The plight of some of the poorest of the poor: vulnerabilities of fishing families on Kutubdia Island, Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

Globally, fisheries are important economic resources and support many coastal communities, but the people that rely on fishing experience a range of environmental hazards. This research surveyed 300 fishing households on Kutubdia Island, Bangladesh, regarding their fishing activities and the conditions and perceptions of risk while fishing at sea. This is an artisanal fishery of small boats used for day trips, and larger but still simple boats used for multi-day trips farther offshore. Many households (62%) reported sickness or health problems while at sea. Medicine or first aid kits are carried by only 35% of the boats. Hazards encountered at sea included bad weather (69%), pirates (60%), unfriendly encounters with larger boats (20%), and engine failure (13%). The 300 households reported that 109 fishers had been lost at sea during the past 21 years. From this we estimate an annual death rate of 1335 per 100,000 fishers here, making it among the most dangerous in the world. Bangladesh needs a regulatory framework for its fisheries to include environmental, economic, political, cultural, and social components. Such a regulatory arrangement would support the Kutubdia fishers and should be incorporated into Bangladesh’s national policy for achieving its sustainability goals.

KEYWORDS:

• Bangladesh
• fishing
• vulnerabilities
• marine

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the Gandhi Scholarship at the Department of Geography, Kent State University and an International Travel Grant by the Graduate Student Senate at Kent State University for providing the funding support for this research. We are especially grateful to Mr. Aurangzeb, Mr. Tareq, and Mr. Ahmad Ullah for their assistance with the fieldwork. We are grateful to the Disaster Research Training and Management Center, Department of Geography and Environment, University of Dhaka, and the COAST BD, for their help during the fieldwork.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.