WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEPTEMBER 2025 71 (CONTINUED ON PAGE 73) Let’s take a closer look at why. Policies with Promise — But Are They Reaching Us? When I started learning about India’s flagship fisheries initiatives — such as the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), a nationwide scheme promoting sustainable aquaculture through financial support and infrastructure development — I felt genuinely hopeful. These are ambitious, forward-thinking efforts to modernize the aquaculture sector, create jobs, and improve rural livelihoods. Even more encouraging is the fact that PMMSY does include special provisions for women, like up to 60% financial assistance under various activities, and support for training and capacity building. But as I’ve begun to understand the field more closely, another question lingers in my mind: If the policies are inclusive, why do so few women make it to the pond? The challenge is that many women especially in rural areas struggle to access these opportunities (Dharamshi et al., 2023). Some don’t have land or collateral in their name, which limits their eligibility for credit and leasing opportunities. Others aren’t fully aware of the schemes or don’t have the institutional support needed to apply. India’s aquaculture boom — but where are the women? Over half of fisheries science students are women (FAO, 2024). But beyond the classroom, the numbers drop sharply when it comes to owning farms. In Maharashtra, a western coastal state of India known for its intensive shrimp farming — only 6% of registered shrimp farms are owned by women. This might be because, no land in our names means no access to loans or schemes. Mobility and safety concerns restrict field engagement. And persistent social norms “You don’t go into aquaculture for money. You do it because you love it.” I read that somewhere and now, even as a first-semester fisheries student, I get it. During field visits, I’ve seen shrimp farmers lose entire crops overnight yet return to their ponds at dawn, undeterred. This contradiction grips me. Shrimp farming is anything but easy: disease outbreaks, water quality dynamics, and shrinking profit margins are all part of the story. And still, farmers persist, fighting uncertainty with science and persistence. Because they believe in what they do. That belief has reached me too. I’ve started imagining myself managing a farm of my own someday. But just as the thought arrives, so does a quiet voice: “Will I be allowed to go this far?” That sentence came like muscle memory. But it held generations of unspoken fear. And I can’t help but ask: Why can’t I farm fish? Why is it that a woman can orbit the Earth, serve in the army, or launch satellites into space — but not manage a shrimp pond in her own country? This isn’t just my question. It’s one faced by hundreds of women studying fisheries, working in hatcheries, processing fish, or dreaming of running their own aquaculture business. We’re in the classrooms, topping exams, getting trained but when it comes to stepping into the field, something always pulls us back. Trained but turned away? The truth is, the barriers I face aren’t biological — they’re built. They’re built in policies that overlook women. In bylaws that require land we don’t own. They’re built in conversations where my curiosity is praised but my ambition is politely redirected. And it’s not just me. Across India, women are being trained in fisheries science but told that their place is in labs not at the pond’s edge. Why Can’t She Farm Fish? Priya Babu, Naveen Nivas S, Dinesh Kaippilly and Geeji MT FIGURE 1. Ms. Valerie Chidakwa, operates advanced Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) at Nofima, Sunndalsora. FIGURE 2. Ms. Chetana at work in an intensive shrimp farm.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjExNDY=