Around three twenty in the afternoon, Manara Olivera said goodbye to her daughter through a video call. He will not be able to be with her, in the same place, for the next 30 days. With her right hand, the woman placed her cell phone in such a way that the front camera of the device showed her the Port of Montevideo to your daughter.
Olivera is one of the seven women who officially make up the first mixed crew of a Uruguayan fishing boat, together with Andrea Pedreira, Lucía Fernández, Beatriz Sayavedra, Paola Olivera, Alicia Torres and Sofía Graña. Until now, only one or two women have left on these boats, in exceptional cases. In total, there are 31 people who will work on the boat to extract hake and squid.
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The seven women that make up the first mixed crew
Just a few minutes later, the Big Hermine set sail and entered the waters. This fishing boat was brought from the town of Saint Malo, near Normandy, in France, two years ago, in the midst of a pandemic. During that time it was conditioned by Uruguayan labor especially for the type of work that is done in national waters, and to be able to navigate with a mixed crew.
Around 40 people worked inside the Grande Hermine to remodel it. “I am happy, it is a goal achieved for which we work hard,” she told Coffee & Business Gino Settin, director of CIUPSA, the company in charge of reconditioning the ship. “Six freezing tunnels, two plate cabinets, a complete refrigeration installation were installed, in addition to the general conditioning of the crew’s amenities and fishing gear,” added Settin.
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Manara Olivera says goodbye to her daughter by video call before setting sail
The ship, which has 61 meters long and 15 widehas a capacity of 450 ton hold. The role of women is to carry out tasks related to the process of molding and packing the fish that is frozen on the ship itself.
Both the director of the National Institute for Women (Inmujeres), Monica Botterosuch as the Minister of Labor and Social Security (MTSS), Paul Mieres They celebrated the event.
the minister @Pablo_Mieres Together with other national authorities, he participated this afternoon in the presentation of the national fishing vessel “Grande Hermine”, which was specially conditioned to have a mixed crew of men and women on board. The minister highlighted:
thread? pic.twitter.com/r77WP4ytou– MTSS (@MTSSuy) January 26, 2023
The fact that there is a fishing boat that has a mixed crew means that “we continue to narrow the gaps in inequality, in access to employment opportunities. This is important in activities like this, which are so masculinizedBottero said.
“Traditionally, women have worked in the fishing industry on land, but not by boat. This experience implies, in addition to various challenges —such as spending a month at sea—, a higher pay”, developed the hierarch.
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Women of the crew talk with Mónica Bottero, director of InMujeres
For his part, Mieres indicated that this fact configures “an initiation experience”. And he continued: “It is a positive sign that speaks of the possibilities of inclusion that exist in all work activities.”
