Handling the pelagic fleet’s discharging has long been seen as man’s work, but that has been changing at the Icelandic port of Seyðisfjörður as a blue whiting landing by pelagic vessel Bjarni Ólafsson was managed by an all-female team last weekend.
In fact, one of the team, Guðlaug Vala Smáradóttir, has been part of the discharging teams for a few years. But this time landing Bjarni Ólafsson’s catch was managed by Guðlaug Vala, with Dóra Sigfúsdóttir handling the shore side of the operation and Elísa Björt Einarsdóttir running things in the fishroom on board.
Fishmeal plant manager Gunnar Sverrisson commented that he isn’t aware of women doing this kind of work elsewhere, let alone a completely female landing gang working together.
Guðlaug Vala Smáradóttir agreed that this has to be something of a milestone
‘I’ve been working with the discharging for quite a while, and it’s great to have a few more girls in the team,’ she said.
‘What’s new is that girls work in the fishroom. Elísa has done three or four landings now and likes the job. I don’t know if there are women doing this work anywhere else, but it shouldn’t be a job for the boys and more than a job for the girls. I’d encourage women to apply for discharging work. It’s only tradition that stops women doing this kind of work,’ Guðlaug Vala Smáradóttir said.
