Enhancing the livelihoods of small-scale fishers in Bangladesh
In collaboration with partners in Chile, Bangladesh and Africa the Institute is leading the global project ‘Sustainable Oceans – Pursuing a Human Rights-based Approach to Fisheries and Aquaculture’. The project is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation SIDA.
Thousands of small-scale fishers living in coastal Bangladesh will no longer struggle as hard as previously to feed their families during the annual 65-day fishing ban.
As a result of the local government’s updated list of registered fishers in the area, they now receive identity cards giving them access to social security allowances during fishing ban periods. This is an important step forward, as most of them have no income during the fishing bans imposed to prevent overfishing.
The small-scale fishers’ access to social security is a result of a Sector Wide Impact Assessment (SWIA) of Bangladesh’s small-scale artisanal fisheries sector, facilitated by the Institute in collaboration with several local organisations. The SWIA sheds light on the critical labour conditions and extremely poor living standards the fishers face and is based on stakeholder dialogues and interviews with 1,400 men and 600 women, all highly dependent on fisheries.
We had several dialogues with the local authorities, where we presented the findings. These dialogues have finally led to improvements of the labour rights and living conditions of small-scale fishers, and they will hopefully continue to do so
Likewise, the SWIA inspired local trade union activists to form an umbrella trade union which will increase their bargaining power. Further, the Boat Owners’ Association and the Fishers’ Union in the coastal district of Moheshkhali have agreed on how to compensate fishers or their families upon injury or death at sea.
The Institute’s local partners are presenting the SWIA’s many recommendations to policymakers, local authorities, fishery authorities, NGOs and other stakeholders in order to enhance the fulfilment of the fishers’ rights. There is a need for fundamental changes on many structural and legal levels for this to succeed.