Documentary Practice & Photojournalism: Hannah Reyes Morales
See a selection of images from Hannah Reyes Morales.
Caption
Slide 36 of 165
Cities Made of Water
May 3, 2018
In Bohol, Filipino women clean discarded nets to be sold and recycled abroad. Commonly overlooked is the vital role women play in fisherfolk communities. Contrary to popular belief, women actually do fish: although it is usually the men who go out on the boats, women fisherfolk contribute significantly to their families' sustenance and income, not just by mending nets and preparing the fish for consumption or commerce, but actively foraging for shellfish, seaweed, and other seafood along the shore at low tide, or else managing the family's shrimp or fish ponds. Furthermore, NGOs have realized that social programs including livelihood development are much more successful when they empower and target the women in these fisherfolk communities, as women usually are responsible for managing the finances and requirements of a household. The Philippines is the center of the world's marine biodiversity, but ranks third, after China and Indonesia in polluting the world's oceans with plastic trash. Ghost nets, improperly disposed fishing equipment, make up a fifth of all marine plastics, drowning millions of marine animals every year.