Empowering Women in Fisheries: Lessons from Chile’s Seaweed Sector
Along the misty shores of Chiloé, an island in southern Chile, generations have sustained themselves through small-scale fishing and farming. Today, many residents are turning to an abundant natural resource found just off their coasts: red seaweed.
As of 2024, Chile is home to more than 105,000 artisanal fishers, with women making up 26% of this workforce. Among them are algueras—women who harvest seaweed along the country’s coastline.
Women are active participants in Chile’s small-scale fisheries and play a central role in shore-based seaweed and shellfish harvesting and farming. Their work supports the livelihoods of coastal communities and provides additional income for women, strengthening both household stability and community economies.
What is Red Seaweed and Why Women in the Seaweed Sector Matter
Red seaweed is a type of marine algae found in coastal waters and gets its reddish color from a pigment called phycoerythrin, which allows it to absorb blue light and thrive in deeper waters than many green or brown algae.
Women play an essential role in this sector, harvesting, sorting, and drying the seaweed. In some cases, they also lead community organizations that manage seaweed resources. Their participation generates essential household income, sustains local economies, and supports the transfer of traditional ecological knowledge. Strengthening women’s leadership and economic opportunities in the seaweed value chain can help improve community resilience, promote sustainable harvesting practices, and ensure that the benefits of this natural resource reach more families.
Used globally in cosmetics, food, pharmaceuticals, and increasingly in agriculture, red seaweed is a high-demand commodity with the potential to drive economic growth in some of Chile’s most remote communities. Chile is the world’s sixth-largest producer of seaweed overall—and the largest when considering only wild-harvested seaweed—producing roughly 400,000 tons annually. While the majority of this production is brown kelp species, red seaweed plays an especially important role for coastal communities. Ninety-seven percent of Chile’s seaweed is harvested from natural coastal beds, compared with a global industry where 97% is cultivated and only 3% is wild.
Despite high volumes of commercialized seaweed, this sector in Chile is predominantly artisanal. Each year, especially during the peak harvest period, which runs from January to March, coastal residents collect and sell wild seaweed, generating core or supplementary household income. Yet the promise of this sector has long been limited by informality, poor post-harvest conditions, and unsustainable harvesting practices that threaten livelihoods and ecosystems.
Challenges Facing Women in Fisheries and Seaweed Harvesting
- Unsustainable harvesting practices: Some harvesting methods—like pulling up entire plants, cutting too low, or collecting during reproductive seasons—damage the natural seaweed beds and make it harder for them to regrow. These practices often happen because of high demand from buyers and low awareness among collectors about the ecological impact of their actions.
- Weak tracking systems: Records of how much seaweed is collected are often incomplete or inconsistent. This makes it harder for communities and government agencies to manage resources and ensure supply chains are strong and transparent.
- Unsafe working conditions: Without proper tools, safety gear, or training, collectors face daily risks while harvesting along the shore or at sea.
- Unstable incomes: Many collectors, especially women who harvest from the shore, depend on fluctuating market prices, unpredictable harvest volumes, and often lose income when seaweed spoils after collection.
- Lack of coordination: The sector is still highly informal, with limited collaboration among collectors and gaps in information that could help strengthen the value chain.
- Few women in leadership roles: Women play a central role in harvesting, but remain underrepresented in leadership and decision-making positions within community organizations.
Partnerships for a Stronger Seaweed Sector
Recognizing these challenges, TechnoServe—in partnership with Cargill and its Red Seaweed Promise, a global sustainability program the company launched in 2018—has been working to build a more inclusive, profitable, and regenerative red seaweed value chain in southern Chile. The initiative focuses on strengthening the capacity and resources of local collectors and their organizations (OPAs), while also advancing Cargill’s broader efforts to promote more sustainable seaweed harvesting worldwide—improving traceability, protecting marine ecosystems, and fostering more stable livelihoods for coastal communities.
Turning Post-Harvest Loss into Opportunity
For many collectors, post-harvest loss has been a persistent challenge. When seaweed is collected but cannot be properly dried due to poor weather or lack of equipment, it spoils, leading to lost income.
This year I didn’t lose any seaweed. Last year I did—about 1,000 kilos of wet seaweed. Now, when it rains, I spread it in the dryer and it dries. I’m very happy. Not a single leaf was wasted.”
Rosa Llauca, a seaweed collector from Chaiguao
To address this, TechnoServe worked with communities to install communal drying facilities and provide training on their proper use. The results were immediate and powerful.
Drying the seaweed outside takes time, especially in bad weather. Everything costs a lot without a dryer. But now, there’s no rush. It makes everything easier. For me, it was a perfect benefit.”
Juan Jorge Vera, a seaweed collector from Chaiguao
The Next Phase: Strengthening Women’s Role in Costal Communities
A core component of the project is to increase women’s participation and leadership in the seaweed value chain. This next phase, expected to launch before the end of 2025, will focus on deepening women’s leadership and decision-making power in their communities through dedicated workshops. This work builds on the strong foundation already laid by the program.
How Community-Led Change Supports Global Goals
By promoting regenerative harvesting practices, improving traceability, strengthening community organizations, and supporting participatory leadership, this initiative is helping to build a red seaweed sector that supports communities, strengthens local economies, and contributes to healthier marine ecosystems.. Last year, almost all collectors who entered the program had experienced losses. In 2025, however, 91% of them avoided losses altogether. Had those 2024 losses occurred again in 2025, they would have represented an estimated 24% of the total seaweed collected per person. Thanks to the new communal dryers, that scenario was avoided. Collectors reported that the new facilities kept the seaweed in good condition.
Through partnerships like the Red Seaweed Promise with Cargill, communities are accessing new resources and practical tools to help them thrive—demonstrating how collaboration can support stronger ecosystems and more resilient livelihoods.
At TechnoServe, we believe that when local communities are equipped with the right business solutions—grounded in sustainability, inclusion, and strong local leadership—they can drive lasting change and build more prosperous livelihoods for themselves and future generations. Learn more about other TechnoServe initiatives: https://www.technoserve.org/blog/
FAQs
What’s on your mind?
Why is empowering women in fisheries important?
It helps support community resilience, economic opportunity, and sustainability.
How are women contributing to Chile’s seaweed sector?
Through harvesting, leadership in OPAs, and adopting regenerative practices.
What challenges do women in fisheries face?
Limited leadership roles, unsafe conditions, and income instability.
How does sustainable seaweed harvesting support gender equality?
It creates fair income opportunities and builds women’s decision-making power.
What global goals align with empowering women in fisheries?
SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 14 (Life Below Water).
