Socio-Economic Status of Fishermen of the Jamuna River in Bangladesh

The study was designed to assess the socio-economic status of fishermen and fishing activities dependent on the Jamuna River of Chukaibari Union near Dewengonj Upazilla to study and understand the socio-economic status of fishermen.The study was conducted for four months from July to October 2014. Results of the study revealed that three types of fishermen were engaged in fishing in the Jamuna River. They were professional fishermen, seasonal fishermen and subsistence fishermen. Various Participatory rural appraisal (PRA) tools were used to conduct the study. Among of the fishermen, muslim covered around 95%where rest was hindus. It was found that age group of 31-40 years was the highest (41.67%) and age group of 51-60 years was the lowest (13.33%). Among the fishermen, 13.33% had no education, 20% could write their names, 36.67% were educated up to PSC level, 25% up to JSC level and 5% up to SSC level. Most of the fishermen’s (31.67%) housing conditions were kacha while 36.67% were tin shed and only 25% were semi pacca. It was found that 53.33% of toilets were kacha and 61.67% were dependent on village doctor. On an average, the highest and the lowest annual income of the fishermen were Tk. 58,507 and Tk. 39,131, respectively. Most of the fishermen expressed that they were happy but not fully satisfied by fishing due to some obstacles such as embankment erosion, pollution and over fishing.