Socio-economic condition of the indigenous fishermen in and around an artificial lake for Bangladesh

Abstract

The present study assessed the socio-economic circumstances of the fishermen of Kaptai lake, situated beside the Rangamati Sadar in the Rangamati district. The present study found that 4 categories of cast fishermen are engaged in fishing or fisheries-related activities. Moderate literacy rates were found among the tribal fishermen as only 15% of people were entirely illiterate, and 6% were above higher secondary education. The tribal fishermen in the surveyed area were mainly poor; their annual income ranged closely between Tk. 24000 and Tk 38400. Around 49% of houses were made of bamboo fences, whereas 27% were found to be made of mud, and only 6% of brick was built. 51.5% of the fishers' families had no adequate sanitation system, whereas earthen and sanitation latrines were found at 40% and 8%, respectively. About 45.5% of the tribal fishermen had little access to pure drinking water. The tribal fishing community suffers from various problems such as extortion, lack of fishing gear, inadequate credit facilities, ineffective marketing system, etc. Finally, it may be concluded that the socio-economic condition of the tribal fishermen is not indifferent to other traditional fishermen of Bangladesh.