VOA慢速英语--越来越多的女性参与到渔业工作中

 

Fishing has long been an occupation where most workers are men.

Yet a recent study found that women are responsible for a “substantial” part of the world’s fishing industry. The study suggests that their work in fisheries is changing.

Women have jobs processing and marketing¹ seafood². They also collect clams³ and other shellfish.

No women on fishing boat crews

Sara Skamser has worked in and around commercial fishing for much of her adult life.

When she was in her early twenties, Skamser started earning money by fishing and crabbing⁴ along the coast of Oregon. Eventually, she wanted to work on bigger fishing boats to earn more money. But the operators of those boats never offered her a job.

She said they would all tell her “no”, and say things like, ‘I know you could do the job, and you're probably stronger than me. But I don't think my wife would like it.’ Others would say, ‘I would feel terrible if you got hurt on my boat.’

Skamser said she received rejections⁵ like these in the early 1980s.

Today, women hold fewer than four percent of the commercial fishery permits approved by state governments in the northwestern United States.

Gender⁶ inequality is also an issue in other countries. In Mexico, Peru, Senegal and Vietnam, four percent or fewer of the workers on fishing boats are women.

Changes on land

However, new research suggests that things are beginning to change.

Skamser was one of many women who took part in a study on the influence of women in the northwestern U.S. commercial fishing industry.

Oregon State University's Flaxen Conway and Sarah Calhoun, a graduate student, looked at the findings. So did Suzanne Russell, a researcher with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁷ Administration. They wrote a report, which will appear next month in the journal Marine⁸ Policy.

Conway, a sociologist⁹, says they found women are playing a larger part in the fishing industry, but off the boat.

"If you look at the scientists, you look at the processing, you look at the marketing... Once you broaden that out to fisheries in general, then I would absolutely say there are more women in science positions and management positions than there have been… in my 27 year long career."

Suzanne Russell added, "We're seeing an increase on the business side more so than ever before.” She noted¹⁰ that new rules on the industry have created a greater need for jobs in the business and administrative¹¹ side of the industry. This creates more employment possibilities for women, who have often worked in this part of fishing.

An international look

In another study, a separate research team looked at women and their influence on the fishing industry in Mexico, Peru, Senegal, South Africa and Vietnam. Sarah Harper of the University of British Columbia led that study. The findings were published in the journal Coastal¹² Management.

Harper spoke¹³ to VOA on Skype.

"In terms of going out on fishing boats, I think it is still predominantly male-dominated. But certainly when we look at some of the small scale fisheries, the collection of shellfish and fish from shore, women are much more involved and definitely underestimated and undercounted in this area."

Harper says studies often ignore subsistence fishing by women wanting to feed their families. This makes it harder for government officials to measure the pressures on seafood resources or how to sustainably manage a fishery.

"When you're looking at managing fisheries and potentially trying to rebuild fisheries and implement¹⁴ conservation measures, you really need to know who is fishing and where. If there are fisheries that only men are focused on in certain regions and we're only focused on those, we're not getting the whole picture."

Hooking new opportunities

Sara Skamser is still involved in the industry, but not on a boat. She serves on several local advisory¹⁵ groups, and even started a fishing equipment company with her husband in Oregon. She said she sometimes does business with the fishermen who didn't offer a job many years ago.

"… I invoice¹⁶ those people now and occasionally there's a large invoice. I just look at 'em. I give them the look. Like, 'Uh, huh. Probably should've hired me. You would've gotten that for free,'" Skamser says.

Online support

The Internet has a number of online groups for women in fishing. One on Facebook, called "Chix Who Fish," celebrates victories such as getting manufacturers of fishing equipment to make products designed for women's bodies.

Flaxen Conway says American women in fishing have no need for gender-neutral names. "They don't want to be called a woman fisherman,” she adds. “They just want to be called a fisherman."

Words in This Story

commercial – adj. related to or used in the buying and selling of goods and services?

conservation – n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources?

crabbing – v. to catch or try to catch crabs¹⁷?

dominate – v. to have control of or power over someone or something)

gender – n. the state of being male or female?

management – n. the act or skill of controlling and making decisions about a business, department, sports team, etc.?

predominantly – adj. more important, powerful, successful, or noticeable than other people or things?

sustainable – adj. able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed?

subsistence – n. the amount of food, money, etc., that is needed to stay alive?

1 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

2 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

3 clams   

n.蛤；蚌，蛤( clam的名词复数 )v.（在沙滩上）挖蛤( clam的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The restaurant's specialities are fried clams. 这个餐厅的特色菜是炸蚌。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We dug clams in the flats et low tide. 退潮时我们在浅滩挖蛤蜊。 来自辞典例句

4 crabbing   

v.捕蟹( crab的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• We ought not to begin by crabbing everything. 我们不应当一开始就对一切事情采取吹毛求疵的态度。 来自辞典例句
• The boss is always crabbing about my work. 老板对我的工作总是横挑鼻子竖挑眼。 来自辞典例句

5 rejections   

拒绝( rejection的名词复数 )； 摒弃； 剔除物； 排斥

参考例句：

• Most writers endure a number of rejections before being published. 大部分作家经历无数次的退稿才守得云开，作品得到发表。
• Supervise workers and monitors production quality to minimize rejections. 管理工人，监控生产质量，减少退货。

6 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

7 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

8 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

9 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

12 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

13 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

15 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

16 invoice   

vt.开发票；n.发票，装货清单

参考例句：

• The seller has to issue a tax invoice.销售者必须开具税务发票。
• We will then send you an invoice for the total course fees.然后我们会把全部课程费用的发票寄给你。

17 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》