A dream became reality: 60 Women in the Resex Canavieiras fight to rewrite their own story while conserving nature.
In the Canavieiras Marine Extractive Reserve, a group of 60 women shellfish gatherers work tirelessly to ensure the success of Sustentamar — a shellfish processing unit founded by the Association of Shellfish Gatherers and Women Fishers of Belmonte, a partner organization of CI-Brazil for the past 10 years.
“Sustentamar was born from a dream shared by our group of women. We had always worked with very little structure, in more of a family-run setup. We achieved our dream of having a processing unit to improve the quality of our products and the quality of life for the women,” says shellfish gatherer Pedrina Reis.
Conservation International and its partners support the institutional strengthening of the shellfish gatherers and fishers of Belmonte through hands-on courses on seafood processing, exchanges with other processing units, support in communication and visual identity, sales diagnostics and planning, and more.
These actions help enhance the fishing value chain — from production to final consumption — ensuring the sustainability of fish stocks while adding value to the products and delivering socially responsible returns to the communities. Seafood from the Extractive Reserve follows strict guidelines and contributes to conservation efforts, aligned with traditional fishing knowledge, making it a key ally of the region’s female leadership. Created in 2009, Resex Canavieiras is home to around 2,100 families of extractivists, artisanal fishers, and small-scale farmers.