Assessing Legal and Policy Frameworks for Small-Scale Fisheries in Bangladesh

Small-scale fisheries contribute significantly to Bangladesh’s economy in terms of production, protein supply, and foreign currency earnings. However, fishers face numerous challenges related to food security and climate vulnerability. These issues can be addressed through responsible and sustainable fisheries management, as Bangladesh’s fisheries sector has a high potential to contribute to the country’s socioeconomic development. The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) advocate legal, regulatory, policy, and institutional frameworks that recognize and protect small-scale fisheries’ access rights. In this context, this chapter examines the current status of Bangladesh’s fisheries legal framework and the constraints for implementing fisheries laws to secure fishers’ rights. The findings indicate a supporting, yet insufficient, legal framework for securing small-scale fishers’ rights due to various shortcomings in certain legislation and policies. Furthermore, there has been no comprehensive reorganization or definition of small-scale fishers in existing legal frameworks. This chapter recommends that the existing legal framework should be amended to include the recognition and protection of small-scale fishers’ rights and their equitable participation in management and institutions to support the sustainability of small-scale fisheries and the full realization of their rights.