The Unpronounced Support: Wives' Engagement in Sustaining Fishers' Households Enterprises in the Fishery Challenging Space in Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania.

The article focuses on the critical yet undervalued contributions of fishermen's wives to household fishing enterprises in Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania, especially amid fishery crises marked by declining stocks and restrictive government policies. Based on a 2021 cross-sectional study involving 221 fishing-dependent households, it reveals that wives play diverse roles—from direct fishing activities and financial management to support and domestic services—that are essential for sustaining family livelihoods. The study challenges prevailing gender stereotypes that marginalize women's roles in fisheries, emphasizing that women's involvement is pivotal to household economic survival but remains largely unrecognized in policy and mainstream discourse. It advocates for inclusive approaches to fishery governance and poverty reduction that acknowledge and integrate the contributions of all household members regardless of gender.