A greater understanding of gendered roles in fisheries is necessary to value the often-hidden roles that women play in fisheries and households. We examine women’s contributions to household food and income using focus group discussions, market surveys, and landings data in six communities in Timor-Leste. Women were actively fishing more days per month than men. Gleaning was the most frequent activity and 100% of trips returned with catch for food and/or income. Mollusc and crab catches were common and exploitation appeared targeted on a dynamic reappraisal of changing food values and changing estimates of group needs. With as many as 80% of households in coastal areas involved in fishing, and at least 50% of women fishing, this highlights the current lack of women’s engagement as a critical gap in fisheries management approaches. The current androcentric dialogue limits social-ecological understanding of these systems and the potential for their effective stewardship.

Small-scale fisheries are responsible for landing half of the world’s fish catch, yet there are very sparse data on these fishing activities and associated fisheries production in time and space. Fisheries-dependent data underpin scientific guidance of management and conservation of fisheries systems, but it is inherently difficult to generate robust and comprehensive data for small-scale fisheries, particularly given their dispersed and diverse nature. In tackling this challenge, we use open source software components including the Shiny R package to build PeskAAS; an adaptable and scalable digital application that enables the collation, classification, analysis and visualisation of small-scale fisheries catch and effort data. We piloted and refined this system in Timor-Leste; a small island developing nation. The features that make PeskAAS fit for purpose are that it is: (i) fully open-source and free to use (ii) component-based, flexible and able to integrate vessel tracking data with catch records; (iii) able to perform spatial and temporal filtering of fishing productivity by fishing method and habitat; (iv) integrated with species-specific length-weight parameters from FishBase; (v) controlled through a click-button dashboard, that was co-designed with fisheries scientists and government managers, that enables easy to read data summaries and interpretation of context-specific fisheries data. With limited training and code adaptation, the PeskAAS workflow has been used as a framework on which to build and adapt systematic, standardised data collection for small-scale fisheries in other contexts. Automated analytics of these data can provide fishers, managers and researchers with insights into a fisher’s experience of fishing efforts, fisheries status, catch rates, economic efficiency and geographic preferences and limits that can potentially guide management and livelihood investments.

Tropical sardines (Family Clupeidae) are an important component of many marine fisheries in the Indo-West Pacific region. In Timor-Leste, a small, less-developed country within this region, ‘sardiña’ are some of the more commonly caught and consumed fish. Yet there is little published information from Timor-Leste about the species composition of these fisheries, nor their biology or ecology. We document the knowledge of Timorese fishers on nine locally distinguished sardine types that contribute to fisheries, and relate these to at least nine species: four species of ‘Flat-bodied Sardinellas’ (Sardinella subg. Clupeonia spp.), one species of ‘Round-bodied Sardinella’ (Sardinella subg. Sardinella lemuru), two species of ‘Tropical Pilchards’ (Amblygaster spp.) and a ‘Tropical Herring’ species (Herklotsichthys quadrimaculatus), all from the Clupeidae family; and one Dussumieria species from the Dussumieriidae family. We record variations in local sardine names across the country and document aspects of fishers’ knowledge relevant to understanding and managing the fisheries, including local sardine species’ seasonality, habitat, movements, interannual variation, as well as post-harvest characteristics in relation to perishability. In general, local names relate more closely with groups of species than individual species, although some names also distinguish fish size within species-groups. The local knowledge identified in this study has immediate application to inform fisheries monitoring and management, and to identify areas for future research. Notably, Timorese fishers recognize and make use of the strong association between some sardine species-groups and seasonally turbid river plumes. While further research is required to understand the underlying mechanisms of this association, this emphasizes the need to consider coastal fisheries and fisher livelihood impacts when assessing any plans or proposals that may alter river flow or water quality. Fishers also recognize migratory behavior of some sardine species, in particular the Flat bodied Sardinellas (S. gibbosa and others) along the north-west coast of Timor-Leste and across the border into Indonesian West Timor. Such insights complicate and need to be accounted for in initiatives for co-management or community-based management of Timor-Leste’s coastal waters and their fisheries.

Timor-Leste is one of the world’s most malnourished nations where micronutrient-deficient diets are a contributing factor to the prevalence of child stunting, currently estimated to be 45.6% of children under five. Fish are an important source of nutrients and one that may assist the country’s predominantly rural population of agriculturalists to exit poverty and malnutrition. However, a small national fishing fleet producing low catch volumes places fish out of reach of most inland and upland populations where it is needed most. Fish consumption is very low in rural, inland areas compared to coastal, regional, and global averages. This study is a one-year, partially masked, cluster-randomized controlled trial among families living in rural, inland Timor-Leste. We aim to test and compare the effects of two treatments, alone and in combination, on the frequency and volume of household fish consumption in rural, inland areas as a proxy for improved dietary diversity and micronutrient intake. Treatment 1 is the installation of nearshore, moored fish aggregating devices (FADs) to improve catch rates with existing fishing gears. Treatment 2 is a social and behaviour change (SBC) activity to promote fish consumption. Villages in inland communities will be randomized to receive treatment 1, treatment 2, both treatments, or neither treatment. Data will be collected at baseline (prior to the rollout of the treatments) and endline. Our study will determine the impact of an improved supply of fish, along with nutrition-oriented SBC activities, on the fish purchasing and consumption practices of rural, inland households. Findings from this study are urgently needed by Small Island Developing States to guide policy and investment decisions on how best to improve households’ diets using locally available, nutrient-dense foods such as fish. Investments such as these are needed to break the cycle of malnutrition. This trial is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04729829). Trial registration: Trial registered at clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT04729829.

Timor-Leste is one of the world's most malnourished nations where micronutrient-deficient diets are a contributing factor to the prevalence of child stunting, currently estimated to be 45.6% of children under five. Fish are an important source of micronutrients and one that may assist the country's predominantly rural population of agriculturalists to exit poverty and malnutrition. However, a small national fishing fleet producing low catch volumes place fish out of reach of most inland and upland populations where it is needed most. Fish consumption is very low in rural areas compared to coastal, regional, and global averages. This trial is a one-year, cluster-randomized, partially masked, controlled trial among families living in rural, inland Timor-Leste. This trial aims to test and compare the effects of two treatments, alone and in combination, on the frequency and volume of household fish consumption in upland areas as a proxy for improved dietary diversity and micronutrient intake. Treatment 1 is the installation of nearshore, moored fish aggregating devices (FADs) to improve catch rates with existing fishing gears. Treatment 2 is social and behaviour change (SBC) activities to promote fish consumption. Villages in inland communities will be randomized to receive treatment 1, treatment 2, both treatments, or neither treatment. Some households with one child under five will be recruited, and data will be collected at baseline (prior to the rollout of the treatments) and endline. Our study will determine the impact of an improved supply of fish, along with nutrition-oriented SBC activities, on the fish purchasing and consumption practices of rural, inland households. Findings from this study are urgently needed by small island developing states in order to make policy and investment decisions on how best to improve households' diets using locally available, nutrient-dense foods such as fish. Investments such as these are needed to break the cycle of malnutrition.