At a roundtable conference, several speakers highlighted the various concerns and issues that small-scale fishers face in the attempt to create a sustainable fisheries sector in Bangladesh.
Nazma Yesmin, Director, of the Bangladesh Institute of Labour Studies (BILS), said: “In our country, the ratio of the formal to informal sector is around 15% to 85%. The working patterns of fish workers are mostly informal, and despite the significant contribution of people working in the fishing sector to our national economy, their rights are often overlooked.
It is important to ensure the participation of all stakeholders to make the sector sustainable. There is a need to increase cooperation among stakeholders to improve the current situation of fishworkers and ensure their rights.”
Rezoanul Haque Azom, Sr. Officer and Project Coordinator, BILS, added: “During our assessment of various government legal and policy documents, we found different terms used to refer to these people. The lack of a distinctive definition creates confusion about which group should receive privileges when benefits are given by the government. Therefore, we recommend using the term “fishworkers” to define fishermen, women fisheries workers and other labour force associated with fishing so that all of them can benefit.”