The Status of Abalone Cage Culture and Roles of Women to the Industry

in Wando, Jeonnam Province, Korea

Jeollanam-do Ocean and Fisheries Science Institute Wando Branch Office

27th MAY 2015.

young- j in Park

II. Roles of women in abalone culture and related industries

III. Suggestions for the empowerment of women

I. Abalone and aquatic plant production in Wando (Background)

Per Capita Seafood Consumption by Country

Korea(2010) ranked fourth in the world : 123 lb (56kg)/yr

General Statistics of Wando

• 396.13㎢(3.23% of Jeollanam-do)

• Islands : 265 (Inhabited 55, Uninhabited 210)

• Coastline : 852.97㎞(13.5% of Jeollanam-do)

• Sea area : 4,939.6㎢ (12.6 times of land)

Area

• 53,619 people (0.46% decrease compared to previous year)

Population

• 39 schools (Elementary 21, Middle 12, High 6) 4,856 students

Educational institutions

• 66 (Hospitals 1, Clinics 23, Dentists 10, Oriental Medicines 7, Pharmacies 25)

Medical institutions

• Employment: 10,618 households (16% of a total households over the country)

• Fishing boat/farming area : 10,179 (13%) / 35,342㏊ (14%)

• Fisheries product : 410,000 ton

• Average gross income per household: 75million won (69,813 USD)

Fisheries Status

Jeollanam-do

Wando

Abalone and Aquatic Plant Production in Wando (Background)

• Since the 1970s, Wando has exported various aquatic plants to Japan. • Culture techniques of aquatic plants developed through export have established abalone industry in Wando. • As a result, Wando has led the development of abalone aquaculture techniques and spread them to nationwide

Aquaculture Production of Aquatic Plants for the Past 10 years in Korea

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

laver

Laminraria sp

Undaria sp

etc

Unit : 1,000ton

Phophyra sp., Laminaria sp., and Undaria sp. accounted for 98% of total domestic aquaculture production of aquatic plants. - Phophyra sp 35.8%, Laminaria sp 33.0%, Undaria sp 28.9%

Since 2005, Laminaria sp. production for feeding Abalone have clearly increased. Other major species

- Capsosiphon fulvescens,Hizikia fusiforme,Enteromorpha sp., and Codium frgile.

World Abalone Aquaculture Production

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

90,000

100,00090,694

9,300

1,116 794 910 250 200 171 90 35 100 15 8

2010

2013

Korea: the second largest abalone production country in the world

Domestic Abalone Aquaculture Production

-

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

3,060

4,498

5,964

7,580

8,578

9,924

8,819 9,328 9,409

2,448

3,688

4,890

5,964 6,887

7,392 7,318

7,420 7,204

Nationwide Wando

Wando: 75-83% of nationwide abalone production

0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 600,000 700,000 800,000

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

180,449

307,487

358,269

437,052

505,263

557,800

655,000

731,440

764,534

171,426

245,006

291,844

415,200

480,000

472,724

542,388

539,754

600,066

Wando County Nationwide

The amount of abalone cages has increased 4.2 fold for the past 9 years.

The Quantitative Scale of Abalone’ s Culturing Cage

Main producing area in Wando

Abalone cage and

Aquatic plants facilities

Age Distribution of Fisheries Workers in Korea(2013)

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

under 30yr under 40yr unsder 50yr unsder 60yr unsder 70yr over 70yr

Nationwide Jeonnam Prov.

The ranges of age : 50~60yrs 32%, 60~70yrs 33%, over 70yrs 14% According to the national statistics, nearly 80%of the fisheries workers were more than 50 years old

II. Roles of Women in Abalone Culture

and Related Industries

Grading Young Abalone for Grow-out (Delicate and heedful tasks)

Preparation for Stocking Abalone Spats (Net preparation )

Harvesting Aquatic Plants - Husband: Crane operation - Wife: Assistance in lifting ropes and collection of aquatic plants on board.

Feeding Abalone (Allocation of aquatic plants in each cage)

? Roles of Women

Routine cage management (help net lifting and facility check)

?

Check of befouling organisms on cage nets Check the residual feed and health regularly

Roles of Women

Detaching fouling organisms on the abalone shell

Species : Oysters (on shell), barnacles (on shell), and mussels (on net)

Oysters are the most harmful organism to abalone and also take lots of time to be removed

? Roles of Women

Preparatory job arrangement for a sale Lifting/moving nets in the work station

Manual detaching with a dull kitchen knife Placing abalone on the auto-grader tray

Communal Reciprocity of Labor Force in Harvest and Sales

? Roles of Women

Hanging/mending nets Mopping-up after work

Weighing abalone before sales Assistance in loading products on a truck

Woman Engage Rate in Abalone Farms in Wando

Engaged in farming

activities 75%

Not engaged

25%

Occupation types : Self-employed 100%

Reasons for unengaged are to support children with education, temporary moving to cities, loss of ability to perform labor and/or others.

Woman Education Levels by Age

15.6

25.0

37.5

21.9

66.4

58.9

45.3 42.7

0.0

10.0

20.0

30.0

40.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

elementary school middle school high school collage graduate

Ratio(%) average age

59.4%of the surveyed women took higher education

Women’s Participation Rate in Expertise Training Programs

75

22

3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

None one time Twice

participationrate(%)

Do You Get the Gender-Based Discrimination As a Woman?

84%

13%

3%

Indiscrimination Discrimination No comment

Respondents Indiscrimination : 84% Discrimination : 13%

*The women who responded feeling discrimination was over 66 years old (The influence of Confucianism)

Average Daily Wage by Gender

78

108.4

-

20

40

60

80

100

120

female male

In the wage difference between gender, women were admitted to wage gabs because they think men have stronger and more skillful under the same conditions

* Women’s Average daily laboring hours : 6.75hr

Residence After Retirement

Most of woman respondents (90.6%) were satisfied with current living in fisheries villages.

6.3

90.6

3.1

0

20

40

60

80

100

Migration to Cities Remain at the same village Non-response

(%)

Male Assistance in House Chores

House chore share rate by gender

75%

25% female

male

84%

16%

Help

Never

The care of children, cleaning, laundry, study guidance, dishwashing, and waste disposal

III. Suggestions for the Empowerment of Women

Social infrastructures needed to improve the quality of women’s life and empowerment

The Roles of Women Strengthening Measures in Fisheries Communities

Above all, most women wanted to have; - More free time in order to join social communities’ activities. - An half or more housework sharing by their spouse - More child care facilities and pediatrics

New foundation in woman’s professional training center (Financial support of local government)

The most beneficial curriculum development for women. Round-tour training program development for remote islands. Provide local people with education opportunities including gender recognition issues at all kinds of training course.

Central and local governments should prioritize women in various Fisheries Policy Support Projects

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION