Fishing Community in Wetland Region of Bangladesh: Views from the Field Experiences of Hakaluki Haor

Abstract

This study is a part of doctoral dissertation which basically observes the socio-economic condition of the artisanal fishing community of Hakaluki Haor in Bangladesh. The original study is exploratory in nature, and both qualitative and quantitative approaches have been used to attain the goals and objectives of the study. The main objective of the current article is to identify the present socio-demographic background of Hoar fishing community in Bangladesh. Data analysis has focused on the actual situation of the household of fishing community from the Haor perspective. The findings of the study have been categorized on the basis of five capitals (i.e., social, human, physical, financial and natural resources) that structure the conceptual framework of the study. It is shown that most of the fishing community in the Haor basin are living under the most unpleasant and vulnerable conditions in terms of income, food security, housing patterns, health and sanitation conditions. Other issues center around child marriage, family planning, and social relations among the dwellers of the community. Also, among the observed problems are decision making, power practice, participation in development activities, socio-economic position in education and local institutions.