Cape Town - Not even the rain could dampen spirits as the women of Premier Fishing showed up at The Capetonian Hotel in their floral outfits and dazzling heels to celebrate Women’s Day.
The company honoured female staff on Thursday to say thank you for their dedication and hard work.
Premier Fishing and Brands is a predominantly commercial fishing, fish processing and marketing company. Its range of activities involves over 1 000 permanent and seasonal staff, as well as factories, facilities and vessels operating in three provinces.
Led by CEO and chairperson Aziza Amod, it aims to support and upskill smaller fishing companies in SA.
The Weekend Argus got to join Amod and more than 50 female staffers at the event. Amod highlighted how proud she is to be a woman leading a premier fishing business, including a worldclass abalone farm, a lobster export business with many facilities in the Western and Southern Cape, competing in a traditional male-dominated fishing environment.
“I feel privileged, yes, it’s been a very male-dominated sector, but who are the people doing all the hard work? It’s women who are the cutting up the fish when the fish lands, who does all the books?
“So for me, it’s a privilege to be at the helm and creating more avenues for women to be part of the fishing industry.
“We have a fantastic farm in Gansbaai, it’s world class. We export all over the world and we are known as having the best abalone, our fishing is done with all safety, with all security, we can trace all our abalone that we catch. That is our responsibility to the fishing sector in South Africa.”
Amod added that although the sector was male dominated, there were opportunities for women.
“Women think very holistically, women are always thinking being inclusive and will always plan ahead, looking at safety and everything else, and use these opportunities.”
Sales and marketing director Rushaan Isaacs started working at the company as a 19-year old clerk, 27 years later, she has worked her way to top positions in the company. She was also CEO in 2020 but later resigned and shifted her position.
Isaacs says the industry is challenging. “It was very challenging initially, not just as a sexist thing, it was also a racial thing, because it was very male white dominated, I was forced to come out of my comfort zone and challenge the dynamics that I was faced with.
“I had to make my voice heard extra loud as a woman and had to work twice as hard as a woman to prove yourself. I think all the milestones and challenges that I’ve been through made me stronger for the next challenge.
“I can proudly say with my history of knowledge, I’ve gained the respect of my fellow competitive fishing companies, because each fishing company belongs to an association. I’m also the only young coloured female and gaining the respect of all those associations is big,” Isaacs said.