New England maintains the highest numbers of women operated oyster farms in the country. However, aquaculture policy has not kept up with the diversity and innovation of the sector . Although women make up half the workforce in the seafood sector globally, their contributions are largely left out of management decisions. In the United States, d ata on gender are not currently collected, for example as part of the state aquaculture permitting process . To shed light on women’s participation in the industry, this research conducted a photovoice case study with four women who own and operate oyster farms in Maine and New Hampshire. Photovoice is a photography and visual storytelling methodology that is commonly used to engage and empower women while also expanding their community networks. The methodology involves a training photo documentation period including written narratives, semi-structured interviews, a focus group, and a final public exhibit. Furthermore, the p hotovoice methodology is increasingly used as a tool to address the social-ecological issues in fisheries and aquaculture
Figure 1. “Boat Problems and Triumphs” by Alicia Gaiero (Lord, 2022).
Our findings provide a baseline of data on the role of gender in oyster farming in Maine and New Hampshire to foster equal economic opportunities for working on the water and growing local, sustainable seafood. Integrating gender analysis in aquaculture development is critical to ensure equal access and opportunity for women to a viable business, a social support system, and the ability to produce food with positive impacts on ecosystem biodiversity, water quality, and a small or neutral carbon footprint. More broadly, our findings contribute to emerging research applying gender and social-ecological systems analyses to understand how gender dynamics impact barriers and opportunities for aquaculture producers in the United States.