Reflections from the “I Exist Too” Forum 2025
Supported by COST Action “Blue Rights”
By
Prof. Dr. Maja Savić-Bojanić, Sarajevo School of Science and Technology
Having finished my ethnographic fieldwork across six Adriatic Sea port-towns in Croatia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, I was trying to make sense of my own research findings and learn more about a topic that accidently carved its way into my data. Focusing on female labor migrants in the fishing industry, I noticed that the women I talked with were very much focused on their rights, status and treatment, but not fully aware of what this means in a wider perspective of policy implementation, and especially not in the framework of equality and inclusion. Afterall, fisheries have been one of the most traditional and male-dominated industries for centuries and it did not surprise me that this emerging focus within broader sustainability and governance frameworks was just emerging.
As I was nearing the end of my ethnographic fieldwork, I learned of the opportunity to present my initial findings at the “I Exist Too” Forum in Malta. As a member of the COST Action “Blue Rights”, I was able to receive full funding for the forum attendance. The ideas of inclusion and equity in the fishing sector came as a useful avenue to bridge my research with a wider audience, especially from the policy sector. On the morning of May 8th, 2025, during the “I Exist Too” Forum in Malta, I had the chance to participate in a significant yet under-discussed panel: “Casting a Wider Net: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Fishing Sector.” This session was not just innovative but essential. It highlighted the substantial gaps in our understanding and policies regarding human rights in one of the most traditional and male-dominated industries: fisheries.
From the start, the panel aimed to challenge the silence surrounding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in sectors often left out of DEI discussions. While gender awareness, intersectionality, and queer inclusion are now part of many institutional frameworks, these efforts have often overlooked fishing. In this sector, strict traditional roles and informal systems still shape labor relations and hierarchies of visibility.
What became clear during our session was that the lack of DEI frameworks in the fishing sector is not a coincidence. It reveals a deeper structural issue: the sidelining of small-scale and artisanal fisheries in both academic research and governance frameworks. Additionally, there is a global lack of labor protections for fishers compared to seafarers. As my co-panelist Professor Anna Petrig pointed out, the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) has been widely adopted and provides strong protections for seafarers, while the 2007 Work in Fishing Convention (WFC) has only been ratified by 22 countries. This legal imbalance highlights a broader political disinterest in addressing human rights in the fishing industry.
In this context, our panel discussed three main goals: identifying barriers and opportunities for implementing DEI, sharing best practices, and assessing the roles of law, governance, and civil society in promoting inclusion. Moderated by Professor Petrig, the discussion featured Sonia Daponte from the FAO, Hannah Fennell from the Orkney Fisheries Association, Deborah Layde from The Seafarers’ Charity, Becca Williams from Seafood and Gender Equality (SAGE), and myself.
In my contribution, I focused on my upcoming paper, “Unseen and Unheard: Female Labour Migrants in the Adriatic Fishing Industry.” This work looks at how DEI principles relate to fisheries governance in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Montenegro. My research shows that while explicit DEI frameworks are mostly missing, community-based practices and informal inclusion methods exist, especially in small-scale fisheries. However, these methods lack institutional support, making the inclusion of women notably labor migrants vulnerable to setbacks and erasure.
More specifically, the paper that I am developing examines how the concept of “visibility” in fisheries governance has evolved and why a genuine understanding of sustainability in the Adriatic fishing industry cannot be achieved without considering the often-overlooked labor of women—particularly female labor migrants. I argue that perceptions of equity and inclusion in fisheries are embedded withing discourses of sustainability, but also simultaneously undermined by a lingering statis and masculine leaning. To support this viewpoint, the theoretical part of my work distinguishes between economic sustainability and social sustainability in the fisheries sector and raises the question: Sustainable for whom? For the industry, the state, or the women who labor in it.
Having established this conceptual framework, my presentation focused on three distinct research questions:
- Does acknowledging and supporting women’s contributions in fisheries strengthen or complicate the sustainability of the sector?
- How can female migrant workers remain included and supported within the Adriatic fishing economy without being forced into precarity or invisibility?
- What role do regional legal frameworks and national policies play in shaping the sustainability of women’s labor in fisheries?
In finding answers to these questions, I interviewed twenty-three labor migrant women working along the shores of three Adriatic Sea exiting countries. My interviewees work in the canneries or on fishing boats as traders. The reason that these women’s involvement is important is that their labor is both vital, yet it is not properly recognized. Their efforts do not materialize through large-scale programs or strong institutional support; they occur at the industry’s margins, and formal protection is limited. More broadly, these women discuss how female entry into more regulated and politically sensitive areas of the fishing economy—mostly licensed marine fishing or public sector aquaculture—remains impeded by cultural taboos, patriarchal norms, and weak enforcement of labor rights. This creates an uneven situation where inclusion is a double-edge sword. It reveals how it is both a condition, but also a barrier to sustainability, depending on the sectoral context.
The message that I conveyed was that sustainability in the Adriatic fishing industry is more than just an ecological or economic issue. It is closely connected to EDI. By looking at the roles of women—often overlooked yet vital—I discussed how sustainability involves negotiations not just across countries, but also across gender and job types. Ultimately, the sustainability of Adriatic fisheries will rest on whether the system can include these invisible workers into its governance structures, legal systems, and daily practices in ways that are fair, participatory, and resilient.
Insights from my fellow panelists further complicated and enriched this discussion. Sonia Daponte presented FAO’s strategic vision, “Blue Transformation,” which aims to incorporate DEI into aquatic food systems through a rights-based and sustainability-focused approach. She provided updates on the upcoming FAO Guidance on Social Responsibility, a document that will give non-binding but practical advice to stakeholders across fisheries value chains. Importantly, this guidance explicitly addresses gender equity, non-discrimination, and justice for marginalized groups, including LGBTIQ+ individuals.
Hannah Fennell offered valuable insights from artisanal fisheries in Scotland. She highlighted that fleet segmentation is important: industrial and corporate fishing operations often have the resources and legal obligations to address DEI, while small-scale fishers, who make up the majority in the sector, lack formal institutional mechanisms. In this gap, local customs, masculine work cultures, and economic uncertainty prevail. DEI, when introduced, is often seen as irrelevant or as an imposition from outside actors.
This disconnect became even clearer through Deborah Layde’s reflections. Leading The Seafarers’ Charity’s efforts to promote DEI, she has produced a “Coming Out Toolkit” for LGBTQ+ maritime workers. Her comments on the slow acceptance of LGBTQ+ inclusion in fishing reflected trends seen in other industries, where progress requires a mix of internal leadership, external advocacy, and ongoing funding. However, unlike other sectors, fishing often lacks the visibility or public support needed to create such momentum.
Becca Williams from SAGE discussed promising initiatives designed to prioritize gender-queer and nonbinary voices in the seafood industry. This includes the development of a Gender Equity Index and creating global networking spaces like “WAVES” and “BLOOM.” These efforts show that change is possible, but they also highlight the fragmented nature of advocacy in the sector: many initiatives remain disconnected, underfunded, or overly reliant on a handful of committed individuals and NGOs.
What stood out to me during the panel was how local cultural contexts affect the feasibility and extent of DEI efforts. In the Western Balkans, where I mainly conduct my research, small-scale fisheries are strongholds of traditionalism. Family-owned businesses often reinforce strict gender roles, and public discussions on LGBTIQ+ rights can be tense or even hostile. Even in Croatia, where EU-mandated anti-discrimination policies exist, implementation is often weak. In Bosnia and Montenegro, fisheries are both socially overlooked and politically neglected. This double invisibility—sectoral and social—makes any efforts toward inclusivity depend on community dynamics and individual courage.
A recurring theme in the session was the need to move beyond token gestures toward real systemic change. This includes: (1) integrating human rights due diligence into fisheries governance, (2) creating funding sources to support local DEI advocates, (3) developing gender- and identity-specific data on labor in fisheries, and (4) linking environmental sustainability directly to social justice. Without such commitments, the language of inclusion risks becoming mere lip service.
Ultimately, the session called for action, both in academia and politics. It encouraged us to reconsider who is seen, heard, and valued in conversations about labor, rights, and sustainability. The fishing sector may seem distant from DEI discussions, but those who work in it are integral to our shared humanity. “I Exist Too” was more than just the title of the forum—it was a collective statement, a declaration of presence, and a plea for justice.
