Every Wave Has Her Name: Celebrating India’s Fisherwomen On International Fisherwomen’s Day

Every tide, wave, and catch has a name. However, that name is often omitted. Today, on International Fisherwomen’s Day (observed for the first time globally on 5 November 2025), we turn the spotlight on the women of the waters—the fishers, traders, processors, and community leaders—whose labor sustains coastlines, rivers, and our plates.

This day was adopted by the World Forum of Fisher Peoples (WFFP) at its 8th General Assembly in November 2024, in Brazil.

In India, where around 12.4 million fisherwomen comprise about 44 percent of the country’s total fish-worker population (marine and inland combined), the moment to recognize, rename, and reform is long overdue. Here’s why this day matters, what the women themselves are demanding, and how India’s colors and currents are evolving.

Why 5 November 2025 and Why Now?

The idea of an International Fisherwomen’s Day emerged with the rallying of fisherwomen in India, including through the landmark Indian Fisherwomen’s Assembly 2024 in Kerala, and their call for recognition, rights, and representation.

From 1–4 November, the WFFP ran a 5-day campaign under the banner “Every Wave Carries Her Labor, Every Shore Her Claim,” leading up to 5 November as the global celebration.

This date marks a turning of the tide: not merely one more ‘day’ to mark, but a platform to address the structural invisibility, economic marginalization, and gendered erasure of women in fisheries.

The Hidden Backbone: What Fisherwomen Do

In many fishing communities, the image of the “fisherman” remains unchallenged; yet, behind that image stand women doing vital work. In India:

They gather bait, mend nets, and organize supplies before the boat even leaves.

They process catch, dry fish, prepare value-added fish foods, and sell in markets; they manage family livelihoods when men are at sea or away.

In the marine fisheries census and labor surveys, women are often categorized as “helpers” or “dependents” rather than fishers.

Despite their contributions, men often dominate policy, market access, and value chains. Despite their contributions, men often dominate policy, market access, and value chains. The result? Women’s labor is undervalued, their risks uncompensated, and their voices unheard.

Barriers and Blind Spots

Some of the key issues confronting fisherwomen in India and globally:

Recognition in law and policy: Many schemes implicitly identify “fishers” as men, excluding women from rights, quotas, first sale, insurance, and disaster compensation.

Access to markets and value chains: Women are less likely to control marketing, to access digital tools or credit, or to set up processing units. The shift to online sales during the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted this gap in many coastal markets.

Occupational risks & infrastructure gaps: Poor lighting, waiting areas, toilets, and drinking water at harbors and markets; heat stress; post-harvest health risks; and mobility issues during ban/hurricane periods.

Ecosystem, displacement & enclosure: Industrial fishing, aquaculture, coastal development, and climate change all impact small-scale fisheries; women bear the brunt as their livelihoods become more precarious.

In short, the “sea” may be common, but access to rights, resources, and recognition is not.

Voices from the Coast

In India, some inspiring examples:

In Mumbai’s Khar Danda, fisherwoman Vaishali Gajanand Balasathi wakes at 3:30 am, catches the bus to the wholesale market, jostles among vendors, then runs digital outreach via WhatsApp for her catch, delivery, and sales.

Women's collectives, established in Kerala and Tamil Nadu during the 1980s and 1990s, have begun to challenge gendered exclusion by advocating for access to public transportation, market rights, and cooperative membership.

These stories portray women not as passive victims but as active agents of change—shaping their livelihoods, demanding respect, and creating new models.

What Does the Day Call For?

On this International Fisherwomen’s Day, the agenda is clear. Fisherwomen are asking for:

Legal recognition of their role as fishers, not just “helpers.”

Access to first-sale markets, value-added units, digital tools, and fair prices.

Inclusion in governance: fisheries boards, cooperatives, and committees.

Protection from displacement, environmental harm, loss of commons, and precarity linked to climate or development shock is crucial.

Infrastructure: safe work and waiting spaces, access to credit, insurance, and health services.

A cultural shift: from being an invisible labor force to owning identity, voice, and rights.

As one recent commentary reflected:

“This day is not about being seen but about reclaiming what was always theirs.”

Why It Matters for India

India’s fisheries sector is a significant source of livelihood. Recognizing fisherwomen translates to better outcomes for food security, community resilience, and coastal ecology.

Gender inclusion strengthens sustainability. When women are empowered in fisheries, communities often adopt more sustainable practices—because they live with the rhythms of the sea and the shore.

In a nation advancing the “blue economy,” small-scale fisheries, inland waters, and women’s participation must be anchored in policy, or else they risk being displaced by industrialization and enclosure.

How You Can Support & Celebrate

Share stories of local fisherwomen’s initiatives and cooperatives in your region.

Support value-added fish products made by women’s groups (fish drying units, fish burgers, and processed seafood).

Encourage markets or retail outlets to prioritize women-led supply chains.

Advocate for policy reforms, including more inclusive registration, credit, infrastructure, and insurance for women fishers.

On 5 November, use hashtags such as #FisherWomenUnite, #InternationalFisherWomensDay, and #WomenOfTheWaves to amplify their voices across social channels.

Looking Ahead: From Recognition to Transformation

Recognition is only the first step. The more profound change means reimagining fishing not merely as men going to sea, but as an inclusive livelihood system built on equity, culture, and sustainability. It means the tables turn: women are at the center, not the margin. The ocean changes its meaning from “resource to exploit” to “community to care.”

Across India’s coasts and inland waters, fisherwomen are beginning to chart that course. They are mobilizing unions, forming producer companies, resisting exclusion, and building futures where their labor is valued, their rights respected, and their voices heard. On this day and beyond, our collective commitment matters.

In Conclusion

On 5 November 2025, when we mark International Fisherwomen’s Day, let us remember that every wave carries a woman’s labor; every shore bears her claim. Their nets, baskets, iceboxes, WhatsApp groups, and market stalls—they are the threads that sew communities, livelihoods, and nature together.

Let us honor not just their toil, but their rights—their rightful place in policy, market, culture, and the sea. Because when women of the waters rise, the waters themselves rise with dignity, sustainability, and justice.

Here’s to the fisherwomen of India and the world. May the tide rise with you.

(Note: Dr (Prof) Sadhana Kala is a USA-trained robotic & laparoscopic surgeon, Uppsala University, Sweden, trained fertility specialist, Icon Endoscopic Surgeon of North India, and National Icon Endoscopic Surgeon of India. She is rated as India's Best Gynecologist by Google.)

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the personal opinions of the author.)