Flemish Fishermen’s Wives: Their Lives and Roles in Fisheries

Abstract

This chapter is written by Katrien Vervaele, a local historian, writer and freelance reporter from the coastal town of Oostende, Belgium. She has written a previous book called Fisher Wives: 26 Lives One Story (2009). This book documents the life stories of wives and partners of 26 fishermen in the coastal fishing towns and villages along the short 75 km of Belgium coastline. The ‘stories’ told in this chapter are in debt to many of these women (Although the fisherwives agreed that their story was recorded, the names appearing in this article are mostly fictitious given the confidential nature of the information), some of whom have been re-interviewed by Katrien when she was preparing this paper. The accounts explore the views and perceptions of women living and working in Belgium fishing towns and villages and we have a rare opportunity to listen to their voices. These women, like their counterparts in other parts of Europe, and indeed in other parts of the world, have been extensively involved in various aspects of fisheries in Belgium. Their roles are vital in maintaining and sustaining the fishing industry and the fishing community, although their importance and their contributions are often unrecognised or under-recognised. Little academic literature is available on women in Belgium fisheries. The study presented here provides a unique chance for us to encounter these women, and share in their activities, experiences, feelings and emotions as they live and work in the fishing communities.