, and Rereiti Kiribati Garment Co. - of which the last three are owned and directed by women. In two of the three cases these women are the daughters of company founders. However in one case, the director, Rereiti Loakim, started out in her house making shirts and now runs the largest garment company in Kiribati. She now employs 48 permanent people, and is also a banana dealer. Of the five companies, only the electronic company, Taotin Trading Co (which is also a shipping services, retailer and wholesaler) had no visible woman in top management accepting the award. All of these companies appeared to be horizontally diverse, much the way market women have to operate. 4.6.1 Rural Development Bank of Kiribati There are four types of loans available for women (as for men), beginning at AU$500. These are for employed people or people guaranteed by an employed person. Applicants must also show their KPF statements for security, and the bank asks for a 10% deposit. AU$5,000-10,000 loans require the approval of the General Manager and higher loans require Executive Committee approval. Since 2005 a change of policy has made it easier to borrow and the lending conditions less rigid. The main lending criteria are a salaried guarantor; KPF statements; net business profit or income (is it sufficient?); guarantee of other loans and use of land as collateral – in the case of the latter the bank will ascertain if it is family owned, has it been distributed, are there any court issues and does it require the consent of concerned parties?


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The number of women awarded loans has steadily increased from 56 in 2000, 75 in 2002, 150 in 2004, 200 in 2005 and 288 in 2006. The number has increased over the past six-years as a result of publicity campaigns by the Bank and ‘word of mouth’ from borrowers; it would however be interesting to know how many, if any, are repeat loans? 4.7 HOUSEHOLD INCOME & EXPENDITURE: IOANNA’S STORY

The following case study is based on an in-depth interview undertaken with an artisanal fish trader and processor on Tarawa. As there are reportedly no women specialising in selling tuna the study team suggests that the following profile is a valid illustration of the pattern of income and expenditure in a household working in the fisheries sector: Ioanna Katoatau and her husband collect marine worms and strombus (conch). They lived in Nauru where he worked in the phosphate mine for 19 years. Now she collects a strand of 10-15 worms from the beach and, depending on size, sells them for AU$1 per strand. In one day’s work of 1-3 hours she can collect 100 + worms, and sell them for AU$10. They can also be frozen for the (lucrative) weekend market. She also takes orders from other families. Men also dive for the worms in deep water and use them to bait bonefish and reef fish (but not for tuna) and are beginning to collect and sell them too (in competition with women). Worms are cooked in coconut cream in soup, or eaten raw, preserved in toddy vinegar and coconut milk or sugar. They can also be dried and kept preserved for several months. Some are sent to Fiji, Nauru and New Zealand wherever I-Kiribati people live. Iaonna maintains they could sell as many worms as they catch. The strombus is sold either un-boiled in 20kg rice bags for AU$10, or boiled and sold (the same amount) for AU$10. On a fortnight Saturday (after a government pay day) they can make AU$50-60 from worms and strombus together. Then they also sell sour toddy and can make AU$10/day from 80c/cup on a payday weekend. They might get AU$20-30/week from their toddy. Their household costs are electricity (to run a freezer, large TV, DVD player and fluorescent lights). They get water from a communal well. They buy rice, flour, sugar. They cook 6lbs of rice a day for the family. Of their 10 kids, one child is in Samoa and two others are boarding at school. The rest require AU$3/day total for bus fares to their schools (three are in junior secondary and three in primary school). For 38 weeks of schooling, fares come to $570 (38 weeks, 5 days a week @ AU$3 per day), in addition to the school fees of approximately AU$2000/year (2 children at private boarding school at AU$300 per term, 3 terms a year; there are no school fees for children at primary or junior secondary school). If Ioanna makes AU$10/day from worms and/or strombus for (an estimated) four days per week, given a 50 week year she makes AU$2,000. With additional pay-day fortnightly Saturday sales (@AU$25/week for 50 weeks), this can be AU$3,250. Her husband’s toddy sales of AU$30/week for 50 weeks is AU$1,500, so their combined annual income is roughly AU$4,750. Ioanna also occasionally sells lava-lavas. The combined household income and expenditure is presented in Table 9 overleaf:


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Table 9: Kiribati Household Income & Expenditure - Ioanna Katoatau & Family

Income Per Annum Expenses per Annum Worms/strombus $3,250 Rent, water $0 Sour toddy $1,500 Electricity $520 Lava-lavas $100 Education $2,000 Bus fares $570 Rice $1,095 Sugar $104 Flour $1,248 Total Income $4,850 Total Expenses $5,537

Ioanna Katoatau’s family therefore requires approximately AU$800 a year in remittances and assistance to support, and in particular educate, her family. With savings from their work in the phosphate mine on Nauru and family contributions, they barely manage. While Ioanna says they can sell as much strombus and worms as they can collect, their options are to work ceaselessly, along with their children, and survive without assistance, or to accept assistance, live off their savings and manage family and community obligations as best they can. Whilst this case study is of a large family of 13 children, it is considered representative of the livelihoods of 100s of households on South Tarawa and clearly illustrates the MIRAB nature of the economy in Kiribati. 4.8 EMPLOYMENT AT CENTRAL PACIFIC PRODUCERS

Central Pacific Producers Ltd. (CPPL) is a private company fully owned by the government, with a Board of Directors appointed by the Minister of Fisheries & Marine Resource Development. It was set up in the previous government in May 2001, to incorporate Te Mautari, KMEL on Christmas Island and the Outer Island Project (OIP). CPPL has a new processing facility, complete with ice plants and generators in Betio and the company exported about 2mt of tuna and other pelagic fish species to Hawaii in 2001. It is the only locally based commercial tuna fishing company based in Kiribati. CPPL employs about 80 staff; 15 crew-members at sea and about 40 of its shore-based staff could be considered directly related to the tuna industry (Gillett, 2003). CPPL have just begun tuna loining (Yellowfin and skipjack only) and vacuum packing to sell to schools on South Tarawa and have six women work on the production line at a minimum wage of AU$80/fortnight. These are the only women employed in the formal sector working in tuna processing. There is also a government backed project to develop the processing of bigeye and yellowfin sashimi and the company has plans to re-establish its fishing fleet (much of which has become defunct in recent years) to ensure a volume of supply. 4.8.1 The Potential for Developing Value Added Products – Tuna Jerky CPPL occasionally produces tuna and clam jerky that was sold in local restaurants and pubs. This jerky has sold quite well and data available to the study team from work undertaken in the early 1990s suggests that there is a potential market for tuna jerky as limited exports were in the past successful to the USA (Hawaii), Marshall Islands and Australia.


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The production of jerky is not without its risks – the product retrieval rate is for example as low as 15% (ie 100kg of tuna is required to produce 15kg of jerky) so the processor needs a steady supply of tuna. In addition only yellowfin tuna (or bigeye) can be used because skipjack tuna is too oily, leading to rancid flavours during the drying process. On the positive side the product is time stable with a shelf life, if properly processed (dried) and packed of 6 months and the export sale price (and therefore profit) per unit weight ratio is also high (as the product typically retails in the region of AU$100/kg). This is an important issue given the high cost of air freight from Kiribati to overseas markets CPPL however currently has no export trade links established for its tuna jerky (Onorio, pers. comm.) and is currently concentrating on supplying local markets. Export markets may be developed in the future, probably regionally. Given the logistical freight costs and problems and the fact that the country has no EU-certified Competent Authority at present, their export strategy is not likely to include the export of processed tuna to the EU. Currently the main fresh marine products CPP hoped to export are lobster and reef fish to the USA, sashimi tuna to the USA and Japan, and tuna jerky to Asian countries where dried seafood snacks are popular (Onorio, pers. comm.).18 4.9 DEVELOPING A BUSINESS IN KIRIBATI – KEY PROBLEMS

Kiribati’s remoteness from other major ports renders all other ‘economies of scale’ irrelevant. The cost to market expenses of importing goods (inputs to a business) cannot be justified for a domestic (urban) market of only 30,000 people. Compared to the constraints faced by PafCo in Fiji, for example, the freight costs (whether by sea or air) outweigh all other costs and constraints – this inevitably necessitates the participation of government in all the marine resource related enterprises to underwrite any notion of ‘profit’. Nevertheless opportunities do exist. Kiritimati is close to Hawaii and the US has always been an attractive export market. The Kiribati government used to chartered a weekly Aloha Air flight to support the Japanese satellite programme on the island (the cost of which the Japanese underwrote by 50%) - and under this plenty of fish from Kiribati Marine Export Limited, which is now managed by CPPL, used to export to Honolulu. This opportunity collapsed when the satellite programme changed venues (Gillett, 2003 and Chapman, 2003). Currently there is a weekly stop-over by an Air Pacific flight from Fiji to Hawaii (and south-bound also) but it is not clear whether this is able to take on cargo. Komeri Onorio of Atoll Seaweed Company Limited, ASCL (pers comm.) suggests that one government operated DC3 could serve the total needs of Kiribati’s commercial air cargo. He also confirms that freight costs are a major constraint to the development of any export orientated business in Kiribati and that shipping economics do not always work in their favour – ASCL has for many years been the largest exporter of produce by container from Tarawa (the seaweed is exported in bales packed into back-freighted containers that enter the country with goods and which would otherwise have to be returned empty). For example they can send a container of seaweed to France for AU$3,500, AU$3,800 to Hong Kong and yet it costs AU$4,500 to send one to the Philippines via Australia.

18 Editorial Note: Most of these ideas are not new and have been tried in the past but failed for various reasons – the high cost and un-reliability of air and sea freight, lack of continuity of supply of raw material, in-consistent quality control issues, high (non-competitive) input costs etc


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It is thus not the distance so much as the ‘remoteness’ that cripples the Kiribati export market. All other costs devolve from this: the cost of construction, supplies, technology, communication, time to market, and so forth. Government officials are aware of the problems faced in exporting from the country and of the problems faced by public-sector companies – as commented upon in earlier research: “It is clear from the evidence, as well as from economic theory, that government-owned and managed companies usually make losses and eventually fail. Privatized companies are more profitable. Government employees are not as careful about money as they would be if the company was their own investment. That’s why we have to spend government money on subsidies for government-owned companies” (Fisheries Officer Raikom Tumoa as cited by Barclay and Cartwright, 2006) The government’s aim was to have development driven mostly by the private sector with the government-owned company CPPL ‘trail blazing’ to encourage private sector development by showing people that a certain business could work provided they know how to do it. A SPC report on tuna development options states however that far from encouraging the private sector CPPL has inhibited private sector development in its main areas of business - namely trade in fresh and frozen fish, fish processing, agency services and recruitment for distant water fleets, and cargo (Chapman 2003). A policy conflict therefore appears to exist as to continual government support given to public-owned companies versus engendering private sector development. One market policy issue that is closely watched by the government (in all sectors) is that privatisation should not lead to businesses falling into the hands of foreigners who would then subject the business to cost cutting job losses and/or the domestic market to higher prices for goods. Given the weakness and vulnerability of the local market this government policy and protectionism is understandable. This is confirmed by interviews with small expatriate private sector operators working in the marine resources sector (pers. comm.) who talk of government disincentives to entrepreneurial growth: “They take a piece of everything, they refuse to privatize, they fix prices so that no one can find a market on their own.” On the outer islands people wake early and work all day and the ethos is different. In Tarawa the remittance and Bubuti sensibility [i.e. lack of private property] combined with the government omnipresence has killed the work ethic. Even so, these business men maintain that women make the best workforce and have few social problems working full days. For example the tuna jerky produced by Teikabuti Fishing Company ran three 8 hour shifts for their women and had no problem training the women, although absenteeism was a problem. Women worked to get away from their routines and the drudgery of household life; they did not work to get ahead or have a career. Teikabuti Fishing Company operated several local fishing vessels using vertical long-lining gear from 1992 to 1994. Much of the catch was processed into tuna jerky. Difficulties were encountered following the Asian crisis and the company then closed (Gillett, 2003 and Savins pers comm.)


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4.10 THE LOCAL SEX TRADE & TE KOREKOREA

While trans-shipping represents an economic opportunity for Kiribati,19 with improved monitoring of fish catches and opportunities for bunkering, crew changes and the provisioning of vessels, it also brought social costs in the form of an influx of ships crews ready to ‘party’. As stated in 2006 DEVFISH Project Gender Study (Demmke, 2006), a growth in trans-shipment activities leads to an increase in shore-based services. Contact with local people is based on the exchange of goods and services, with the sex trade being one service (Vunisea, 2005). When parents have no income they may encourage their children to stay in Tarawa and earn money through paid employment that does not exist (and these teenagers often do not want to go back to the outer islands). As a consequence Tarawa (South Tarawa particularly) is overcrowded and has serious unemployment problems. Teenage girls from the outer Islands are particularly vulnerable to becoming Te korekorea20 (AMAK, pers comm.). The CEO of CPPL suggests that the Te korekorea are more organised of late, involving families based on Betio (the main commercial islet on S. Tarawa) who have long term relationships with Korean and some Taiwanese men. The women have their own visit the foreign fishing vessels when they come for 3-4 days and the captains give these women’s families fish from their catch; a contentious point for CPPL. Where women are arrested for suspected prostitution and loitering, loopholes in the legal system reportedly prevent the police from following through the cases to prosecution and conviction (this was not confirmed by the study team). Women as young as 15 years old are reportedly on the Police Department records as being apprehended on vessels. (Vunisea, 2005) Experts commenting on the sex trade surrounding fisheries, as reported in the 2006 DEVFISH Project Gender Study (Demmke, 2006) and Pacific AIDS Alert Bulletin 1998, make specific reference to Kiribati given the large number of foreign going seafarers employed on foreign cargo and fishing vessels: ‘[I]s one of the most important factors regarding gender in tuna fisheries development in Kiribati. There appears to be widespread HIV infection among the seafaring community throughout the Pacific and this is usually from young women working as casual sex workers to earn money. … …Seafaring is an international occupation where men of different backgrounds meet and work together, and travel through many foreign ports. For these men, being onshore is an opportunity for socialising, drinking and just relaxing. Very few think of practising safe sex when in these situations. …Seafarers and their wives make up more than half of the 38 cases of HIV infection in Kiribati [by 1998].’ The DEVFISH Project Gender Study (Demmke, 2006) goes on to suggest that ‘local women and incoming men may need advice about prevention of and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STI). Women who are subject to violence related to substance abuse or the stress of fishing crew lifestyles need particular kinds of welfare services, as do women ostracised for being perceived as prostitutes…The 2005 Forum Leaders’ Communiqué pointed out the importance of regional strategies for dealing with HIV/AIDS, and the role of the Pacific Health Fund to help fund initiatives to combat health challenges (Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat 2005). Addressing the health implications of international port areas could be tied into regional as well as domestic services.’

19 Fish reefer vessels used to trans-ship on the high seas but this is now done in Tarawa lagoon 20 The term Korekorea is a reference to women who associate with Korean men – the word did not exist in the I-Kiribati language 10 years ago


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Women’s groups reportedly currently direct their attention to women and children considered at risk from te korekorea (Bedford, pers. comm.; Kamanti pers. comm.). Betio and Bairiki both have billboard warnings about HIV/AIDS, and HIV/AIDS campaigns of international NGOs are target vulnerable audiences. Free, anonymous, sexual health clinics are excellent (if expensive) services to high risk populations are recommended for development on Betio. 4.11 I-KIRIBATI CREW & WORK ON FOREIGN VESSELS

Kiribati has for years supplied a significant number of well trained seamen to work on foreign fleets. This started at the Maritime Training Centre (MTC), which first trained and recruited I-Kiribati for the German merchant marine back in the 1960s (Atanimakin, pers comm.) and still operates as a well disciplined training school to this day. 1000s of young men, many now in senior government and political positions, have been seamen early on in their careers. MTC trains both ordinary seamen and able-bodied seamen (the latter is a higher grade of seamen). They no longer provide regular engineering courses, although the TTI and MTC run some through USP sometimes. This means of foreign employment was extended to the fisheries sector with the establishment of the Fisheries Training Centre (FTC) on the MTC campus in 1989. In the mid 1990s Japan Tuna funded the renovation of an old hospital in Bikenibeu as a specialist training school. By 2003 there were 20 I-Kiribati national working as crew on the Kiribati and Otoshiro Fishing Co. Ltd company vessel (Gillett, 2003). In 2005 there were around 325 I-Kiribati crew contracted to the Japanese fleet, and 100-200 more contracted to the Korean and Taiwanese fleets (Barclay and Cartwright, 2006). FTC conducts two courses a year which each last between eight and nine months. Because jobs are assured at the end of the training the FTC courses are very popular. For a 2005 intake of 13 students for a special catch-up course to replace trainees who had left the programme the FTC received 129 applications (Ibid). 4.11.1 MTC and Training of Female Stewards The Maritime Training Centre had started training young women to work in the German Merchant Marine, which was a very controversial move opposed by some of the conservative members of society (Barclay and Cartwright 2006). There are currently applications being accepted by MTC (as of I June 2007) for the 9-12 month stewardship training course for girls 18 to 25 years old for work on German cruise ships. The hospitality part of the course is taught at the government hotel. There have been 8-10 women so far recruited from the outer islands for these stewardship jobs and there is one private agent who has a contract with Norwegian Cruise Line that cruises to the Line Islands (Fanning Island) to supply seafarers from Kiribati. These women continue to go back to sea because of the attraction of visiting foreign ports, the break from traditional society and the ability to earn much more than they could in Kiribati. Currently there are no qualified female I-Kiribati officers working at sea with the German Merchant Marine and there are no women working in the deep-sea fisheries sector on foreign vessels. The country does however have qualified female airline pilots.


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4.11.2 Their Value to the Economy Remittances from seamen (including fishermen and women working as stewards) are listed along with dividends from the government’s reserve fund (the trust fund from phosphate mining in previous decades), EEZ fishery access fees and sales of passports to foreigners as ‘crucially underpinning current levels of public and private disposable income, which in turn yield domestic tax revenues’ (Government of Kiribati c.2003). The economic contribution made by I-Kiribati working on the Japanese fishing fleet is significant. Around 325 I-Kiribati were employed on the Japanese fleet in 2004 and earned a total of AU$1,695,230 for the year (an average of AU$5,281 per person). A similar number were employed in 2005 (Ibid). There are no separate figures or data for how much women working on foreign vessels earn as the number of employed so far is very limited – it is likely that this number will increase in the years to come and that their contribution towards remittances (per person in AU$ terms) will be greater as they are less likely to become victims of alcohol abuse. 4.12 CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Findings from this study reveal that whilst women’s fishing activities in the past have been subsistence-related, with the increasing monetary requirements for households (on Tarawa particularly) there has been a shift towards part-and full-time involvement in fishing activities. Although such activities are no longer confined to gleaning from the reef, women are generally not involved in catching tuna. Their involvement in this fishery, be it subsistence on the outer islands or artisanal in Tarawa, is confined to the marketing of fresh tuna, primarily from roadside stalls. There is currently no recorded or obvious added-value to tuna sold locally, although CCPL are developing some niche tuna products for the domestic market and there is considered potential for local entrepreneurs to develop time-stable products such as Tuna Jerky (dried marinated strips of tuna, usually yellowfin). Kiribati acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in March 2004 and human rights in Kiribati are generally considered good (as reported on the UK Government Foreign Office website - Kiribati Country Profile, 2007). With an expanding economy there are more opportunities for professionally qualified women in a society with a high degree of gender neutrality. There is however no clear success stories of women currently working in the fisheries sector in Kiribati. In light of the continual importance of roadside fish sales to the livelihoods of people living on Tarawa the following improvements are recommended for expanding women’s participation in the tuna fisheries sector (although some recommendations are equally applicable to the fisheries sector in general): 1. Island and Town Council Markets need proper toilets, adequate drainage, freshwater

supply and most of all consultation with sellers before renovation. Councils must also be transparent regarding the expenditure of money collected from sellers, or it is recommended the stall rental price be reduced from AU$5/day to 50c per stall.

2. Further work is needed to sensitise the MCIC Small Business Development Department and Business Advisory Centre to the specific needs of women and promote micro-credit schemes to assist small businesswomen and organisations such as the Betio Fishermen’s Wives Association


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3. The government must take steps to clarify its policy towards the role of CPPL in the domestic fish market and resolve the current policy conflict existing between the government supporting public-owned companies versus engendering private sector development. This conflict is also known to exist in other areas of the fisheries and marine resources sector outside the core commercial tuna business of CPPL

4. The Island and Town Councils must do more to enforce legal size restrictions on tuna and other roadside fish sales.

5. A pilot project should be proposed to the government and funding sought to design and implement a project to investigate options for small-scale value-added tuna processing on Tarawa – in particular the production of highly value added time stable nice products such as tuna jerky. This work should follow on from assistance provided in the early 1990s by AUSAID and the UK Government funded Outer Island Fisheries Project. A scoping exercise for such a project could be undertaken by SPC.

6. The government should be encouraged to undertake some research to advice women’s groups on sea and air freight export options for dried tuna products, processed worms, strombus and other collected seafood to established markets in Marshall Islands, Hawaii, and Nauru.

7. The government should be encouraged to sponsor video awareness TV productions on fishing industry issues including profiles of successful women in the tuna industry in Fiji and elsewhere in the region


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COUNTRY REPORT - PAPUA NEW GUINEA 5.1 INTRODUCTION

This country report was prepared as part of the EU funded DEVFISH Project ‘Study on Gender Issues in Tuna Fisheries’ undertaken by Fishtech Management Consultants, UK. The field work was undertaken by Dr Nancy Sullivan, the lead consultant on this study, during June and September 2007 and was confined to research in Madang, Lae, Wewak and Port Moresby. The focus of the research in PNG, as prescribed in the ToR, is primarily on the industrial tuna processing sector. This country report is authored by Dr Nancy Sullivan, who is resident in PNG. 5.2 BACKGROUND TO THE SECTOR

Papua New Guinea contributes up to 60% of the Pacific catches, according to a recent article citing the National Fisheries Authority (Hriehwazi, 2007). The PNG tuna catch is typically 150,000-200,000mt per year but it is estimated that the resource can sustain much higher annual catches of 250,000-300,000mt with a potential market value of about K1.0 billion. Distant water fleets of the US, Taiwan, South Korea, Philippines and now Japan fish in the country’s EEZ. The fees from these agreements and the observer inspections, trans-shipment fees and occasional landings are the country’s real returns, equivalent to approximately US$20 million/year (Olson and Kan, 1998). An unpublished estimate by National Fisheries Authority (NFA), suggests between 2001 and 2007 the NFA paid the PNG government K145 million, 80% of which - K116 million - had come from DWFN access fees (Slatter, pers comm.). About 130 foreign purse-seine vessels fish in PNG waters each year, but this is now decreasing as some are associated with on-shore investments in PNG and are fishing under the FSM arrangement. The value of Papua New Guinea’s tuna exports rose from around PGK3.5 million in 1996 to over PGK220 million in 2002 (Gomez, 2005). The National Fisheries Authority (NFA) was established by the Fisheries Management Act of 1998 to replace the former Department of Fisheries and Marine Resources. Women are involved within the NFA in performing surveillance, enforcement and monitoring roles (see Box 9, Annex 4). According to the Secretary to Corporate Services there are 33 female employees at all levels in the NFA out of a total of 91 staff. Women have also found employment in fisheries related business administration and provide legal and scientific expertise to private and government fisheries institutions and in net making and repair work (in Lae, Madang, and Manus). There are no specific employment figures for such workers but the authors estimate no more than 1,000 women are employed in fisheries sector related service industries. The actual harvesting of tuna is largely a male domain in Papua New Guinea and there are no women currently working on commercial tuna vessels. The contribution of women to the tuna harvesting sector (purse seine, pump-boat and long-liners) is therefore negligible, as very few women actually handle fish at the ports, notably at RD Tuna’s Vidar wharf. Women work in marketing fish at all levels, from roadside stalls to the export of tuna sashimi products. As discussed in this report, the potential for expanding women’s roles in the industry is primarily in the processing and marketing stages, where diversifying value added strategies, expanding overseas markets, and enforcing gender equity legislation will produce more jobs for women. Greater credit opportunities, under relaxed criteria, will also bring more women into the industry.


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5.2.1 The Industrial Long-Line & Purse-Seine Tuna Fishery As of the 4th September 2007, the NFA records 236 registered tuna fishing vessel licenses: 18 for long-liners and 218 for purse-seiners. An additional 46 purse seine vessel licenses have currently expired. The 18 tuna long-line vessels operating in 2007 belong to: Fair Well Investment Ltd (nine); Tuna Well Investment and Equatorial Marine Ltd (three each); two for Coco Enterprises Ltd and one for Highland Products Ltd, plus four long-liners fishing for shark (cf. Barclay and Cartwright, 2006). With an average per vessel of nine crew members this represents approximately 162 male tuna crew. The purse seine fishery is made up of both a distant water access fleet and a locally based foreign-owned fleet. DWFN of Korea, Taiwan, Japan, and the USA still account for around 75% of the purse seine catch, with vessels based in PIN fishing under the FSM Agreement and Philippines vessels catch the balance (Williams and Reid, 2005). With 218 licensed tuna purse seine vessels and an average of five crew members per vessel this represents approximately 1,090 male tuna crew. The purse-seine log sheets for 2007 show a total tuna catch (for eight months up to the 4th September) of 152,984mt (for 130 vessels and 5,892 total days). Extrapolating this catch to 12 months (at an average of 19,123mt per month) gives an estimated annual catch of 229,476mt, which is well below the 2006 catch of 399,843mt. The actual catches for 2007 may however eventually be higher if these log sheets represent delayed recordings, of (for example) only six rather than eight months of catches. The trend in PNG from 2002 to 2006 has been a reduction in long-line vessels and an increase in the number of purse-seine vessels; total catches by purse-seiners has increased from 269,291mt in 2000 to 307,043mt in 2004 (Source: Tuna Fisheries Report – Papua New Guinea [Kumoru, 2005]). At the same time, the number of local (PNG) jobs on fishing vessels have dropped sharply, while the jobs on shore (and these are predominantly women working) have doubled. There are now 17 licences for fish factories (of any kind) in PNG, but only five tuna processing plants operating - RD Tuna for canning; EMR, SST, Frabelle and most recently Ailan Seafood in Kavieng [with very few women employees] for loining. Table 10 provides details of trends in value-added exports up to 2004 whilst Table 11 overleaf provides a useful summary of recent trends and developments in the sector (Source: Barclay and Cartwright, 2006).

Table 10: Tuna Exports by Volume, Value and Product - PNG (2000-2004) Total

catch Chilled Tuna Frozen Tuna Canned Tuna Tuna Loins Fish Meal

Year mt mt USD mt USD mt USD mt USD mt USD 2000 282,005 1,196 5.1m 33,004 13.5m 10,298 18.1m - - 1,690 0.4m2001 162,999 1,857 8.2m 34,656 22.2m 9,858 17.6m - - 1,438 0.5m2002 170,175 2,106 8.4m 33,908 30.4m 12,214 23.4m - - 1,670 0.6m2003 374,542 2,092 9.3m 31,275 16.5m 13,753 28.0m - - 1,791 0.7m2004 313,027 2,111 9.6m 10,968 7m 15,252 35.3m 1,724 0.9m 2,973 1.2m


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Table 11: Indicators of Tuna Development, PNG (2004-2005)

5.2.2 Coastal Fisheries Small scale fisheries in PNG, including tuna among other pelagic fish, have always been an important source of nutrition for coastal communities and one part of many marketing strategies to meet their cash needs. Catches are usually sold fresh from roadside coolers, smoked for markets, and in ‘takeaway’ forms as prepared meals--fried fish with rice in coconut milk being one popular example. The constraints to coastal fishery development mainly relate to the absence of a fish handling, distribution and marketing infrastructure. Future commercialisation of coastal fisheries will depend largely on the development of shore base industrial facilities including local long-lining fishing bases, fish canning and loining plants. The EU Rural Coastal Fisheries Development Programme (RCFDP), formerly of Madang and now based in Port Moresby, has established a number of commercial fishing enterprises with small skiffs in seven provinces, with varying success. Participants with a business plan are offered low interest loans on their vessels and gear, and paired with private sector partners for marketing, and in some cases, export of catch. The private sector partners deduct the loan payments from their end, subtracting other costs like ice and fuel, and thereby manage the loans. The programme ran into logistical problems in Madang (Sullivan et al, 2004), but has proven successful in Kavieng and Lae. In Kavieng the programme also provides handling, fishing and processing training through the National Fisheries College for up to 600 students a year. The programme describes itself as “providing ‘access to success’ for small-scale fishermen and in the process creating a new class of small and medium sized fisheries enterprises to complement the current growth in commercial and industrial fisheries” (www.fisheries.gov.pg). The RCFDP is in the process of constructing new fish markets in Port Moresby, Buka, Kavieng and Lae to provide retail outlets for fishermen and women. Once completed, private entrepreneurs will manage and maintain the markets and its facilities. The market sales and market management positions are better suited to women than the loan packages, although women have proved crucial to the operational success of the fishing groups who received skiffs in Madang Province—as reliable bookkeepers and data recorders (Sullivan et al, 2004). Ironically, the loan criteria (which include being a full-time fisher and member of the Fishermen’s Association) effectively prohibit women as anything more than fishing group members.


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Demmke (2006) displays a table of employment data in the tuna industry of eight Pacific Island countries from unpublished SPC Fisheries Development Section field reports. Under PNG, the table reads as follows:

Table 12: Tuna Employment Data, PNG (2006 and projections for 2007) Fishing

employment Commercial/

industrial (purse seine, pole and line)

companies and vessels staff or crew

Subsistence/artisanal tuna fisheries (trolling,

FAD fishing) fishers (catching and

marketing) plus companies

Processing facilities (loining, canneries, pack-houses, tetaki,

arabushi) number of staff per facility

Company

Men Women Men Women Men Women 2006

Purse seiner (4-6 per vessel) Long-liner (6-12 per vessel)

Purse-seiner: 200 Long-liner: 250

NIL 10-12 trainees

on pump boats

NIL 500 200

30

3000 1000

10

RD Tuna SSTC Others

2007 Purse seiner (4-6 per vessel) Long-liner (6-12 per vessel)

Purse-seiner: 1090 Long-liner: 162

NIL 15 trainees

on pump boats

NIL 500 200

50

3000 1000

100

RD Tuna SSTC Others

5.2.3 Hand Line / Pump Boats A recent development in PNG, a new category of ‘Hand-line/Pump-boat’ was included in the 2004 revision of the Tuna Management Plan (Government of PNG, 2004) allowing for 100 vessels to be used across the country’s coastal regions. In coordination with the new National Development Bank, Morobe Province has established a Fisheries Credit Facility Scheme (FCFS), enlisting Lae-based Frabelle Ltd as a private sector partner for small fishing enterprises. The FCFS has introduced the new pump boats first brought to PNG from the Philippines by RD Tuna and now being popularized for small long-line tuna fishing. Frabelle maintains the boats and buys the catch. There are now a total of 15 pump boats fishing for tuna around the FADs of the Huon Gulf. None of these boats operations involve the employment of women. 5.3 INTERNATIONAL TREATIES & WID

Papua New Guinea is a signatory to the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and its constitution forbids gender discrimination of any kind. PNG has ratified a total of 19 International Labour Organisation (ILO) Conventions, and yet, with the exception of the Convention on Underground Work (Women) (No.45) and the Convention on Employment Policy (No 122), none of these are relevant to women. The PNG Country Report to the Beijing Conference on Women (1995) urges the Department of Industrial Relations to take immediate action to ratify the Conventions on Maternity Protection (Revised) (No 103), Workers with Family Responsibilities (No 156), Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (No 111), Equal Remuneration (No 100) and on Minimum Age (No 138). The PNG Government’s Law and Justice Sector Gender Strategy for 2007 proposes’ the development of equal employment opportunity legislation for women as well as awareness training and other anti-discrimination strategies.


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An ILO report (ILO, 1998) estimates that women accounted for less than 18% of total formal sector employment in PNG in 1994, and in manufacturing they made up only 16% of the labour force. In general, the PNG economy is highly dependent on imports for manufactured goods. Its industrial sector, excluding the mining sector, accounts for only 9% of GDP and contributes little to exports. Small-scale industries produce beer, soap, concrete products, clothing, paper products, matches, ice cream, canned meat, fruit juices, furniture, plywood, and paint. The small domestic market, relatively high wages, and high transport costs are constraints to industrial development. The most recent published gender related data (gender development index) from UNDP (PPP data from 2003) reports that the estimated earned income of men is US$3,305 and for women in US$1,896; a ratio of female to male earned income in 2003 of 0.57 (Source: http://hdr.undp.org/statistics/data/cty/cty_f_PNG.html). 5.4 THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF WOMEN

Results in Table 13 illustrate that women dominate in the informal economy and men in the formal economy in both the rural and urban labour markets. It is estimated by the Study Team that approximately 7,000 women work in the PNG tuna industry, including onshore handling and loining or canning, and technical and administrative positions, both in government and the private sector. The National Statistical Office of PNG (www.nso.gov.pg/index.htm) estimates from the 2000 census that 211,443 women were employed in the formal economy; the tuna industry therefore employs roughly 3.3% of the 2000 census total. An estimate (see Table 14) that formally employed women represent 0.8% of the total employed workers in agriculture, animal and fishery is a more outdated figure, as all the tuna processing plants have been established since year 2000. There is no data for total annual earnings for women formally employed in the sector, as a percentage of the total employment earnings, but women dominate the processing segment of the industry where they generally make a minimum wage as unskilled labour. The proportion of value added to their share of returns is very high – there is considered to be no other formal industry in the national economy where women dominate one crucial segment as they do in tuna processing.

Table 13: Employment by Type of Activity & Gender (2000 Census, PNG) Total Males Females

Sector Monetary Non-monetary

Monetary Non-monetary

Monetary Non-monetary

Total 584,682 1,760,052 373,239 829,994 211,443 930,058 Urban 148,419 38,815 102,542 16,004 45,877 22,811Rural 436,263 1,721,237 270,697 813,990 165,566 907,247


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Table 14: Distribution of Employed Urban Citizens by Occupation, Type and Gender (2000 Census, PNG)

Sector Total employed Employed in wage jobs Persons Males Females Persons Males Females Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Legislators, senior officials & Mangers 4.3 5.6 2.1 5.1 5.8 3.3

Professionals 6.0 5.7 6.6 9.0 7.2 13.9 Teaching & associate professional

10.8 11.8 9.1 15.7 14.6 18.6

Clerks 9.0 5.9 14.4 13.4 7.4 30.0 Service workers, shop & market sales workers

11.6 11.9 11.1 14.0 13.4 15.6

Agricultural, animal & fishery workers 21.3 14.5 33.1 1.2 1.4 0.8

Craft & building trade workers 11.8 17.2 2.6 15.3 19.8 2.5

Plant & machine operators & assemblers

5.5 8.2 0.8 7.6 9.7 1.7

Elementary occupations 19.6 19.2 20.3 18.8 20.7 13.7

5.5 THE TUNA PROCESSING INDUSTRY

Currently the country’s three main tuna processing plants are in Madang, Wewak and Lae, employing 12,000 to 15,000 Papua New Guineans; the most important employers in the local economy. At least two more plants are in the planning stage, together with slipways and wharfs; all of this proposed development is part of the government’s strategy to claim more of the value of the 300,000mt tuna total allowable catch per year. With the stagnation of the domestic long-line industry in 2005, the main focus of government aspirations for developing the tuna resources lie with fishing tied to onshore processing; the RD cannery at Madang, the SST loining plant at Wewak and the Frabelle cannery/loining plant at Lae. NFA records (as of 4th September 2007) state that there are currently a total of 270 shore based licenses for buyers, factories, the storage and export of fish (3 for aquaculture, 62 storage, 76 export and 17 factories). Processing of fresh chilled and frozen fish connected to long-line fisheries in PNG are suffering from falling CPUE and the high cost of freight. From a boom of 40 vessels operating in the fishery in 2002, all but Port Moresby centres have since reduced their operations or closed (Barclay and Cartwright, 2006). The EU export certification for RD Tuna was also withdrawn in mid-August 2007 – a decision reportedly based entirely on the quality control of tuna arriving in Europe. RD Tuna will now have a grace period of several months to reapply for the export status. Chilled tuna is generally air freighted to the sashimi market in Japan. Frozen tuna is exported to Philippines and Taiwan, canned tuna mainly to USA, Germany and UK with small quantities to the Melanesian Spearhead Group countries in the region. Fishmeal is shipped to Australia and Japan. More than 10,000mt of canned tuna is also consumed locally per year.


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The export value of tuna products is now about K200 million, a 100% increase from K100 million in 1999. This excludes catch by foreign vessels that pay access fees and ship the tuna directly to overseas processors. An example of the high value added processing plants now operating in PNG is Equatorial Marine Resources Ltd (EMR) and its joint venture partner Sanko Bussan (PNG) Ltd. They export 250-300mt of tuna a month, mostly to the Japanese sashimi markets while the rest is exported as loins after being processed at its factory in Port Moresby. Their PGK3 million [US$1 million] small-loining plant set up three years ago has the latest technology and complies with international packaging standards; it currently exports to Japan, the US, European Union countries, Asia, Australia, Fiji, and American Samoa. The company operates 14 long-lines fishing vessels and employs 260-plus staff (Hriehwazi, 2007). The relative benefits of local value-adding are well illustrated in Graph 15. Potential future developments in the sector reportedly include fresh chilled or frozen loins for the EU and USA markets, and fully prepared and packaged fresh fish for supermarket shelves in Japan. Ultra-low freezer vessels will be allowed to operate in PNG from the enactment of the next National Tuna Management Plan (Kumoru, pers. comm.). Fully prepared packaged sashimi ready for the supermarket shelves or restaurant plate could then be sold to Japan’s supermarket and sushi chain store sashimi market

as well as high-end

sashimi markets in other countries.

Figure 15: Tuna Operational Models by Economic Benefit, PNG

. (Source: Philipson, 2007)

5.5.1 RD Tuna Group of Companies The RD tuna cannery, established in Madang in 1997, processes 150mt of tuna daily, and plans are underway for the construction of a second larger cannery/loining plant at Vidar, north of Madang, with a capacity for 200mt/day. Under the Government’s export driven economic strategy, onshore development is being encouraged as a condition of Distant Water access. RD Tuna Canners and RD Fishing, based at Vidar Wharf nearby, are both fully owned by the RD Corporation of the Philippines, which signed a 20 year agreement with the PNG government in 2005. 10 Philippine-flagged purse seiners fish around 300 FADs (they actually fall into the licensing category of ‘locally-based domestic’ vessels).


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At present it is the largest employer in Madang and a pillar of the province’s growing economy. The company is currently trying to sell shares, as its agreement with the NFA requires the company to provide 34% equity. Wages at RD Tuna are competitive for PNG, but the company’s productivity, the amount of export grade flesh retrieved from each fish, remains lower than competitor plants in South East Asia, where the cost of labour is much lower. Our research identified two women driving forklifts at the Vidar wharf and being paid as unskilled rather than skilled labour (unlike their male counterparts). The minimum wage has been an issue since 2001, when the National Government rejected a 160% increase by the Minimum Wage Board (from K24.20/week to K60.42/week). Instead an interim minimum wage of K32.91/week was established, which is where it still stands today and which most factories adhere too. The TUC has been lobbying for a 100% rise this year, 2007, to K150 a fortnight (roughly US$50). Barclay and Cartwright (2006) report that even though there has been plenty of press regarding the substandard wages and conditions of these Pacific factories (Emberson-Bain 1994; Hughes and Thaanum 1995; Sasabe 1993; and Sullivan et al. 2003), they found “these companies have been more responsible corporate citizens than their reputations suggest.” RD pays factory workers approximately US$2/day (K5.75)21 and this is legal. Workers have a Union (to which an estimated 2,400 members have K1.50 deducted from their pay fortnightly, generating K89700 annually), but no one the Study Team spoke to had ever been to a meeting. An illustrative case study of one of the few women working at a cannery outside of the processing plant, in this case on the wharf at RD Tuna, is provided in Annex 4 (Box 10). 5.5.2 South Seas Tuna Corp The South Seas Tuna Wewak loining plant (200mt/day capacity [Kumoru, 2005]), was completed in early 2004 and is currently operating at 100mt/day. South Seas Tuna Corporation Ltd. operates five purse seine vessels, all in the category of ‘locally-based foreign’. NFA records that the company exported

26,975mt of frozen tuna in 2001. NFA

records indicate that about 129 people are employed at sea (7 PNG nationals). Using the other locally based companies as a guide, it is estimated the company may have 25 people employed ashore (20 PNG nationals) with these vessels.

A factory on the scale of SST, which employs 600 workers at each of two shifts, is bound to have an enormous effect on the local economy. During earlier (2005) interviews at SST, the management expressed pride in the amount of money they inject into the local economy, the fact that they are providing work for villagers, and reclaiming for PNG a manufacturing process that would otherwise benefit another country. As with RD Tuna, and PafCo in Fiji as well, the Personnel Department reported no shortage of applicants for every available position. Women have reported to the Study Team that they are eager to work in processing plants because they want the sociality of the workplace, and/or they want to escape village routine (where young women are often burdened with menial tasks). As was found during this study at PafCo, and in RD Tuna, women are happy to work for low wages

21 Essentially the minimum wage plus payment in lieu of lunch and less statutory deductions and penalties for lateness


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under strenuous conditions in order to join the workforce and establish themselves as public citizens, eligible for a bank account, an ID card and a credit line at the local store. The only real issues raised by plant workers concerned: • Low wages: Table 16 provides data on earnings by three women interviewed at

Wewak market which can be compared with an average wage every fortnight (based on 5 days work per week) of K90, less National Provident Fund deductions and possible deductions for late arrival at work, for employees working at SST.

• Lack of transport for those travelling from distant compounds (which required them to walk to and from work in the dark). The Personnel Department explained to the Study Team that they are about to implement a company transport system for workers.

Table 16: Average Income of 3 Market Women in Wewak

DAY Woman 1 Woman 2 Woman 3 Monday K12.50 K22.50 K35.00 Tuesday K12.50 K22.50 K35.00 Wednesday K12.50 K22.50 K35.00 Thursday K12.50 K22.50 K35.00 Friday K12.50 K22.50 K35.00 Saturday K25.00 K37.50 K47.50 Sunday K25.00 K37.50 K47.50 Average/day K 16.10 K 26.80 K 38.60 Average/week K 112.70 K 187.60 K 70.20 Average/month K 450.80 K 750.40 K 1, 80.80 Average/year K 5,409.60 K 9004.80 K 12,969.60

5.5.3 Frabelle (PNG) Ltd Frabelle PNG Ltd is a subsidiary of the Manila-based Frabelle Fishing Corporation. They started fishing in PNG five years ago and in 2006 opened their loining factory. The facility is designed to process cooked frozen loins for export and canned tuna for the domestic market. The plant has the capacity to process 100mt of raw material per day and finished product of about 45% of the volume of raw material. At present, however, the equipment capacity can only process 20mt per eight-hour shift (40mt over two shifts). The cannery and processing expansion is still under construction as of June 2007. Their export markets are American Samoa, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Spain and Thailand. Frabelle operates ten ‘locally based domestic’ purse seine vessels fishing throughout Morobe, East Sepik and New Ireland Provinces, and they each offload once every three months at Frabelle. The cannery is also supplied by the new pump boats (see Section 5.2.3), which are owned and operated by the coastal people of Bukawa, Labu and other villages along the Morobe coast. There are a total of 1,300 workers, of which 900 are women. Most of these women are in the Production Department where they receive and then loin the tuna. There are two production shifts, night and day. The ratio for each shift of women to men is ten women to four men. Women interviewed by the Study Team reported their fortnightly pay as between K50-70. For almost all of the respondents the money is not enough to support their family in the city of Lae, particularly for those women who are married with a number of children and their spouse unemployed. When asked about school fees, some say that have decided not to send their children to school at all because there is no money for fees. An illustrative case study of one of the few women working at this cannery is provided in Annex 4 (Box 11).


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5.5.4 Other Tuna Processing Opportunities ‘Gourmet processing’ promises the best value added opportunities for PNG in the future. These small-scale processing plants will offer more jobs for women than the large plants and may also offer income generating opportunities in other industries, like agriculture, where women are key participants. Tuna cooked with chilly peppers is one such example. Smoked, dried and salted tuna could also be processed and packaged with other ingredients. Apart from a short-lived katsuobushi factory in Kavieng in the 1970s, tuna smoking is not being done on a commercial basis in PNG. The NFA factory in Kavieng is suitable for gourmet small-scale processing to produce cold smoked fish, tuna jerky and tuna ham, but no private operator has been using the factory for this purpose, which was provided under the AusAid National Fisheries College refurbishment project. In 2004 the facility was used for loining and gas packaging tuna, but with the collapse of the Kavieng long-line fishery the facility reverted to processing reef fish only; the ban on the use of carbon monoxide in tuna products around the region may be also be contributing cause (DevFish, 2007). A similar kind of facility is planned using Chinese aid money in Lae. 5.5.5 Processing of By-Catch By-catch processing mainly involves drying shark fins for the lucrative Chinese export market. The interest in increasing the marketing of shark products comes from interest in the PIC to remain in compliance with intended or existing bans on fining by full utilisation of sharks. “Full utilization” is defined as not including head, guts, and skin, so the option remains the production of shark meat. (McCoy, 2007) The NFA database (NFA webpage) reveals that recorded by-catch in PNG has been rising significantly over the past five years in the tuna purse seine fishery - from 294mt in 2002 to 7,995mt in 2006 although the landings in 2007 (to date) are only 542mt. In the long-line fishery it has increased for some species (blue shark and other species) and fallen for other species (blue marlin and shark). The rising amount of by-catch from purse seine vessels indicate the scale of potential billfish processing and by-product industries. One such example is the making of leather from blue shark, Prionace glauca (McCoy, 2007). McCoy goes on to state that there is no hard data on sales, prices or market quantities of shark but estimates that 75% of shark landed by long-liners was exported (primarily as frozen trunks to Taiwan), with the balance sold on the local market. He also reports (Ibid) that there has been a demonstrated demand for shark in Lae and Port Moresby, particularly for the institutional market such as mining camps. The level of employment opportunities for women in such niche-industry processing plants is unknown but apart from the tanning industry (making leather) and other value-added processing is likely to be limited. 5.5.6 Game Fishing This industry is seasonal - blue marlin and yellowfin tuna, for example, can be found in good concentrations around Bougainville and the Solomon Strait from January through April. For the Madang region, both species occur from November to January. The use of FADs in these areas may take the ‘sport’ out of game fishing, but they do increase game fishing catch rates, and thereby serve the tourism industry in general. Women are employed in all levels of tourism, specifically as barmaids and waitresses in Sport fishing clubs across the country.


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5.5.7 Fishing hubs In PNG a deliberate effort to distribute development has led to large-scale processing ventures in Madang, Wewak and Lae, with long-line developments spread even more widely. The problem with spreading tuna developments out geographically is that it exacerbates the diseconomies of scale that already damage the economic viability of PIC developments. RD has been trying to attract more businesses to Madang for some years but the Papua New Guinea government seems to want ‘a tuna factory in every port.’ As a possible consequence, RD Tuna and Soltai

processing companies have had to install

infrastructure at their own expense. For individual companies, the operating costs are daunting in Papua New Guinea, at least in comparison with plants in Thailand and other Southeast Asian competitor countries. RD Tuna management is particularly keen on the prospects of a Marine Business Park in Madang Bay (Barclay and Cartwright 2006, Slatter pers. comm.). JICA has been enlisted to make an assessment and RD Tuna hopes to convince the government to establish a reserve location for this purpose. The concept is a regional initiative, for Nauru Agreement countries, who together control 40% of the world’s tuna, and could become a formidable presence if centralised within one operational processing hub. Preferential EU trade access would also assist in the success of such a business strategy, particularly in light of freight and infrastructure costs (Ibid). The concentration of processing capacity within one region would only benefit women living in the neighbourhood of the marine business park and there may be negative socio-economic consequences should such a business strategy lead to closures elsewhere. There are however good reasons why fish processing has not been consolidated in one PNG province, as beyond the immediate environmental concerns there is very little land not customarily owned in PNG, and even less near port areas. In-migration for Madang Province, for example, is already a problem and 13 villages from Manam Island are already struggling to assimilate after a volcanic eruption forced their relocation to Madang in 2005. RD Tuna has already begun constructing dormitories for in-migrant women cannery workers, and the social impact of these populations on the local landowners is as yet unexplored. 5.6 OPPORTUNITIES & CONSTRAINTS FOR WOMEN

5.6.1 Key Constraints Women commonly do not have the educational opportunities that men do in PNG - the expense of school fees often require families to make a choice, UNICEF reports [2006]. As a result they are less likely to be qualified for executive industry jobs. In addition, in the rural areas particularly, women are much more likely to be married by the time they are employable – see Table 17.

Table 17: Marital Status of 10-19 Age Group in PNG Age 10-

14 rural females

Age 10-14 rural

males

Age 15-19 rural females

Age 15-19 rural

males

Age 10-14

urban females

Age 10-14 urban males

Age 15-19

urban females

Age 15-19 urban males

widowed 100 71 470 155 64 5 50 22divorced 134 95 1127 322 11 12 64 20separated 264 293 1656 634 28 23 193 55married 1,734 1,179 31,671 6,529 295 247 4,349 1,116

(Source: UNICEF, 2006)


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The biggest constraints to women in the industry are greatest offshore, where women are least likely (and willing) to join vessel crews or even fish in small coastal fisheries operations. But from the smallest village fishing cooperative to the highest executive positions, PNG women have already shown themselves able and willing to participate. In Madang Province, for example, the EU’s Rural Coastal Fisheries Project depended upon the book-keeping and accounts skills of local women. It is only in the processing facilities and around the wharfs themselves that the social concerns begin to outweigh the economic benefits, and must be addressed. Women are however preferred factory workers and are eager to take these jobs as their entry into the working world. Where their families can maintain a subsistence existence and not depend exclusively on the workers’ wage, the benefits are significant: one working wage for a rural family can pay for the basic amenities like school fees, medical costs and transport to market. Where families are uprooted or clustered into settlements, living on low wages only, the social costs rise significantly, and this is where prostitution and the incidence of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) become a risk. It is a factor where proposed industrial hubs - the Madang Maritime Business Park, for example - are intended to cut infrastructural and fuel costs with economies of scale but may fail to address the social impact of existing industrial development. Outside the tuna industry, a growing number of private companies have been training female cadets at the Maritime College. The Principal of the PNG Maritime College believes there are a maximum of 12 PNG women working on maritime vessels at present, although none are tuna vessels (Richard Coleman, pers. comm.). Establishing scholarships for women at the Maritime College, the Kavieng National Fisheries College, or the PNG Institute of Public Administration would be an excellent strategy for expanding women’s participation in the fisheries sector. 5.6.2 Key Opportunities The largest potential for women’s increased participation in the PNG tuna industry lies in the value added processing sector and an increasing variety of shore-based jobs - including NFA auditing, enforcement and certification, licensing and observer roles. The only constraint to admission in male-dominated courses would be dormitory facilities, which is not impossible to overcome. The PNG Maritime College in Madang for example has set aside a section of one large dorm for their few female students. Legal, administrative and technical positions in the industry are in theory all open to women with further education. In the processing sector, employment opportunities are growing all the time with plans for new plants and options for more value added processing. PNG has one of the largest observer programs in the region to collect data for management purposes. The programme has 65 trained observers who work on tuna vessels (www.fisheries.gov.pg). This is one more role for which women should be encouraged to train for. Demmke (2006) refers to a variety of industry-related support services, most of which are dominated by women, as “secondary activities.” These services range from restaurant work to airlines and shipping jobs, to nightclub work for visiting crew and the sex trade (see also Section 5.7.2). All these activities benefit from the growth of a tuna industry but not all these activities are socially beneficial, and some, like sex work, have serious health and security risks for women, men and their families.


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5.6.3 Training Opportunities There are a number of institutions in PNG which offer training relevant to the fisheries sector (from the FAO Fishery Country Profile 2002 webpage): • The Kavieng-based National Fisheries College, which is now a Branch of NFA, offers a

range of seafood and fisheries courses including new qualifications for fishing vessel crew and captains authorised under the Merchant Shipping Act.

• The Maritime College in Madang offers more advanced and officer-level vocational training for the merchant shipping.

• The University of PNG offers degree courses in marine biology and other relevant scientific disciplines through its main campus as well as via its Marine Research Station at Motupore Island.

• The University of Technology at Lae offers a food technology degree. • The PNG Institute of Public Administration offers accountancy, management and other

training programmes relevant the fisheries sector. Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries College has successfully run short courses on fisheries small business development and the SPC Fisheries Training Section has conducted courses for women on seafood enterprise operation and management and small business management (Barclay and Cartwright, 2006). Product development is an area highlighted by Demmke (2006) as a weak link in most PIC tuna industries, and this is certainly the case in PNG. There is no training currently available in PNG for product development in tuna processing, and were the University of the South Pacific to offer such courses (as recommended by Demmke, 2006) it would be difficult for PNG candidates to enrol. The Fisheries College or Lae Unitech should investigate adding product development training to their curricula, with options pursued for sponsorship by private companies. Very few small-scale fishing operators have successfully upgraded to become medium or large-scale operators (Gillett, 2003). The expectation that successful small-scale fishermen will expand to medium-scale management is misguided, he says, as fishing is different to managing fishing, and small-scale fishers are unlikely to have management skills. The upward mobility of small fishing operators, including women who helm community and family-based fishing groups, could be facilitated by making extension courses in business more available. 5.6.4 Provision of Credit Additional constraints faced by women wanting to start businesses in the industry are the high utility costs and a general lack of start-up capital. Initiatives are however in place to overcome these constraints. For example the resuscitation of the defunct Rural Development Bank, in January 2007, which has since became the National Development Bank, promises a government grant of K45 million for small business loans at 10% interest rate, of which K4 million is promised to be earmarked for women borrowers. Because the National Development Bank is also behind the new coastal fisheries pump-boat loans in Morobe Province, it is likely that women with fisheries ambitions and good business plans could be beneficiaries of this grant funding. To succeed, they would most likely be part of a family business or collective rather than single entrepreneurs as with male relatives and support they can bypass almost any gender barriers. One of the ways women could more fully participate in, and benefit from, coastal fisheries development would be to extend flexible credit terms to women entrepreneurs so that they might purchase small boats, including pump boats.


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5.7 WOMEN’S LIVELIHOODS AND GENDER ISSUES

5.7.1 Negative Impact & Social Issues Women and children are highly vulnerable populations in Papua New Guinea in terms of both physical safety and health. While the constitution clearly supports equal participation of women in the workforce, and equal rights for women in the home, the tacit understanding of women in PNG is as resources, or goods, rather than fully entitled citizens (UNICEF, 2006). In keeping with the general ethic of decentralising development, the government has not yet clustered tuna or any other industry sites (although it is being discussed – see Section 5.5.7), so while the tuna loining and canning factories are predominantly in town limits, they are normally at the town’s edge, at the wharf, and draw from nearby village populations for their staff. As can be seen from the data provided earlier in Table 17, which is drawn from a country-wide survey by UNICEF in 2006, village girls are most likely to be married by age 19, and therefore working to supplement a household income (rather than for personal savings, as might be the case for unmarried girls living with parents). In addition, they are more likely than their male counterparts to be unskilled and educated to grade 6 only. They are also likely to be mothers, and as such, managing childcare whilst at work which is socially difficult in PNG (PafCo workers in Fiji have house-husbands but this is not common in PNG). Women are also more likely to take second place to men in access to health care. A number of key social issues therefore conspire to limit opportunities for women entering the workforce. At the same time private sector operators in the sector need to be sensitive to the specific needs of female staff when addressing employment issues related to working hours, wages, health and safety and provision of worker transport. 5.7.2 Sex Trade Issues Few fishing industries address, but virtually all acknowledge, the problem of prostitution related to when their vessels return to port and to some extent at their processing plants. This is not an indictment of any one company, merely a social price communities must be expected to bear (or not). Indeed, it reflects well on those few companies that do address the problem in an age of life-threatening STDs. In a 2001 report conducted by the PNG National Aids Council into HIV/AIDS in the PNG fishing industry, rapid focus group assessments of industry workers in Madang, Kavieng and Port Moresby, confirmed that the fishing industries are a high-risk group that lack knowledge on Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and HIV/AIDS. The very mobility of seamen attracts sex workers to them. In Papua New Guinea women are brought on to the ships clandestinely and this leads to ‘line-ups’ or group sex. In Madang, for example, fishing boat crew negotiate for sex with undersize fish stored in the warehouse by saying “wan pak, wan pis” – the literal translation of this is “one f---, one fish” (Sullivan et al, 2003). Elsewhere, middle management or observers reportedly act as pimps bringing women to carrier ships when anchored at the harbours. Women who leave factory work from despair over low wages, sometimes then resort to selling sex to the crews (NAC, 2001 - unpublished).


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5.8 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Prime Minister and Grand Chief, Sir Michael Somare, when officially launching the Pacific Tuna Forum in Port Moresby in September 2007 stated that “...the Government would be reviewing the national fisheries legislation to restrict the export of skipjack tuna caught in the Pacific exclusive economic zone. As well as that, the government will also review the level of incentives and support that is provided to the fishing industry, and establish new packages that are more attractive to both investors and other domestic industry players….Sir Michael wants to see additional tuna processing plants established, over the next few years to increase the total processing capacity and increase economic growth”. He added that the region has been managing tuna resources within the Pacific Ocean, but have [sic] not derived a reasonable level of benefits from harvesting these resources. Aside from the economic and commercial rational for such development proposals for the future, which are outside the scope of this study, the findings from this study reveal that whilst women have benefited from entry into the formal economy through the tuna industry, most of the opportunities exist primarily at the lower wage range for village women working in processing plants in Madang, Lae and Port Moresby. And because these jobs are in great demand, private companies have not needed to carefully examine some of the health and safety, transport and wage concerns that prevail. However, because these jobs are also at the very frontline of community relations for the private sector, this is where more attention must be paid in the future. Women’s education should also be supported, especially at the level of vocational training. This is where the future of the country’s tuna industry seems to lie in creating value added products from tuna and other species (such as shark). The NFA should take the lead in establishing scholarships and training programmes around the coastal centres to encourage product development and entrepreneurial activity at the community level, which will always be spearheaded by women. NGOs have an important role to play in such initiatives. 5.8.1 Recommendations 1. Establish a Minimum Wage: the current minimum wage does not provide a decent

standard of living for a worker and family who live solely on the cash economy. A system of annual bonuses should also be introduced for production workers.

2. Strengthen the HACCP and EU food safety accreditation training of the NFA, and establish oversight of their inspection system. They must always, without fail, be spot inspections without forewarning. The USP Marine Studies Programme and SPC have both provided relevant HACCP training and could be approached to set up specific training in PNG.

3. Strengthen the legislative framework to redress gender inequality in PNG, as per the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Millennium Development Goals.

4. Liberalise the access to tuna from distant water fleets (purse-seiners and long-liners) for local businesses: this is a major inhibitor to value-added tuna jerky development in several PIC (such as Kiribati and potentially in PNG) where there is potential to develop cottage industries employing women.


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5. Product development is the necessary next step for tuna and by-catch processing: courses should be jointly funded by private and public sector at the Kavieng Fisheries College and/or Lae Unitech that focus on product development and value added technologies, specifically for women.

6. Micro-credit and revolving credit institutions for women should be established by private sector partners, aid organisations or industry stakeholders, to extend opportunities like that of the Rural Coastal Fisheries Programme to more women at the community level.

7. Processing plants should consider establishing day care facilities, such as already exist at PafCo has in Fiji. They should also provide free laundry services at both wharf and loining/canning plants.

8. Where processing plants employ women shift workers, special attention should be paid to in-house training opportunities that provide for careers paths (unskilled workers to become skilled). Shifts should accommodate the safety concerns of women and the terms and pay scale of ‘skilled’ labour for women should also be redefined and monitored.

9. Private sector operators need to develop their own communication strategy aimed at transparency within their communities to dispel the rumours regarding workplace safety, wage rates and the behaviour of foreign crews. This may include establishing events where foreign crew can safely socialise with male and female Papua New Guineans (sporting events, picnics and religious gatherings).

10. Establish short-course training opportunities for communities linked to the processing plants to raise the standards of local service provisioning (security, catering, cleaning and transport) to ensure viable spin-off businesses.


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6. STRATEGIC & PRACTICAL REGIONAL ISSUES

We have so far undertaken and presented in this study report a survey and analysis of the changing roles of PIC women in tuna fisheries, with an emphasis on their formal economic participation and an insight to their changing roles in the informal sector. This survey focuses on the downstream processing of tuna in Fiji, Kiribati and Papua New Guinea, but has also covered the inshore marketing and the long-line fishing activities in all three countries. Women are involved at all points in the harvesting, processing and marketing of their country’s tuna, and where culture or institutional constraints may exist on some levels, their informal participation continues to grow, for better or worse. This review aims to contribute to the understanding of the social and economic impacts of these trends, and the implication for the industry in general. Opportunities for women in the industry cluster at the upper and lower income levels in the formal sector, and in the informal sector mainly in marketing of tuna and other fish species. In the formal sector women can be found in corporate middle-management and at administrative levels in government agencies as a product of gender equity policies in education. This entry level should expand in time and could be fast tracked by scholarships for women at tertiary institutions studying business, economics, management and fisheries. The greatest opportunities for women at present exist at the un-skilled level (except in Kiribati), where more processing plants promise to employ more women every day. The shore-based service sector - catering, net repair, handling and inspection – provide only limited employment opportunities for women. Pacific Island women and men could both benefit practically from a more supportive small business climate. Indeed many of the development constraints to women’s further participation in the industry are not specific to women – as discussed in Section 6.1. The constraints specific to women are indeed more logistical and practical than customary. The nature of PIC societies today requires women to juggle multiple responsibilities and income-producing strategies. Nevertheless, the more women who join shore based support services, and enter companies at the unskilled level, the more these roles become attractive and are perceived to be safe or gender neutral. This is where media promotion of women in the industry as role models could be most effective. 6.1 STRATEGIC CONSERVATION AND TRADE ISSUES

In order to ensure that tuna resources are sustainable in the long term, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) has agreed on a number of resolutions to streamline and cut back on fishing effort targeting big eye and yellowfin tuna. The essence of the Commission regulatory framework means that there would be limits imposed on how much tuna could be caught or the level of fishing effort that should be applied in any particular fishing area. This should in turn mean that the industry becomes more competitive as operators compete for limited resources; the cost of operations may also increase due to new reporting requirements. Consequently, there would be renewed interest by foreign vessels to re-locate closer to the fishing grounds. These regional policy decisions will have cross-cutting implications across the industry and will impact on the current and future levels of participation by women in the fishing industry. Representation of women within national industry associations and at the regional meetings in policy decisions is therefore essential. There is an urgent need for capacity building at this higher level of decision making and advocacy so that women


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have a sound knowledge of the industry in order to be able to be able to adequately represent the wider interests of the processing sector where most women are employed. Furthermore, as trade liberalisation progresses and trade preferences are eroded, the fishing industry will have to become more competitive in order to maintain its export market by fulfilling the changing consumer demand and expectations related to product quality. It is essential that there is adequate training provided and capacity within the local economies. In nearly all tuna processing plants visited in PNG and Fiji, women play a key role in quality control and therefore it is an area that can attract more women for employment. While effort in providing HACCP training has been done by the national fisheries departments and the SPC, there is still a demand within the industry for the up-grading of skills. A number of women interviewed in the long-line industry in Fiji for example indicated that their training has been limited and that they would very much like to learn more to improve their work. 6.2 PRACTICAL PROBLEMS & GENDER ISSUES

6.2.1 Barriers to Entry & the Dual Economy Men and women working in the tuna industry in Fiji, Kiribati and PNG all suffer from the lack of and/or high cost of: • The need and limits on start up capital (lack of easy access to credit) • Technical skills in harvesting, processing and marketing • Fuel and electricity • Information on labour rights, health care, STDs, the tuna industry, resource

conservation and food security • Regular and consistent access to tuna (as, for example, from long-line fleets) • Limits on infrastructure (access to ports, transport and communications services) • Access to overseas markets, airfreight and/or shipping services • Storage and refrigeration facilities onshore and equipment for small processing

ventures • There remains a dual economy in all these countries, with a mixture of subsistence and monetary sectors dependent to different degrees on cash. In subsistence sectors cash plays only a peripheral role and is used to supply imported foodstuffs, fuel, school fees and certain customary exchange requirements for village households. People still depend primarily upon farming, fishing, hunting and barter for their livelihoods. In the monetary or commercial sectors cash is central, and even where gardens and fishing may supplement a household diet, people cannot survive without purchasing foodstuffs, paying housing rentals, servicing bank loans and working for cash on a daily basis. In all three of these countries, a continuum of economic types exist, with rural subsistence moving slowly closer to a fully monetised existence all the time. 6.2.2 Dependency on the Flexibility of Women In the shift from a rural subsistence to monetary economy, the ability of islanders to maintain their quality of life depends largely, if not entirely, upon the flexibility of women. Development represents more rather than less work for women, whose conventional responsibilities vis-à-vis their family could be shared with an extended family in a subsistence economy, but devolves to individual women in nucleated middle class peri-urban settings. At the frontiers of economic expansion, where new plantations and factories and industries require pools of unskilled labour, and where women as well as men can now find wage income for the first time, the effect has been dramatic upon once-subsistence communities.


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Women who once spent their days in the garden now spend them on factory floors earning what may or may not be the equivalent amount of cash to purchase the produce they once harvested or traded for. Closer to town, women who regularly marketed the fish their husband’s caught and they themselves gleaned, are now making wages that may require them to purchase someone else’s fish for dinner, or hire third parties to sell their household fish. In many cases change can be accomplished by women taking on additional roles and simply working harder. Men who enter the formal workforce rarely also perform subsistence roles at home, whereas women do so in addition to being mothers and caterers at home. 6.2.3 The Need for a Living Wage Where men or women dedicate themselves to a commercial sector for a wage income, and that income is below a living wage, the household and/or community must pick up the slack in providing for them because the government does not. Entry-level jobs in new canneries, for example, cannot provide for one individual’s living in today’s economy, and they rest upon the assumption that workers do not pay housing or expensive utilities bills. Where a worker might have migrated to the cannery area for work, he or she depends upon family assistance and housing, as neither company nor government is able to maintain them. In Levuka, Fiji, and Madang, PNG, for example, each cannery employee is inseparable from traditional community security, placing a strain on the subsistence economy even as it relieves some of the newer cash requirements. There is some question as to whether the cheap labour pool now available to the industry can be expected for long, because as production processes expand, new jobs are filled by migrants whose expenses are that much higher than the local community members. It is only the wealthy subsistence economy that can support the loss of adult labour to these factories, in return for healthcare, schools and other services they can now purchase. 6.2.4 Role Models – Juggling Careers & Family Life While the government services are minimal, health and school fees expensive and transport un-predictable and social support for the working mother non-existent outside the village, it is hard to induce career ambitions in young women, especially if they can achieve the same quality of life from working in the informal sector. There is no reason to forfeit the communal stability of village subsistence with some market sales. Even where the study team met successful middle management women, like Laisa Tamani Toakula at PafCo, and Ana Delailomaloma-Ratumudu at Golden Ocean (Fiji), they are still clearly multi-tasking income generating projects with their full time employment, and spending virtually all their income on the lifestyle they have established. Middle management women are not ‘getting ahead’ in the sense of having significant disposable income or savings, and the incentives to climbing higher up the corporate ladder are largely outweighed by their time constraints juggling family and other small family businesses. In Kiribati and Fiji, many women have taken on the roles of head of household to enable their husbands to work for months at a time as seafarers. They may work full time, like Tiaen Abaiota, Business Development Manager of the Rural Development Bank of Kiribati, while they also take on the domestic duties of home and family and the obligations to the community. Remittances from men working in overseas vessels contribute substantially to the country’s revenue and significantly contribute to household level finances and monetary needs, but at the same time it makes modern family life extremely vulnerable to domestic strife, spousal abuse and neglected children and so forth.


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6.2.5 Child Care, ‘House Husbands’ & Female Security The husbands of women working in the canneries have tended not to take on women’s child rearing functions or household duties. Employment of women in the factories can therefore be socially disruptive, at least in Melanesia. Ideally processing factories should provide child care facilities, as PafCo has done successfully in Fiji. Management may also consider staggered shifts, reduced shifts and other accommodations to women with families where absenteeism is a chronic problem. Many of the women working in processing plants in PNG and Fiji are unmarried and therefore do not have the same domestic responsibilities as married women have. However they face different problems of security and harassment, especially when they either live at cannery hostels or travel to and from their shifts in darkness. 6.3 IMPROVING SOCIAL WELFARE & HEALTH SERVICES IN THE INDUSTRY

To ensure that benefits from tuna industries are not undermined by growing social needs, a range of social welfare and health services should be available around international transhipment ports and industrial processing centres, where local women and incoming men may need advice about prevention of and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. Women who are subject to violence related to substance abuse or the stress of fishing crew lifestyles need particular kinds of welfare services, as do women who are ostracised for being perceived as prostitutes. Both single parent families left at home, and the husbands at sea, are anxious for contact and sociality, and could benefit from organized industry events or gatherings. While the needs and health of young women who befriend seafarers is a social concern, the industry should also be responsive to the loneliness and yearning of families separated by employment. In Kiribati, companies stage regular picnics for employees (where single people can meet each other and socialize with families). There is a tradition in Papua New Guinea of airline and helicopter ‘aero bars’ in company towns, where single men and women can meet and drink and families are also welcome: this is certainly one model for normalising the growing port culture. 6.4 FOOD SECURITY & THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ARTISANAL SECTOR

Fresh tuna plays an important part of food security in all the Pacific islands - processed tuna conversely plays a minor role in domestic diets. Canned mackerel remains the fish of choice of most consumers, for price reasons, although RD Tuna in PNG is producing diverse canned tuna products for the domestic market. With trade liberalization and the decrease in import duties canned tuna will face increasing competition from Asian products, and it may be that Asian tuna will make inroads into the traditional canned mackerel market. But the increased availability of processed fish is also a danger for communities with very limited diets, when fresh fish landed by the artisanal and inshore sector (skiffs in Kiribati and pump-boats in PNG) still provides a healthier alternative. The local marketing of tuna and bycatch is, and should remain, important to the communities in and around industrial processing plants. 6.5 PRACTICAL TRAINING NEEDS IN VALUE-ADDED PROCESSING

Women across the region need food technology and value-added skills, particularly in tuna and tuna by-product (e.g. shark) processing. Courses in product development and value added for the domestic and export market has already attracted entrepreneurial women in the region, and these programmes should be expanded and made more accessible. Value added products include salted and dried fish, tuna jerky, chilled


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products of sashimi grade tuna, frozen products of tuna steaks, loins, fillets, breaded fillets and minced fish in convenience packs suitable for the catering sector and retail sales, and canned tuna in spicy sauces such as chilli, green curry, and coconut milk. Ready to cook and ready to eat products are popular in South East Asia and include fresh/frozen fish balls, fish cakes, breaded fish, and sushi. Dried and smoked fish are other examples. Smoking, salting, drying, packaging and marketing are all skills requested by women around the region. USP (in Fiji) has a processing facility where students can receive basic training in post harvest activities (cleaning, filleting etc) for tunas and bycatch species. The SPC Community Education Training Centre also provides training in post harvest skills for women community workers as part of their annual training programme. How much the attendance on such training courses will improve productivity and the new skills used in the factories is highly questionable. But their relevance in the informal sector may be invaluable in the medium term. An innovative approach could be for factories to sponsor training programmes budgeted as part of factory floor annual bonus schemes – take the money or the training for example. This way women are given informed choices that help develop their potential – this would go a long way to engendering the ‘sense of belonging’ that should or used to exist (for example under the former management at PafCo).


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ANNEX 1: TERMS OF REFERENCE

Short–term Consultant-Gender Issues in Tuna Fisheries in PNG, Fiji and Kiribati

Introduction The Development of tuna fisheries in the Pacific ACP countries Project (DEVFISH) is seeking a short term consultant to undertake a socio-economic study that will document a broad appraisal of women’s participation to Pacific Island tuna fisheries development, and recommend how it can be improved. The assessment will provide a balanced view of the positive and negative impacts of the industry on women, and suggest how negative impacts may be mitigated. It will identify opportunities for, and constraints to, greater participation; identify needs; and provide this information for purposes of enabling appropriate support and policy decisions by stakeholders. It will also identify examples of successful women in the sector with a view to attracting greater participation. Background The Pacific ACP countries are home to a great diversity of cultures and traditions. This has great influence on attitudes to women which vary considerably across the region, as does the acceptance of modern Western views on gender equality. All these countries have endorsed and are committed to international and regional gender equality frameworks for development, such as the Millennium Development Goals, CEDAW and the Pacific Platform for Action. These commitments are in turn reflected in their national development plans/strategies and in some cases, their sector development strategies. Regrettably, demonstration of these commitments is at best weak and ad hoc. The development of a commercial tuna industry, with its emphasis on the employment of women in the processing sector, has the potential to provide employment for large numbers of Pacific Island women. In small scale commercial fishing also, women are often involved in marketing of the catch and play an important role in the cash economy. Most men are employed in the capture and commercial marketing areas. Socio cultural beliefs, family obligations, lack of skills and experience, lack of direct access to credit and finance, transport restrictions, and poor market facilities restrict women from participating equally and fully, in the industry. Developing opportunities for women will need to take into consideration these constraints. Regional and national studies carried out on gender issues in tuna fisheries have provided some specific information related to this subject. Across the region, though, there is a lack of up to date information on the economic value of women’s contribution in the tuna industry sector. In the absence of such economic statistics and data, women’s contributions in the industry remain invisible, and women do not acquire the support they need, to create and improve their participation and opportunities in tuna industry development. Some past studies and media reports on the impact of tuna industry development in the region have drawn attention to the negative effects, particularly on women. Low and unequal wage rates and unhealthy working conditions in processing factories have been compared unfavourably with standards in larger, richer nations. In addition, the growing incidence and spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs amongst seafarers, the impact that this is having on their families and communities, the links between the commercial sex


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industry, fisheries/tuna industry and the involvement of school-aged girls in these activities is becoming a growing concern in the region. All of these issues need to be addressed through a gender analysis and balanced assessment of the tuna industry focusing on: • Participation of women • Employment conditions • Options for alternative employment • Services provided by large fishing companies And the potential growth impact that more gender equal opportunities in this sector can have on economic development. For reasons discussed earlier and highlighted above, fisheries is seen in some countries as an unattractive career, for both sexes but particularly for women. However, there are many women in the Pacific islands who have achieved considerable success in the fisheries sector, as entrepreneurs, scientists, managers and technical specialists in fishing companies, the public service and in regional and international organisations. The study will research and profile examples of successful women in order to promote career choices and subsequent training and development initiatives in the industry. Objective The overall objective of the study is to analyse the current status/situation of the tuna industry in the focused Pacific island countries for the purpose of increasing the participation of women in the industry/fisheries. The study should: • Assess and compare current levels, roles and contributions of men and women • Highlight and discuss potential roles and contributions of women in the tuna industry; • Identify constraints to higher levels of participation of women • Discuss challenges and problems faced by women in the industry • Discuss actions that can contribute to higher levels of participation in both small-scale

and industrial tuna fisheries development • Recommend practical policy and programme options to increase the participation of

women in the industry The study will be based on field work in three countries – Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Kiribati. In the first two it is envisaged that the focus will be mainly on the role of women in industrial tuna processing, while in Kiribati data will be collected mainly from women in the artisanal fishery Work to be undertaken 1. The consultant will verify and provide baseline information on the number of women involved in the tuna industry and related activities, and quantify the trend in the last 5 years in these focus countries.

2. The consultant will undertake an economic assessment of the role of women which, subject to the availability of data may include:


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• Total annual earnings for women formally employed in the sector, as a percentage of the total employment earnings

• An estimate of value added by processing and/or marketing by women in informal employment connected with tuna fisheries and linked to their share of returns.

• Information of the pattern of expenditure of women’s income in the local economy; • Information on the importance of women working in tuna processing and marketing

relative to other industries and in the context of the national economy.

3. The consultant will identify and document gender issues in the focus countries by conducting a gender needs assessment to identify problems, potential resources, and possible solutions. The assessment will prioritize and provide justifications of the identified needs to provide information for purposes of enabling appropriate support and policies implementation decisions by appropriate stakeholders. Need to link with the national women’s agencies; in government; at sectoral level and in the NGO community. Also need to link up with agencies involved in this issue – USP, SOPAC etc, through other programmes.

The needs assessment for women in tuna industry in the proposed countries would include looking at: • What is feasible for each individual country • What women want and see as realistic development options • Investigate employment opportunities at/for commercial facilities as well as for small

scale businesses • Investigate novel products from tuna and bycatch (e.g. the use of shark teeth and skin

in handicrafts) • Research in-country support for women entrepreneurs • And any other appropriate need areas 4. The consultant will meet with successful businesswomen in tuna industry and directly linked associated industries to briefly document their stories, and to use as role models for other women.

5. The consultant should also include in the report any other gender issues arising in the identified areas and suggestions of the most appropriate attention for the focus countries. Qualifications and experience The following qualifications and experience are considered essential for the consultant: • A relevant tertiary qualification in socio-economic studies or a similar discipline; • Considerable experience (5+ years) of economic or scientific and case studies in the

region; • An understanding of the regional fisheries issues; • Experience of assessing the economic and social impacts of commercial

development projects. The following would be desirable: • Experience of evaluating social and economic impacts of fisheries development

projects in the Pacific. • Some experience of working in one of the three focus countries and an understanding

of the strategies and issues in tuna industry development in the three countries.


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ANNEX 2: PERSONS INTERVIEWED DURING THE STUDY

Note: All interviewees are cited as ‘pers. comm.’ in the text Fiji Islands (Suva) Anare Raiwalui Acting Director of Fisheries George Mate Senior Fisheries Officer Vimlesh Maharaj Chief Labour Officer Harbans Narayan Manager Administration Services Ministry of Labour Elizabeth Cox, Dtr United Nations Development Fund for Women Russell Durham Fiji Fish Prakash Chandra Finance Manager & Acting General Manager, PafCo Toru Nakano General Manager, Tosa Bussan Sandra Tarte USP David Lucas Solander Pacific Claire Slatter Women in Fisheries Network Fr Kevin J. Barr ECREA X.J. Du Managing Director, Golden Ocean Min Sik Park General Manager, Golden Ocean Shinya Tamio JICA Tara Chetty Fiji Women’s Rights Movement Ana Delailomaloma-Ratumudu Golden Ocean Susanna Atulau Tosa Bussan Margaret Raisele Tosa Bussan Tadulala Gade CPK Lionel Gibson Foundation for the South Pacific Etika Rupeni Foundation for the South Pacific Asela Naisara Acting President, National Council of Women Solandar Staff Radhika Kuman, Keshni Lata, Nanise Ligalevu, Talei

Whibbley, Vindiya Lae, Erine James & Isabel Morell Kei sellers Mary Siana Saganavere, Venina Vikou, Koini Vere,

Josephine Racava, Litiana Tama, Aliti Saganavere, Fave Melike and Mere Benga

PafCo (Levuka) Taraivini Lomani Dtr Childcare Centre Ana Baranisavu Production worker Makalesi Domonakibau Provincial Womens Interest Officer, Ovalau Monica Vasi PafCo Workers Union Lusia Wakalo Ping Accounts Clerk, Pafco Employees Credit Union John Ping, Manager Pafco Employees Credit Union Adi Alisi Tinivakaca Assistant Production Manager Vasiti Komaiti Assistant QC Manager Gerald Kntoh QC Manager Leone Waqaliva HR Officer Laisa Tamani Toakula Personnel Manager Mr Epineri Uliviti Provincial Council Assistant Roko Melaia Naidu Levuka Mayor Factory workers, Shopkeepers & Villagers (undisclosed names) Kiribati (Tarawa) Anne Tokataake Peace Corps Barerei Onorio CEO, CPPL


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Komeri Onorio CEO, ASCL Mike Savins Betiraoi Boatbuilding Derek Pendle MPK Marine Products Kiribati William Sommerville MPK Marine Products Kiribati Tauai Taom Agriculture Department, Bonriki Airport Teebure Teeta AMAK Roadside fish-sellers Ioanna Katoatau, Katoatau Utimaawa, Teuee Bateriki,

Taotika Iotia, Tiaen Aabaiota, Komeri Onorio, Sila Banetito, Karuoniiti Tiare, Burenneita Temaewe, Kaitiree Katekeimoa and family

Lovia Kamanti KANGO Roko Timeon KANGO Soko Mataitoga UNICEF Libby Bedford UNICEF David Lambourne Solicitor General William S. Sommerville MD ASIL Group Ltd Maere Tekanere Chamber of Commerce Sira Redfern Betio Fisherman’s Association Ioteba Atanimakin MTC Betio Fisherman’s Wives Assoc. Ngangata, Rannabiri, Meriti, Jane. Miriam, Tabaria,

Katua, Baurine, Nei Jaake Linda Uan and David Anderson NTNK Tiare Erekana MCIC Small Business Development Ierevita Biriti MCIC SBD Ainete Taareti Retailer Papua New Guinea Timothy Numilengi NFA Ronald Kuk Executive Manager, Projects, NFA Kananam landowners Blasius Nagir, Leo Panu, John Wasau RD employees Marytherese Ikung, Rose Damon, Margaret Kubak Claire Slatter Researching RD Tuna, June 2007 RD workers names withheld Morgan Gwangilo SST Human Resources Manager Joseph and Angela Market women, Wewak (undisclosed names) Resources Staff HELP NGO Jerry Hensen Settlement Youth Organizer Br Herman Boyek Lawrence Wanyia Meni Villagers (undisclosed names) Maria Huaniangre Various Staff at Frabelle Lucy (40 years old) from Butibum Village; Jennifer (19),

Labu Village; Linda (20), Sepik; Regina (20), Markham; Upin (21), Raikos; Daisy (17), Morobe Patrol Post; Rita (20) and Rachel (25), East New Britain

Richard Coleman Principal, Papua New Guinea Maritime College Trevor Hattersley Manager, James Barnes PNG Ltd Dr Eric Kwa University of Papua New Guinea School of Law Emma Wangi NFA Legal Officer


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ANNEX 3: REFERENCES

ADB, 2006 Fiji Gender Assessment Report. Asian development Bank, Manila Arthur Andersen Corporate Finance, 1997. Review of Pacific Fishing Company, 8 October 1997 Barclay, Kate and Cartwright, Ian, 2006. Capturing Wealth from Tuna Key Issues for Pacific Island Countries. Unpublished report, Asia Pacific School of Economics and Government, Australian National University Chandra, Dharma and Lewai, Vasemaca. 2005. Women and Men of Fiji Islands: Gender Statistics and Trends. Suva: USP Populations Studies Programme. Chapman, Lindsay. 2003. Development Options and Constraints Including Training Needs and Infrastructure Requirements within the Tuna Fishing Industry and Support Services on Tarawa and Christmas Islands, Republic of Kiribati. Field Report No. 19. Noumea, New Caledonia: Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC). Demmke, Patricia Tuara. 2006. Gender issues in the Pacific Islands Tuna Industry. DEVFISH Project, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Secretariat of the Pacific Community DevFish Project, Second Year Annual Report. July 2007. Development of tuna fisheries in the Pacific ACP countries, FFA, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, Secretariat of the Pacific Community Emberson-Bain, 'Atu (ed.). 1994. Sustainable Development or Malignant Growth? Perspectives of Pacific Island Women. Suva, Fiji: Marama Publications. Emberson-Bain. ‘Atu, 1995. Women in Development: Kiribati, Manila: Asian Development Bank Fiji Islands Trade and Industry Board http://www.ftib.org.fj/uploaded_documents/Paper_industry_ profile.pdf Gillett, Robert. 2003. Domestic Tuna Industry Development in the Pacific Islands. The Current Situation and Considerations for Future Development Assistance. FFA Report 03/01. Honiara: Forum Fisheries Agency. Gillett, Robert, and Chris Lightfoot. 2001. Contribution of Fisheries to the Economies of Pacific Island Countries, Pacific Studies Series. Manila: Asian Development Bank. Gomez, B, ed. 2005. PNG's Robust Tuna Industry. In Papua New Guinea Yearbook. Port Moresby: Yong Shan Fook Government of Fiji, 2004. Fisheries Department Annual Report Government of Papua New Guinea. 2004. Revised Draft Tuna Fishery Management Plan (changes up to 26/06/2004). Port Moresby, PNG.


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Hughes, Anthony, and Odin Thaanum. 1995. Costly Connections: A Performance Appraisal of Solomon Taiyo Limited. Forum Fisheries Agency Report No. 95/54. Honiara: Investment Corporation of Solomon Islands. Hriehwazi, Yehiura, 2007. Papua New Guinea Is Top Tuna Exporter In Region, The National, 29 August 2007. ILO, 1998. Gender Issues in the world of work: Papua New Guinea, ILO South-East Asia and the Pacific Multidisciplinary Advisory Team, www.ilo.org. Kronin, Dr Mecki 2007. Monetary and non-monetary values of small-scale fisheries in Pacific Island countries. SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin #16, pp. 12-20. Kumoru, Ludwig 2005. Tuna Fisheries Report - Papua New Guinea. In 1st Meeting of the Scientific Committee WCPFC-SC1. Noumea, New Caledonia: Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Matthews, Elizabeth, ed. 1995 Fishing for Answers: Women and Fisheries in the Pacific Islands, the Women and Fisheries Network, Suva: Oceania Publishers. MacDonald B, 1998. Pacific Island stakeholder participation in development: Kiribati. World Bank, Washington DC McCoy, Mike, 2007. An Assessment of Opportunities for Increasing utilization and Value Adding from Shark Bycatch in Tuna Long-line Fisheries of FFA Member Countries, July. FFA, SPC Report. National Aids Council, 2001. HIV-related risk behaviour of the fishing industry in Papua New Guinea. Unpublished Report. Narsey, Wadan, 2006. Just Wages for Fiji: Lifting workers out of poverty. Suva: ECREA and Vanuavou Publications. Olson, Fred L. and Tim T. Kan, 1998. The Fishery resources of Papua New Guinea, In Zimmer-Tamakoshi, Laura, ed., Modern Papua New Guinea, Kirksville, MO: Thomas Jefferson University Press, pp. 133-146. Philipson, Peter W., 2007. An Assessment of the Economic Benefits of Tuna Purse Seine Fishing and Onshore Processing of Catches, DEVFISH Project, July. Rajan J, 2005. Gilt-Edged Packet or Economic Straight Jacket? A Case Study of Cannery Workers in Levuka, Fiji Islands; in: Novaczek .. et al eds., Pacific Voices: Equity and Sustainability in Pacific Island Fisheries, Institute of Pacific Studies, p.153-166. Ram-Bidesi, Vina 1995. Changes to women’s roles in fisheries development in Fiji, in Matthews, Elizabeth, ed. 1995 Fishing for Answers: Women and Fisheries in the Pacific Islands, the Women and Fisheries Network, Suva: Oceania Publishers, pp.71-90. Ram-Bidesi, V., et al, 2003. Case Study on the Impact of International Trade in Fishery Products on Food Security in Fiji. Report to the Food and Agriculture Organization. Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Sixteenth Standing Committee on Tuna and Billfish, Queensland Australia, 9-16 July 2003.


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Sasabe, Mari. 1993. A Woman's Story: Japan's Economic Involvement in the Pacific. Suva: Pacific Conference of Churches. Sullivan, Nancy, Thomas Warr, Joseph Rainbubu, Jennifer Kunoko, Francis Akauna, Moses Angasa, and Yunus Wenda. 2003. Tinpis Maror: A Social Impact Study of Proposed RD Tuna Cannery at Vidar Wharf, Madang. Madang, Papua New Guinea: Nancy Sullivan and Associates. Sullivan, Nancy, Joseph Rainbubu, Kritoe Keleba, Yunus Wenda and Chris Dominic, 2004, European Union’s Rural Coastal Fisheries Development Project Baseline Study Follow-Up RRA for Madang. EURCFDP, Madang. Tarte, Sandra. 2002. A Duty to Cooperate: Building a Regional Regime for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific. In E. M. Borgese, A. Chircop and M. L. McConnell, eds., Ocean Yearbook. Chicago: University of Chicago Press Thomas FR, 2001. Mollusc habitats and fisheries in Kiribati: an assessment from the Gilbert Islands Pacific Science 55 77-97 Thomas FR, 2002. Self-reliance in Kiribati: Contrasting Views of Agricultural and Fisheries Production. The Geographical Journal. Vol. 168 (2) 163 ff Tikai T, 1993. Fisheries development in Van Trease, H., ed Atoll Politics: the Republic of Kiribati Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies, University of Canterbury and Institute of Pacific Studies, University of the South Pacific, Christchurch and Suva 168-82 Vunisea, Aliti, 2005. HIV risks through the tuna industry. SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin #15, pp.7-8 WHO 1998 Country health information profile: Kiribati WHO, Geneva Williams, Peter, and Christopher Reid. 2005. Overview of Tuna Fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, Including Economic Conditions. Working Paper WCPFC-SC1. Noumea, New Caledonia: Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. UNICEF, 2006. Development Programming and the Well-being of the Girl Child: Report to accelerate human rights-based approach to development programming in Papua New Guinea. UNICEF Country Office, Port Moresby, NCD.


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ANNEX 4: CASE STUDIES

BOX 2: MEREONI, PAFCO EMPLOYEE & UNION MEMBER, FIJI

Mereoni has been working for PafCo for the last seven years and is a union member. She is a permanent staffer working 8-hour shifts five days per week. Her wage rate is F$2.75/hour, so she grosses F$116.00/week for 42.5 hours. Her weekly expenses include (all in F$): Union fee $5.00 Credit Union Store deduction $10.00 FNPF $9.00 LICI Insurance $6.00 MH Credit card payment $5.00 School expenses and electricity $20.00 Bus fare $10.00 Foodstuffs $30.00 Total weekly expenses $95.00 Weekly average balance $21.00 Mereoni’s expenses include school fees within the range of F$100-F$200/term; contributions to the village soli and church; and occasional medical expenses. Mereoni also has a yaqona plantation with about 160 plants for her future. In 2003, she was sponsored by PafCo for a six-week computer training course in Suva. Since then, however, she has not been able to use her skills. In her view, she sees very little opportunity to progress since she is on an hourly pay rate. Promotion to staff level, she says, is almost impossible. She starts work at 4:00am in the morning and finishes her shift at 2:00pm, often missing her transport home. When asked if Mereoni was satisfied with her work, she replied, "not really" since after all the deductions, “I am left with very little savings, sometimes money is just sufficient for the bus fare.” She also said that being a union member also did not go well with PafCo management (something echoed by other works to us). At times she has had to make partial withdrawals of her superannuation fund to pay for expenses.

BOX 3: VASITI KOMAINALOVO, PAFCO ASSISTANT QUALITY CONTROLLER, FIJI

From Levuka, she has a High School Diploma, Form 6, and secretarial skills training from Suva Vocational College. She used to work in a Pest Control office and started at PafCo in 1990. From skinning and cleaning she moved to packing and canning and, as an excellent worker, was promoted to staff level (a very rare occurrence). She began her career at the factory on F$1.64/hour, and now makes F$18,000 per year as Assistant Quality Controller (F$1,500/month). At age 42, she hopes to still rise further in the company.


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BOX 4: UNAISI KOLITAGNE, SHAREHOLDER & DIRECTOR, BLUE AND GREEN MARINE TRADING, FIJI

Unaisi Kolitagane operates two long-line vessels in partnership with a Korean national who works as a captain on one of the vessels. The vessels mostly fish in Fiji, Tuvalu and Vanuatu waters. The business has been in operation for 5 years and currently employs 29 crew-members. Unaisi single-handedly organises and facilitates the unloading of catches from her vessels. She arranges for Health, Quarantine, Fisheries and Immigration clearance and permits as soon as her vessels are scheduled to come in port. She is usually assisted by her crew to unload and take the fish to a processor such as Golden Ocean or Celtrock depending on the species caught and the target export market such as Japan or EU. Unaisi also negotiates domestic and export sales and coordinates the transportation of all fish caught by the two vessels. Much of Unaisi’s training on fish handling, administration and coordination is learnt on the job, training provided through the Fisheries Department and through her experience working as a marketing officer. Unaisi’s success is largely attributed to her ability to speak, read and write Korean language. In 1989 Unaisi went to Korea with the intention of studying theology. She spent about a year and a half in Korea where she mastered the language. While waiting to get an appointment at a Bible College, she was approached by a Korean Shipping Company (Dae-Yong Shipping) to work as an interpreter. Later, Unaisi was approached by Mr. Jun, the Director of Voko Industries22 to work for the company in the Sales and Marketing section. One of Unaisi’s other task was to continue as an interpreter for Koreans and on one occasion a Korean vessel had run aground on a nearby reef and in the process of assisting as a court interpreter, Unaisi also forged a business partnership with another Korean investor. Blue and Green Marine Trading is registered as a local company in Fiji and thus benefits from some of the concession available to local investors by the government. Unaisi is very actively involved in the business and is contemplating to increase the size of her fishing fleet. Unaisi has three children aged 9, 11 and 13 and works almost seven days a week. When asked about the business turnover, she was rather reluctant but said that she was doing very well and has no regrets or turning back. Unaisi has just recently returned from Honiara after attending an industry consultation meeting related to management issues implementing the resolutions of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

22 Voko Industries is the second major cannery in Fiji that cans imported mackerel for the local and regional market. Mr. Jun who originates from Korea is the major shareholder in Voko Industries.


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BOX 5: OTHER WOMEN SUCCESS STORIES, FIJI LONG-LINE INDUSTRY

Ana Delailomaloma, Marketing Manager at Golden Ocean Ana began as a Sales Clerk four years ago, was promoted to Local Sales Officer, trained in production and in Quality Control and then became the Marketing Officer. With additional skills training, she was promoted to International Marketing Manager two years ago. Ana has travelled to Europe and attended several meeting and expos. She’s been in the tuna industry for 11 years now. Golden Ocean has a woman in Quality Control, one in Accounts, and one in Stock Control, but as yet they have no women on the factory floor - although they hope to in the future, Ana says. Elena Veigaliyaca, Factory Manager at Tosa Bussan (Fiji) Limited Elena initially worked as a chef at a popular Japanese restaurant at Pacific Harbour where she learnt to handle Japanese cuisine. She then worked as a supervisor for seven years with a local fish processor in making tataki with frozen loins. Elena is trained in fish quality control. Elena joined Tosa Bussan in 2001 which processed tataki using skipjack tuna and exported frozen loins of big eye and yellowfin. Elena is one of the local shareholders and a director of this Japanese joint venture company. There are 99 people employed under her supervision of which 90 are males and 9 females. As a factory supervisor, Elena has to ensure that jobs are done according to schedules and the quality standards required by the importers. Cherie Soro, Operations Manager at Celtrock Holdings Ltd. Cherie completed high school and joined the family business about 10 years ago and now holds a management position. The business was founded by her father Mr. Chute. While working for the business, Cherie has undertaken training in HACCP and cutting fish organised by the Fisheries Department.

BOX 6: TUNA VENDOR, BETIO & BAIRIKI MARKETS, KIRIBATI

BT sells yellowfin and skipjack tuna (AU$1-1.20/lb), along with a coral fish (AU$1.20/lb), six days/week at Bairiki market. He sells about 120 lbs every day, and is paid AU$70-100 weekly (although this can be up to AU$150). This is equivalent to 20% of the takings. The leftover fish is frozen for sale the following day. He works for a group of 3 fishermen, not relatives, who provide fish daily and collect the takings. The shares go five ways: 3 for fishermen, 1 for the boat and 1 for the sales agent (himself). They buy ice at CPPL, pay the Town Council fee (AU$30/week for 6 days), and provide the cooler for him. Good days are Easter, Christmas and public holidays in general. Customers tend to run accounts, which is a problem. He has 9-10 running accounts at any given time. Over the past three years he’s been selling, roughly 10 people have left unpaid accounts, and he must repay these from his own 10%. He himself takes 1-2 fish daily for his family, which includes his mother, older sister and her kids. The cost of food for his family can be AU$90-100/week, but his sister also works. His own extra money (AU$20/week or so) is spent on playing cards, smokes, toiletries, etc


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BOX 7: BONEFISH VENDOR, S. TARAWA, KIRIBATI

KK and his wife specialise in selling bonefish in the village of Teaoraereke. The family can sell more than 300 fish a day from two boatfuls of catch. Every afternoon they sell the fish for AU$1 per piece – so for approximately 200 lbs of fish they get a gross income of AU$200 per boat per day. Petrol costs AU$30/day, sometimes less. They have 3 fibreglass boats costing AU$5,000 each with two 30hp outboard engine (AU$3,000 each) and one 40hp engine (AU$4,000+). They say that with larger boats they could fish farther out, for longer, and save fuel. The women in the family also sell donuts during the daytime.

BOX 8: SURF CLAM & DONUT VENDOR, S. TARAWA, KIRIBATI

TB is a surf clam collector, living with her husband, one of her four kids and her (near-blind) father. She collects surf clams twice a week for household consumption, and can gather a big bowlful each time. Her other kids ages 21 and 19 are looked after by their grandparents, a third is in boarding school, and she basically cooks for her husband and self. The school fees for the youngest child are AU$50/term, their biggest expense. She also has to pay for uniforms etc. She says it’s easy to feed her and husband, especially with a refrigerator. She also makes donuts to sell - at her father’s store (he worked in Nauru and brought home money to build a store). If they sell 10 donuts they can live on AU$1/day for food. She makes more than AU$200 in a fortnight with donuts, sometimes baking 200 a day to sell at 10 cents each, dividing the batches into two stores. From one AU$24 flour bag (25Kg) she can make 600 donuts. She’ll go through one bag in 2 days sometimes. She needs to mix with 8 lbs of sugar (at 50 cents a pound) and 1 large 250 g butter for AU$1.80. Her profit from making and selling 600 donuts is therefore only AU$30 (or 5 cents per donut). Demand outstrips supply and sometimes she’ll go through one bag in a day. For food, they go through 3 lbs of rice in 2 days (at 50c/lb). The husband catches bonefish and redfish in the lagoon also for consumption and he splits the fuel costs for the boat (which is his cousin’s) for the day’s fishing. Fuel is AU$1.10/litre and they use 7 litres for a day’s fishing. She cannot get a loan from a bank because she has no paycheque but she can borrow from her father, an unlicensed moneylender. Her husband sells toddy for AU$1.50 a bottle but sells very little - maybe 5 bottles in 2 weeks. She says one of the regular sitting mats can cost AU$100 to buy because it is time consuming to make but people always need mats for weddings and funerals. Her mother also sells cigarettes and food in an airport stall. The airport stalls can make AU$20-30 on plates of cooked food for sale for two plane landings per day, selling the plates at AU$2.50 each. Then they also sell other bits and pieces—gum, hair clips, biscuits, toilet rolls, lighters, etc


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BOX 9: NFA LICENSING OFFICER, PNG

Mrs [A], age: 40 Marital Status: Married with five children Qualification: Basic Secretarial Studies Current Position: Assistant Licensing Officer. Mrs. [A] is currently employed as Assistant Licensing Officer and is responsible to the Manager, Licensing and Information Division. She comes from Rigo District of the Central Province. She completed Grade 10 at the Yule Island High School in 1982 and was accepted into Madang Secretarial College in 1983 to do Basic Secretarial Studies. Mrs [A] started off as a Keyboard Operator (KBO1) with the Department of Primary Industry in 1984…. Mrs [A] was initially a secretary by professional but her exceptional work commitment and honesty has paid off and she now deals with key players in the fishing business. Her main tasks includes, meeting fishing industry clients, attending to their licensing queries, receiving licensing applications, registering applications and distributing licensing applications to certain senior managers of the Licensing Review Committee for comment. After the review by senior managers, she is required to prepare an agenda for the full Licensing Review Committee meeting. Her other prime task is to assist the Licensing Officer issue licenses, and liaise with the accounts section regarding license payment and applications. “My job is tough, challenging and interesting but I enjoy it. I have been performing these tasks for four years and with experience over time, it is much easier now and I am enjoying it.” Extracted from Fishing Line, Newsletter of the National Fisheries Authority, Issue No 7, Jan-Feb 2005, p2

BOX 10: RITA, WHARF WORKER, RD TUNA, PNG

Rita has been working at RD for 6 years, since she was 17. She started at the cannery and now works at the wharf. But she says that in 6 years at RD she has never had a free meal. This fortnight she only worked one week, so her payslip is for 55.95 hours @ 92 toea an hour is K52; a night premium on 32 hours @ 10% is 2.97, and 14.19 hours overtime @ 150% is K19.78. A meal allowance of K0.75/day for 7 days is K5.25, which comes to a total of K80. She has K4.36 NPF deducted, which brings her net pay to K75.64 (but her payslip shows K75.60 only). The factory pays by cheque, for security reasons, but when you want to cash the cheque at RD Tuna the company charges you K5. Otherwise you pay K2 return to take a bus to the bank in town. There are no bonuses except at the end of the year. If you have taken no sick leave or absences (everyone gets one week paid sick leave/year), RD Tuna awards you K50. Because she lives at home with her parents, she has no significant expenses, so she can spend her pay on food and other luxuries. She says the stevedoring men at the wharf have no proper gloves or coats—the two crews share coats over double shifts—and the coats are filthy, wet and sometimes infested with maggots. When the men are short handed the women are asked to help, and they wear the jackets. Everyone must take home their own uniforms to wash, and because these are shared, they never get washed. She also reports that sometimes, when unloading the fish, they see excreta on the fish in the vessels; they know that sometimes the men at sea urinate on the fish, too. The boxes are filthy too, covered with maggots, and only get washed with salt water (Editorial Note – these allegations could not be substantiated by the Study Team). RD Tuna is now proud to be performing their-own HACCP monitoring (through the NFA, newly accredited by the EU). But when inspections are due, they get warned, and the wharf is thoroughly cleaned and washed down. The women have one block of three toilets at the wharf, which are constantly broken and unhygienic. There is also no soap in the toilets to wash your hands.


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BOX 11: LUCY, FRABELLE PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT, PNG

Lucy is 40 years old, from Butibum Village, and works in the Production Department at Frabelle Ltd. She joined the company in 2006 as an unskilled labourer. She is married with four children, two of which are at school, and the family lives at the Papuan Compound in Lae. Her husband works as a security guard. There are four other people (relatives) living with them in the same house. Her gross fortnightly pay is K115.20, but after deductions she makes a net pay of K90. Her husband earns about K140 fortnightly. They both get their pay at the same time. Lucy also sells ice blocks, betelnut, and loose cigarettes at her house to earn extra cash. The family’s daily expenses are food (for her family and the four relatives) and other necessities, which is around K10-K15 per day. Monthly expenses are things like electricity and water, which is around K60 per month. The total school fee for her two children is K1, 600 (K800 each). Her family fortnightly budget is typically: Income: Lucy’s net wage K90 Husband’s wage K140 Extra income: Betelnut and cigarettes K70 Extra income: Ice blocks K60 Total Income K360 Expenses: Rent K0 School fees for 2 children (K1600/yr) K64 Food stuffs (K15/day) K210 Electric and water fortnightly K30 Total Expenses K270 Net Disposable Income K90

Gender Assessment for the Pacific Tuna Industry

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