| This research critically examines the livelihood dynamics of the artisanal fishers of Bangladesh. The motivation for and objectives of this empirical research arises from the perceived need to gain better understanding about the artisanal fishers' capabilities, complex web of institutions and negotiations, multiple cross-scale stressors, and the ways of living. Situated within the broad thematic areas of sustainable livelihoods, this research has drawn upon from various mutually inclusive disciplinary knowledge and tools ranging from cultural anthropology, ethno-ecology-biology, rural livelihoods, sustainability science, marine and inland fisheries, fisheries ecology and aquaculture. Both qualitative and quantitative tools were used with heavy dependence on the participatory techniques (emic perspectives) including focus group discussions, key informant interviews, participant observations, and longitudinal case studies at household levels. Following a comparative case study approach, the field research was conducted for 21 months starting from January 2005 in the floodplain 'Volarkandi' village (representing Muslim fishers) and the coastal 'Thakurtala' fishing village of Moheskhali island (representing caste-based Hindu fishers).Appropriate to fishantry, cultural and political capitals are also considered pertinent beyond the conventional asset pentagons of contemporary livelihood frameworks. Fishers' livelihoods widely centre on subsistence ethic mode of income and employment. The corollary is that, fishers who fall below the economic equilibrium with extremely low income level do critically risk not only nutritional deprivation, but also their familial and social standing in the community. Poverty and vulnerabilities in the fishing villages have cross-scale connections to multiple roots (the very ecotype and resource base, ownership of endowments, institutional, political, geographical, religious and cultural ethnicity) that affect fishers singly or synergistically. Within the frames of unique socia-cultural patterns of the fishing villages, fishing women perform both reproductive and productive roles, some of which fall under the socially viewed 'masculine character'. They enjoy relatively greater freedom compared to the women in rural peasantry.The societal and economic systems of artisanal fishery are as complex and adaptive as the food webs of the biological systems therein. There exists structured social inequality, demographic and ethnic transformation, and power gaps within the fishantry. The fisher-middleperson relationship is an inevitable outcome of the peculiarity and uncertainty of the fishing occupation itself backed by customary political economy, socio-cultural structures and traditions, and perishability of the produce. The institutional supports required in a dynamic marketing are beyond the reach of poor fishers.Small-scale fishers are trapped in a vicious cycle of absolute poverty in all considerations and bear the consequences of livelihood ill-beings. They evolved sets of coping strategies to shield themselves from a host of adversities. Fishing entitlement is an important determinant of fishers' livelihoods and overall well-being or ill-being, especially in the floodplain wetlands. This is how, the transfer of ownership of common-use wetlands to leaseholders and the increasing trend of mechanization in the coast make us think that there are politically determined institutional processes at cross-scale boundaries and times that consequently reproduce complex economic processes causing 'disentitlement' and sustaining poverty.For examining fishers' conditions, production relations and livelihoods, this study introduces an innovative conceptual lens 'Fishantry' for artisanal fishers (as is peasantry for peasants). Despite some commonalities between peasants' and fishers' modes of production, the fundamental line of difference lies in the fact that most of the activities of peasants are land-oriented, while those of fishers are centered around different water bodies ranging from wetlands to littoral zone to deep sea. This peculiar ecosystem orientation generates divergent and complex ways of fishers' lives, knowledge base, world views and production relations. This research has examined the vast and esoteric traditional ecological knowledge of the fishers. Most of the fishers hold limited sets of endowments as a result, their capabilities to ensure livelihood well-being from the aquatic resource base remain limited. |
