The latest issue of the women-in-fisheries newsletter of the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers (ICSF), Yemaya No.61, dated August 2020, features articles and interviews from Brazil, Costa Rica, France, India, Indonesia, Mexico and Senegal. The lead article is on small-scale fisheries and food security and the issue also carries a photo essay on the practice of Aratu fishing in the mangrove forests of Brazil.

The Costa Rica article, by Maria Suarez Toro, looks at how the harsh economic impact of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic-related lockdown has spurred fisherwomen to return to their traditional sources of livelihood. Emmanuelle Yhuel -Bertin looks at the impact of the Covid-19 lockdown on small-scale fishing in Lorient, France, and how it is vividly captured in the pages of a diary maintained by a gillnetter skipper’s spouse. The article has been translated from French by Daniele Le Sann.

The article from Indonesia, by Dedi Adhuri, points out how incomes from both harvest and post-harvest activities have dried up, leaving fishers in the lurch, adding to the anxieties of women who must make arrangements to survive from one day to the next.

Inés López-Ercilla, Jorge Torre, Neyra Solano, and Francisco Fernández, in their article on Mexico, argue that, as in other countries, the experience of sheltering at home has led to increased domestic violence against women. Women in the small-scale fishing sector in Mexico are key drivers ensuring food security and community wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ria Fitriana and Maria Kurupat, in their article on Indonesia, looks at how the changing land-use patterns threatens the livelihood of female crab collectors in Merauke, Papua, Indonesia.

The article by Julie Lalluet-Geffroy,translated from French by Gildas, portraits a resolute mussel farmer, Amélie Dennebouy, who has challenged gender stereotypes to become a successful mussel entrepreneur in Pénestin, France.

Nicole Franz, in her article, provides a brief overview of relevant international legal instruments and processes on small-scale fisheries contributions to rights to food and nutrition security, with a focus on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

In Assane Deme’s interview (transcript prepared by Beatrice Gorez and translated from French to English by Gildas) with Mme Diaba Diop, general secretary of Pencum, Senegal, she points out that it is imperative that States extend all possible support to fishing communities, particularly to women and other vulnerable sections, in order to mitigate the dual challenge of growing food insecurity amidst the spread of Covid-19. There is a need for rehabilitating the processing sites, she added. Women would require field training to master new techniques.

Beatriz Mesquita,Lorena Franca and Luciecia Cristina Moraiss da Silva, in their interview with Sandra Gomes, President of the Association of Indigenous Communities of the Middle Negro River ( ACIMRN), speaks about the challenge indigenous communities are facing due to Covid-19.

Vishakha Gpta, in the Yemaya Recommends section, poins out that the film, Seguridad Alimentaria (Food Security) shows how activities such as fishing and clam gathering are experiences through which the community connects and continues to pass on their heritage.

In the Profile column, Nasser Kasozi writes about how the work of Lovin Kobusiye is an example of new entrepreneurship emerging in pan-African fisheries and aquaculture.

In the Whats New Webby? section, Manas Roshan writes about how ICSF’s new website, https://covid.icsf.net presents information on specific sectoral issues affected by Covid-19 and also disseminates new information as signs of recovery from the pandemic.

In the Milestones section, Ahana Lakshmi speaks about how the new book, "The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2020", indicates that women now have better access to decision-making positions at the local level, mainly through legislated quotas.

This issue of the Yemaya also carries the ever-popular cartoon strip, Yemaya Mama ('A fishy deal’).

The current issue can be accessed at:


https://www.icsf.net/en/yemaya/article/EN/61.html?limitstart=0