Across the Global South, commercial development and technological innovations are transforming fish food systems in ways that significantly impact the livelihoods of small-scale producers and the food security of the poor. A crucial but understudied aspect of such transformations is the social relations in which fish food systems are embedded. Food system transformations change power relations and rework gendered economic roles and divisions of labour in ways that often marginalise women and other vulnerable groups. In this paper, we draw on feminist studies of gender and technology and feminist commodity chain analysis to investigate the impact of technological transformation on social relations in the ring seine fishery of Kerala, India. Kerala’s ring seine fishery specifically targets small pelagics like sardine, mackerel, and anchovies, which have been identified as important to the food security and nutrition of the poor. Since the mid-1980s, when the ring seine was first introduced to enable small-scale fishers to compete with mechanised trawlers, these fishing units have expanded both in terms of numbers and in size, largely as a result of locally-driven technological innovation and adaptation. Though traditional arrangements of labour deployment and wage sharing have remained, rising competition and differentiation between fishermen have ensued. At the same time, changes in processing, distribution, and trade have reworked women’s economic roles and position in the fishery, and questions about long-term profitability and sustainability have necessitated interventions in governance at various levels. Tracing the trajectory of technological innovation and changing social relations through the value chain, we assessed the gendered implications of fish food system transformations for livelihoods. We found that the increase in dimensions of the new gear increased both investments and operational costs of the fishing units rendering several of them uneconomical. Time-tested social norms have also changed as competition increased, which is much more pronounced between the smaller and larger fishing vessels. The traditional wage sharing pattern still remains ensuring income security for fishermen who cannot find work as crew on these fishing vessels. Women, however, have been most affected by the changes as they no longer are able to access the fish resource as earlier for engaging in post-harvest activities, such as marketing and fish drying.

在全球南方，商业发展和技术创新正在改变鱼类食品系统，对小规模生产者的生计和穷人的粮食安全产生重大影响。这种转变的一个关键但尚未得到充分研究的方面是鱼类食物系统所嵌入的社会关系。粮食系统转型改变了权力关系，并重塑了性别经济角色和劳动分工，而这些方式往往使妇女和其他弱势群体边缘化。在本文中，我们利用性别和技术的女权主义研究以及女权主义商品链分析来调查技术变革对印度喀拉拉邦环网渔业社会关系的影响。喀拉拉邦的环网渔业专门捕捞沙丁鱼、鲭鱼和凤尾鱼等小型中上层鱼类，这些鱼类已被认为对穷人的粮食安全和营养至关重要。自 20 世纪 80 年代中期首次引入环围网以使小规模渔民能够与机械化拖网渔船竞争以来，这些捕捞单位的数量和规模都在扩大，这在很大程度上是当地驱动的技术创新和发展的结果。适应。尽管传统的劳动力部署和工资分享安排仍然存在，但渔民之间的竞争和分化却随之加剧。与此同时，加工、分销和贸易的变化改变了妇女在渔业中的经济角色和地位，而长期盈利能力和可持续性问题则需要对各级治理进行干预。我们通过价值链追踪技术创新和社会关系变化的轨迹，评估了鱼类食品系统转型对生计的性别影响。我们发现，新渔具尺寸的增加增加了捕捞单位的投资和运营成本，使得其中一些捕捞单位变得不经济。随着竞争的加剧，经过时间考验的社会规范也发生了变化，这种情况在小型和大型渔船之间更为明显。传统的工资分享模式仍然存在，以确保无法在这些渔船上找到船员工作的渔民的收入保障。然而，妇女受到这些变化的影响最大，因为她们不再能够像以前那样获得鱼类资源来从事收获后活动，例如营销和鱼干燥。