Inspiring career stories from Women in Fisheries
This month’s webinar shared inspiring career stories from women working across the UK in the fishing industry. We shared stories from the length and breadth of the country, from Cornwall to the Shetland Islands! As always, our conversations were open, and honest, and gave many of us the goosebumps as we shared personal experiences during the Q&As. Due to the personal nature of our conversations, we have edited together just the speaker presentations for you to watch on catch-up. Come and be part of our next conversation, dates are coming soon!
Watch the Women in Fisheries recent event sharing inspiring career paths across the industry.
Key challenges that we discussed
We talked about invisibility, working through menopause, imposter syndrome and juggling parenthood and work. We talked about how much we love working in the industry and with fishing communities. We agreed that we need to stop introducing ourselves by saying who we are not, rather than who we are. ‘I’m not a scientist, I’m not a fisherman…’ We agreed that we need to stop with the imposter syndrome and help one another to build confidence.
From marine biology to sustainable fisheries
Emma Plotnek kicked off our event sharing her transnational career journey across the UK, Chile and Canada. After graduating from Newcastle University with a degree in Marine Biology, she followed her sense of adventure to Chile. From there she immersed herself in fishing communities, completed a Master’s Degree and had a baby. All of this experience helped to shape the person she is today as Executive Director at Fishing Into the Future. Emma talks about the importance of authentic work personas, and how she juggles the mum/work/life balance by taking her son to meet the fisherman at the heart of her work.
From chess to fishing for exquisite mackerel
Next, we heard from female fisherman and food blogger Elizabeth Atia. Her fishing journey in the Shetlands all started with a game of chess. Now she’s a member of the crew fishing for seafood from cod and crab to mackerel and lobsters. She got her sea legs by volunteering with the RNLI and is a mum of three. She shares some of the challenges of being a female fishing, but mostly talks about the highlights with a huge smile on her face!
“Mackerel fishing is just exquisite, it ticks all the boxes for amazing! It’s a proper day's work, and even if the sea is slapping you in the face you just get on with it. I wish I could have tried it 30 years ago!”
Career building by going with the flow
Our third and final speaker Kara Brydson remarked how all of our speakers' careers have succeeded by going with the flow rather than having a definite plan. This was something to highlight to young people just starting on their career journey - don’t panic if you don’t know what interests you and take every opportunity out there. Kara's career started in conflict areas from Afghanistan to Kosovo. Having no plan led her to work for the International Fund for Animal Welfare, working with communities around the world to find alternatives to whaling and sealing. Kara then entered the fishing sector after working for RSPB Scotland for over a decade. She highlights the incredible opportunities for people working in NGOs moving across into the fishing sector. Now Executive Director at Fisheries Innovation & Sustainability (FIS), Kara talked about the importance of asking questions and finding opportunities for training and travel bursaries.
“Working in fisheries ticks every box. It’s people, food and nutrition, complicated politics, international relations, social ethics and animal welfare. So whatever floats your boat you can help to make a difference in the sector. It’s folk all working together for sustainable and prosperous coastal communities.”
That’s a wrap
Hannah Fennell, Head of Orkney Fisheries Association and Co-Director of Women in Fisheries concluded the event by saying: “The industry is lucky to have people like us helping the seafood sector to be more resilient, sustainable and prosperous. I’m so glad this network exists and today’s speakers have been so inspiring. We are lucky to have you share your stories.”