Project examines fisheries and aquaculture work through gender lens

Nilanjana Biswas’s PhD project explores the under-researched role of women in the NT’s commercial seafood sector. Using a gender lens and mixed methods, it examines historical contributions, structural barriers, and policy impacts, making it one of Australia’s first studies in this field. 

Initial findings have revealed that, despite institutional and domestic constraints, women actively contributed to the seafood industry, particularly before the 1980s, in diverse harvest, postharvest, and support roles. However, increasing commercialisation and efficiency optimisation in later years constrained women’s participation, highlighting the need for inclusive policies that support regional employment, equity, and local value retention to enhance women’s economic participation and sector sustainability. 

The project, ‘Changing times, changing tides: Women’s engagement in the Northern Territory seafood sector’, began in mid 2023 and is supervised by RIEL’s Prof Natasha Stacey and the Northern Institute’s Dr Kate Golebiowska. 

Ms Biswas notes that RIEL’s interdisciplinary and applied research environment has provided valuable access to national networks, industry partnerships, and sector-wide engagement. She highlights that the NT offers a distinctive context for her work, with its remote, regional and tropical fisheries presenting diverse challenges and opportunities, including the under-examined role of gender in seafood production processes. She also emphasises that the strong support and sense of community among RIEL staff and students have greatly enhanced her PhD journey. 

“RIEL offers scope for multidisciplinary research to understand real-world change in fisheries, with a focus on gender inclusion and strong industry and sectoral engagement,” Ms Biswas said. 

Over the course of her studies so far, Ms Biswas has been recognised through various awards, including a National Industry PhD Program Award in 2023 and a Women in Seafood Australasia bursary to attend the Seafood Directions Conference in Hobart in 2024. 

Ms Biswas anticipates submitting her thesis in late 2026 and hopes to extend her interactive, multidisciplinary engagement with the seafood sector into the future.

This story was originally published in the RIEL Annual Report 2024