Hundreds of fishermen who depend on Bhagirathi-Hooghly stretch of the Ganga in West Bengal for livelihood are staring at a bleak future. Scientists from ICAR-Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute (CIFRI), Kolkata, have said fishery as a profession is unable to provide a decent life to them. Blaming declining fishery resources to alarming levels of pollution, riverfront encroachment, rampant sand mining and unregulated overexploitation of the river, researchers have stressed on providing alternative livelihood to these fishermen. The study is published in the latest edition of Current Science journal. The team of CIFRI researchers Arun Pandit, Anjana Ekka, BK Das, S Samanta, Lokenath Chakraborty and Rohan K Raman examined the socio-economic conditions and nature and extent of livelihood diversification of fishers’ households in the Bhagirathi-Hooghly stretch of the Ganga at different locations. Over 500 fishermen from Sagar to Farakka (560 km stretch) in West Bengal were interviewed. The study area was divided into three stretches depending upon the width of the river and intensity of fishery activities. The lower stretch was from Sagar to Dakshineswar where the river is wide and fishing activity is quite intense. The upper stretch was from Nabadwip to Farakka, where the river is comparatively narrower, while in the middle stretch was from Dakshineswar to Nabadwip, the width of the river and fishing intensity is medium. The outcome was not encouraging. Researchers noted average monthly income was Rs 9,391 per household. Fishing is the main occupation of around 88.60 per cent of fishers and overall, fishing contributes about 70.30 per cent to the total income of the family, said researchers. They found a large section of those who fish upstream of the Hooghly often return empty-handed or with a light haul. Their income, 70 per cent of which comes from hilsa fish, was not enough to make the both ends meet. According to data, there are around a dozen hilsa-fishing communities living along the stretches of the Hooghly. In contrast, the income is higher in the lower stretch because of higher catch and high value fishes like mullets, sea bass, hilsa, prawns and shrimps. It was found that not only the average household income and number of income sources were limited the level of diversification was also quite low. The authors also blamed authorities for the plight of the fishermen. The Ganga River system is a rich ecosystem which supports about 10-13 million fisher folk and about 300 freshwater fish species. The system provides livelihood and nutritional security to millions of people, however, post Independence, the river has been mainly exploited for irrigation, water supply and hydro-power only. Riverine fisheries are completely being ignored while large dams, barrages and hydro-power projects adversely affected the river flow and impacted hydrological connectivity between rivers and wetlands. The study noted, Government needs to develop appropriate strategies to facilitate successful livelihood diversification. Facilities may be created for non-fishing activities like fish marketing kiosks, cloth weaving facilities, agro-processing in fruit orchard areas, e-rickshaws and so on. Fishers may be trained in other income-generating activities like carpentry, embroidery, dress making, driving, etc, for better livelihood. Also, providing education and skill development training to these fishers would have a large impact on their ability to diversify livelihood options, said the study.
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