Hilsa Fishers of Ramgati, Lakshmipur, Bangladesh: An Overview of Socio- Economic and Livelihood Context

The present investigation was carried out to assess the socio-economic and livelihood status of the hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) fishermen of the river Meghna in Ramgati upazila (sub-district) under Lakshmipur district from December 2015 to May 2016. Pertinent data were collected from randomly selected 150 hilsa fishermen by personal interview with a structured questionnaire, focus group discussion and, data were crosschecked with the key informants. Data interpretation showed that the maximum number of fishers (33%) belonged to the age group of 31 to 40 years. Most of the fishers belonged to the joint family with average family members (7) higher than the national average. In addition, most of the participants (49%) can only sign followed by illiterate (24%) and only few fishers passed primary (20%) and secondary (7%) level of education. Although they are fishing round the year, vegetables were the most common food item consumed by the fishers’ family. Majority of the fishers (67%) worked on another fishermen’s boat as labour. The highest number (44%) of the fishers’ annual income ranged between 21,000 and 40,000 BDT where highest income was more than 100,000 BDT. About 93% of the fishermen depended on loan to run the fishing and among them 33% depended on Mahajon and 24% on Aratdar. Almost all the fishers (91%) mentioned that piracy was the major problem and, 53% and 89% reported both dadon and market controlled by Aratder/bapari respectively as the main constraints in their business. To safeguard the livelihood of the fishermen, the government, donor agencies and NGOs should come forward to provide adult education, loan without or minimum interest and set criteria for the Aratder/bapari so that they can’t harass the fishers during fish selling.