THE livelihoods of about two crore people involved in the fisheries and aquaculture sector of Bangladesh have been affected badly in the wake of the pandemic, mainly due to the increased cost of fish feed and transportation. Fish farmers are bearing the brunt of the catastrophe as their incomes have dropped, says a study report published in the UK-based journal ‘Marine Policy’ recently.
According to the report, the increased transportation cost and the sharp rise in the price of feed and other ingredients have worsened the financial condition of the sector. The restrictions on movement, activities and businesses at the early stage of the pandemic were also blamed for the sufferings confronting the fishers and related stakeholders. Besides, harvesting the fish by maintaining social distance was almost impossible, impacting overall fish production adversely.
Bangladesh, which ranks fifth in aquaculture and third in inland open water capture fish production in the world, produces about 43.8 lakh tonnes of fish annually. The fishers and small-scale fish farmers, most of whom are poor, are among the worst-affected by the pandemic, says another study conducted jointly by the Department of Fisheries, the University of Dhaka and a research associate at the Sustainable Services Ltd. They carried out the study on 350 stakeholders across the country from June to November last year. About 74 per cent of the survey participants said the pandemic had impacted fish consumers despite the price fall. This might be because of the decline in the purchasing capacity of people. Around 35 per cent of the fishers reported their debt increased, as they could not repay the loan installment on time.
Then again, the pandemic has taken a toll on the export-oriented shrimp aquaculture in the southwestern part of the country because of the disrupted supply chain and a fall in demand and price, impacting the livelihoods of fish farmers. Before the pandemic, the sector contributed 3.5 per cent to the gross domestic product and fetched $501 million in export earnings. Concerted measures need to be taken to recover fishers and fish farmers from the pandemic-induced losses. For this, the country needs an urgent short-term recovery plan to address the immediate needs and a long-term plan to ensure a more durable recovery.
