The work, education, and health concerns of Canada`s increasing population of fisherwomen-rural women who work on inshore fishing boats to supplant family income lost to fish plant closures-are profiled in this study of how women`s work in previously male-dominated trades impact their identity and autonomy. Narratives from fisherwomen and statistics about the fishing workforce inform this gender analysis of how vocational restructuring challenges traditional patriarchal codes. The complex joys, struggles, and dangers that fisherwomen encounter shed light on this sociological transition.