Flow, Food, and Flood: Embodied aquaculture in a climate-stressed world

Overview

This essay draws from a larger study that explores gender and social inclusion in small-scale aquaculture in Ubon Ratchathani Province, Thailand, using a feminist political ecology (FPE) lens. Through qualitative research, we examine how fish farmers’ embodied experiences reveal the intersections of labour, emotional well-being, and food security within broader socioeconomic and environmental challenges. Hydropower development, particularly the Pak Mun and Lam Dom dams, has disrupted traditional fisheries, forcing small-scale farmers to adapt amid declining fish stocks, unpredictable flooding, and market volatility. The contributions of small-scale fish farmers, especially women, remain undervalued as they juggle aquaculture, agriculture, and household responsibilities while facing structural barriers to expanding their farms. Climate change further exacerbates these vulnerabilities, with extreme droughts and floods destabilising livelihoods. The study highlights how fish farmers experience uncertainty and displacement not only as economic hardships but as deeply embodied realities affecting emotional and physical well-being. Recognising these lived experiences is crucial for designing nature-based solutions in aquaculture that account for both ecological sustainability and social justice. By centring the voices of marginalised fish farmers, particularly women, we argue for policy approaches that integrate emotional and material dimensions of labour to create more life-enhancing aquaculture systems.