Abstract
This chapter examines the relationship between poverty and vulnerability in small-scale fisheries of Bangladesh. For this purpose, data were collected in three coastal fishing communities. The results show that in small-scale fisheries, poverty is a complex issue, with a wide array of causal factors in effect. Small-scale fishers’ livelihoods are threatened by: low productivity of fisheries and high dependency on certain species; seasonality in fishing; frequent natural disasters; heavy debt bondage; coastal piracy and other illegal rent seeking activities; mass illiteracy; and lack of participation in political processes and local institutions, to mention some of the problems. Thus in Bangladesh, small-scale fishers are forced to live on the margin of existence where they are extremely vulnerable to shocks such as environmental disasters. The study finds that a combination of different livelihood strategies is an important tool for escaping poverty in the fishing communities. I argue that to arrest poverty in small-scale fishing communities such as those of Bangladesh, addressing vulnerability is vital; and creating a buffer against crisis is urgent.
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Notes
- 1.
Daily Manabzamin (a Bengali Daily Newspaper) – 26 May 2009.
- 2.
The Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), the public authority for registration and licensing the industrial trawlers for fishing in the Bay of Bengal, does not keep track of fisher causalities. Small-scale fishing up to 30 m depth along the coast doesn’t require a license.
- 3.
Dower (paid by the husband to his wife) is an essential part of Muslim marriage as practiced in Bangladesh. However, dowry is prohibited by state law. The problem of dowry is now widespread. The practice of dowry increases the vulnerability of women in Bangladesh, turning them into liabilities for the families (Chowdhury 2010).
- 4.
The Union Council is the lowest layer of local government administration where the Chairman and members of the council are elected by public vote.
- 5.
The dependency ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of dependent members by the total number of earning members of each family (Rahman et al. 2002).
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Acknowledgments
The author wishes to thank Svein Jentoft, Michael Flitner, Maarten Bavinck and Maria-Victoria Gunnarsdottir for helpful comments and critical review on earlier drafts of this article. Thanks also to the Norwegian Research Council for funding the PovFish project, and GLOMAR for funding this research work.
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Islam, M.M. (2011). Living on the Margin: The Poverty-Vulnerability Nexus in the Small-Scale Fisheries of Bangladesh. In: Jentoft, S., Eide, A. (eds) Poverty Mosaics: Realities and Prospects in Small-Scale Fisheries. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1582-0_5
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