Success Stories In Asian Aquaculture - Library - Network of ...

5 Cage Fish Culture: An Alternative Livelihood Option for Communities995.9 Contribution to Gender EmpowermentCage fish culture adopted in Kulekhani has contributed to strengthen women’sempowerment. One aspect is the strengthened role of women in the decision makingprocess. Among the farmers involved in cage fish farming, 111 families areprimarily represented by women. These women actively take part in all activitiesconcerning fisheries in Kulekhani, like attending meetings, workshops, dealingwith fingerling transportation, fish stocking, boating, harvesting, and marketing.One study reported that fisherwomen usually do not consume the captured or culturedfish at home, as fish could be sold at a relatively higher price. Instead theymostly buy water buffalo meat to supplement their household demand for animalprotein supply (Gurung 2005) . This might be a strategy to save money they earnfrom fish production. In Nepal, men also help their wives; the increased male activitymight lead to an increase in the morale of the women, which is also consideredan important aspect of success (Bhujel et al. 2008) .In Nepalese society, generally all household chores are the responsibility ofwomen; however, this work was not considered as “work” (Gurung 2006) . Cagefish culture activities in Kulekhani have been successful in allowing women tomove away from other household chores and move to more day-by-day decisiondemanding activities thus contributing to their capacity enhancement in their dayby-daydecision making activities in the society.5.10 Scaling up StrategiesRegardless of the many problems described (IEA 2000 ; IRN 2003) , cage fish culturein Kulekhani Reservoir presents one of the most promising impacts with substantialincreases in the number of cages and farmer participation over the last21 years in Nepal. This cage fish culture technology has set a good example of successto provide livelihood to displaced communities during the impoundment of thereservoir. In 1988, there were only few families involved in cage fish culture. Atpresent, there are nearly 231 families dependent on cage fish culture. It is anticipatedthat among the various issues suggested (IEA 2000 ; IRN 2003) , if fish farmingcould be included into the plan of action as one of the mitigatory approaches ofdamming from the inception phase, it might help to reduce the social, environmental,resettlement, and economic conflict to substantial extent.Pradhan (1987) has emphasized that for future damming, the present experienceof social, economical, and environmental benefits should be scaled up to providefor better welfare and opportunities for utilization of resources created by impoundments.At present, Nepal is facing a critical energy shortage. Neighboring India isfacing a similar crisis. These indicate that in the near future, there will be pressureon the use of river water for hydropower dam construction in Nepal. In the nearfuture, at least two reservoir-based hydropower dams are coming up. One is