72 / 192
[
] 72
Developing informed fishing
communities in South Asia
Yugraj Singh Yadava, Director, Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation
T
he four south Asian nations of Bangladesh, India, Maldives
and Sri Lanka are important players in the global fisher-
ies arena. The contribution of the fisheries sector to their
national economies is more than one per cent of their national
GDPs. Fish and fish products are among the most heavily traded
food commodities in the region. These nations are also members
of a regional fisheries body, the Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-
Governmental Organization (BOBP-IGO), previously known as
the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP).
Located on the western and northern boundaries of the Bay of
Bengal, these countries exploit the rich and diverse fisheries
resources of the Bay. However, increasing human population, espe-
cially in India and Bangladesh, and reduced productivity of coastal
fisheries through unsustainable fishing practices, habitat degrada-
tion, post-harvest losses, etc. threaten the livelihoods of millions
of small-scale fishers in the region. In recent years, capture fisher-
ies have either stagnated or seen only a small increase in terms of
production, while aquaculture has continued to grow at a rapid
rate. Further decline of fisheries would severely impact the liveli-
hood security, food availability and national economies of these
countries.
The total fisher population in these four countries is estimated
at about 5.2 million, with about 69 per cent (3,574,704) in India
alone. The fisher community in this region is typical
of many other parts of the developing world. They
are mostly the poorest sections of society, residing in
remote, inaccessible areas, mostly out of the reach of
community development programmes such as educa-
tion, health and sanitation, water supply, electricity,
housing, etc. This exclusion from mainstream develop-
ment considerably lowers their quality of life. The table
below provides a comparative picture of the total fisher
population and selected parameters on their education
level in these four countries.
Activities aimed at educating fishing communities
The BOBP-IGO and its forerunner, the BOBP, have been
working in these countries for more than three decades.
In the initial years, the BOBP focused on increasing fish
production through technology inputs. It also became
clear during the earlier period of the BOBP in the region
that there was a need for knowledge at all levels of the
community. Thus, the programme also focused on
education, training and awareness creation and imple-
mented a variety of activities, which kept evolving
with the changing times and needs of the community.
Various education and awareness programmes of the
Countries
Fisher population
Education level
Human Development Index
in Education (2007)
9
Education Index (2007)
9
Public expenditure on
education as percentage
of total government
expenditure (2000-2007)
9
Bangladesh
902,961
1
About 9 per cent of fishers
have basic education
5
0.543
0.530
14.2
India
3,574,704
2
57 per cent of the
population is educated.
However, only 51 per cent
of educated fishers have
primary level education
6
0.612
0.643
10.7
Maldives
13,980
3
About 98 per cent of fishers
have basic education
7
0.771
0.885
15.0
Sri Lanka
664,820
4
About 40 per cent of fishers
have completed primary
school education
8
0.759
0.834
NA