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Small Fishers, Contributions and Crisis of Identity
Afifat Khanam Ritika
Published: 11 Mar 2026, 12:00 AM
Bangladesh’s fisheries sector is often regarded as a role model for production. Its growth also brings policy challenges. Small-scale fisheries are viewed as the backbone of marine and coastal fishing. These communities, however, do not possess an obvious and formal policy identity. As a result, the sector is not well defined in national laws and policies.
The government has taken steps to improve fisheries management, including renewed attention to small-scale fisheries over the past few years. Policymakers have responded by forming task forces and setting up marine and inland fisheries working groups through national consultations, acknowledging the better management of these viable communities.
Despite these development processes, there is not yet a legal or policy definition of “Small Scale Fisheries” (SSF). The gap causes ambiguity regarding who are the groups of SSF and which population should receive related policies, rather than support.
As a precaution, marine fisheries in Bangladesh are depicted under two terms, i.e., the artisanal fisheries and commercial fisheries. SSF is often perceived as a subset of artisanal fisheries. Artisanal fisheries are defined by the fact that they can be operated in waters deeper than 40 m, have mechanised or non-mechanised vessels and have a net carrying capacity of up to 15 tonnes. They are usually 10–12 m long and 1.5 m wide, with a 0.5 m draught (Department of Fisheries, 2023). But these traits do not classify SSF. Policies are generally based on artisanal fisheries where, although SSF are included as a matter of common sense, there is no legal or policy recognition for these large contributing marginal communities.
Worldwide, small-scale fisheries also encompass a broader definition than fishing operations and represent the people involved, their communities and value chains. According to the FAO’s Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines, SSF represents a wide system involving fishers, processors, traders and families that depend on aquatic resources (FAO, 2015). Therefore, SSF is more than fishing gear or vessel size: it comprises a livelihood system embedded in local economies and social systems.
The government and policies have not clearly defined the difference between artisanal and small-scale fishing, although it is necessary. Artisanal fisheries may contribute to small-scale fisheries; however, the two are not synonymous. Artisanal fishing refers specifically to the scale at which their fishing activities are operational, while small-scale fisheries is much wider in implication, including livelihoods and gender relations, post-harvest workers, collective coping mechanisms and community resource management systems. Having spent some time analysing fisheries governance discussions, I notice this conceptual chasm most clearly when looking at policy frameworks.
While working on the legal report on sustainable small-scale fisheries in Bangladesh, I noticed that a good number of national documents often refer to artisanal fisheries, yet rarely do they offer an accurate legal characterisation of small-scale fisheries. As a result, policy discussions are often based on assumptions rather than clearly defined categories.
This vagueness leads to several practical problems. If we do not have a proper and common understanding of who small-scale fishers are, it prevents targeted policies that support the needs of these stakeholders. As an example, livelihood protection measures and disaster relief programmes, along with fishing ban compensation schemes and financial support initiatives all require accurate identification of beneficiaries. This vagueness complicates determining eligibility.
In the Bangladeshi marine sector, most fishing is done by artisanal or small-scale boats instead of industrial trawlers. Marine fish landings in the country are predominantly artisanal (FAO, 2022). There are thousands of small mechanised initiatives, and non-mechanised vessels currently operating in coastal waters, making them the backbone of the marine capture fisheries sector. These vessels vary between small, non-mechanised wooden boats used in estuaries and larger mechanised vessels fishing in nearshore waters (Government of Bangladesh, 2021). Bangladesh’s marine fisheries are mostly supported by small-scale fishers. Yet without a proper definition as to who stood in that group, it remains impossible to know.
This uncertainty may affect long-term fisheries management. Fisheries policy is data-dependent, and its data are classification-based. In the absence of a definition for small-scale fisheries, statistical reporting may remain stuck with antiquated divisions like artisanal versus industrial fishing. While appropriate in the context of production statistics, this classification does not reflect the socio-economical nature of fishing communities.
Moreover, decisions should not be based on assumptions or approximations. Neither precaution nor prediction can adequately define a sector that undergirds millions of livelihoods. Governance is merely a function of definitions, terms that are consistent and without the remainders. Policy risks, without remaining, are more conceptual than practical.
This issue then becomes even more salient within the broader context of global fisheries governance frameworks. Small-scale fisheries are becoming recognised in international initiatives as contributing to food security, poverty alleviation, and sustainable resource use. Many countries are crafting national strategies that specifically address SSF communities. Without a clear national definition, domestic policies are harder to align with global frameworks.
It is intrinsically problematic to define small-scale fisheries. Criteria differ from country to country based on socio-economic structures and ecological conditions. Some definitions rely on the size of the vessels, others on the distance at which they fish from shore, and some look to capital investment or labour relations.
So, defining small-scale fisheries is a key step towards effective policy discussion and action. Such a definition would not just be academic or statistical; it could provide a basis for policies that respond directly to fishing communities’ needs. It is not just a matter of words. It is about a community that still has no clear policy identity.
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The writer is a Research Fellow at BIMRAD, and PhD fellow at BOBP-IGO, Chennai