An approach to analyzing small-scale fisheries using participatory tools in Moheshkhali coastal area, Bangladesh

Abstract

It is progressively recognized that participatory rural appraisal (PRA) is an informative tool to analyze the suitability of community based fisheries management (CBFM) of small-scale fisheries. A questionnaire survey was conducted as a prime way for primary data collection in a 1-year period (January-December, 2016) in Moheshkhali Island, Bangladesh. The targeted fishers were participated in PRA and four methods: participatory resource mapping, seasonal calendar, time line and problem ranking were used. The research findings showed that the fish stock is declining by using risky fishing techniques in this area. Key problems and constraints of the coastal fisheries found in this study were climate change and environmental degradation, piracy during fishing in the sea, lack of social safety, lack of insurance, competition between users, poor boat and net facilities, low level of education, habitat destruction, unclear and poor credit policy, poor market access, high percentage of dependency on fishing, trawl fishing, ineffective regulatory mechanisms, top-down management structures and absence of strong fishers’ organizations. The results suggest that the representation and participation of small-scale fishers are necessary to minimize conflicts with better improvement of fisheries management for the viable employments of small-scale fisher folks.