The Alaska Fisheries Science Center is hosting another workshop to discuss the interactions of fishing families and changing regulation environments, and socioeconomic conditions in Alaska’s fisheries and fishing communities.

Following one that took place in January in Sitka, this one takes place in Anchorage on May 7 at the Hilton Hotel on 3rd Avenue.

The workshops are meant to be a scoping meeting for an area of research that will look at fisheries management impacts on fishing families, and participants are critical to informing managers about issues are most important.

The perspectives on fishing family dynamics that emerge will inform the next stage of research.

All participants in Alaska’s fisheries with experience or knowledge of fishing family dynamics are welcome.

The workshop is short, only two hours, and the focus involves family division of labor, impacts of management, environment, economic and social condition on those roles, and the future of fishing families and women in Alaska’s fisheries.

According to the press release, research from around the world indicates that there is often a gender-based division of labor, with women primarily engaged in onshore activities while men are the primary harvesters.

At the workshop there will be a discussion of the family roles and responsibilities in Alaska’s fisheries.

The center says that over recent decades there have been changes in Alaska’s regulatory environment, as well as social, economic and environmental changes.

“For example,” the release states, “anecdotally we’ve heard that catch share programs created safer fishing conditions allowing families to bring children onboard vessels, but the prolongation of the season under these programs created a conflict with maternal responsibilities for women who participated as crewmembers.”

Broader socioeconomic shifts can also create new opportunities for participation in fisheries or other types of employment for some family members, affecting families’ choices about the continuation of family fishing businesses.

“This part of the workshop will be an opportunity for participants to share their experiences about the impacts of these changes on fishing family dynamics,” the release states.

The final part of the workshop will focus on the future of fishing families and women in Alaska’s fisheries, according to the release.

“From new products and marketing innovations to strategic intergenerational networks and regulatory frameworks, in this final segment we will discuss how fishing families and the roles of women in Alaska’s fisheries may evolve,” it states.

The workshop runs from 5:15 to 7:15 p.m. Interested parties can contact marysia.szymkowiak@noaa.gov.

Cristy Fry can be reached at realist468@gmail.com.