Examining the challenges and opportunities of women in Newfoundland's lobster fishery in a changing climate

Despite growing interest in inclusive fisheries governance, research in this area remains gender blind and focused on institutional and interest-based stakeholders. There is a growing but still limited empirical research focused specifically on women's roles, challenges, and opportunities within fisheries around the world. Women play vital roles in global and Canadian fisheries, yet their contributions remain underrecognized in economic analysis, policy decisions, and fisheries management. This thesis examines the challenges and opportunities of women in Newfoundland's lobster fishery, focusing on Western and Southwestern Newfoundland, where rising lobster landings, due in part to climate change, present new opportunities. It examines women's roles, access and benefits, barriers and opportunities in the lobster fishery in the face of climate change. Guided by the Full-Spectrum Sustainability Framework and the Theory of Access (Parlee et al., 2021), and integrated with a gender lens, the study employs a qualitative approach combining document analysis and semi-structured interviews with harvesters, industry stakeholders, and government representatives in Lobster Fishing Areas 11 and 13B. Thematic analysis using NVivo revealed that women engage in diverse activities such as harvesting, baiting, bookkeeping, and logistics, yet remain invisible in policy and fisheries statistics. Systemic gender inequities continue to limit women's access to and benefits from these gains. Barriers such as high license costs, limited access to capital, gendered caregiving roles, and unpredictable weather conditions constrain women's participation. Women continue to access opportunities and benefits from their involvement in the lobster fishery, but entrenched gender norms and policy inattention hinder equitable benefit sharing. The study recommends the need for better access to capital, expanded parental protections, and gender-responsive licensing policy reform in fisheries governance, emphasizing that centering women's voices and roles is essential for promoting equity, resilience, and sustainability in small-scale fisheries.