Category: Research

DFM is delighted to announce important new publications on the co-production of knowledge and just transitions in West Bengal’s dried fish sector and on the place of fish in nutrition transitions in Myanmar. Congratulations to the Ghosh, Mukherjee, Belton, Thilsted, and the other authors involved!

Ghosh, Raktima, Jenia Mukherjee, Aishik Bandyopadhyay, Subhradeep Chatterjee, Anuradha Choudry, Poulami Ghosh, Souradip Pathak, Amrita Sen, and Priyadarsini Sinha. 2023. ‘Analyzing Scenarios and Designing Initiatives toward Just Transitions: Coproducing Knowledge with(in) the Dried Fish Sector in the Indian Sundarbans’. Frontiers in Water 5. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frwa.2023.1043628.

Scott, Jessica M., Ben Belton, Kristi Mahrt, Shakuntala H. Thilsted, and Jessica R. Bogard. 2023. ‘Food Systems Transformation, Animal-Source Foods Consumption, Inequality, and Nutrition in Myanmar’. Food Security, August. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-023-01380-6.

We would like to highlight five recent articles published by members of Dried Fish Matters.

Implications of utilization shifts of marine fish in India: a macro‑level empirical analysis is a collaboration between multiple members of DFM lead authored by Prasanna Surathkal. Accepted in December 2022, the article analyzes structural changes in aquaculture production that suggest an increase in the ratio of fish-for-feed to fish for human consumption. Results from the analysis indicate that the fish meal and fish oil (FMFO) market gains are made likely at the cost of the dried fish segment.

Small Fish Consumption in Rural Myanmar disaggregates fish consumption data based on quantity, species, and size of fish eaten, a level of detailed analysis rarely achieved in governmental level food consumption surveys. A contribution by Dr. Rizaldo and Dr. Belton of World Fish and Wae Win Khaing, a PhD student at the University of Manitoba, the research found that women in the Ayeyarwady Region in Myanmar tend to consume larger amounts of small fish which may contain higher level of micronutrients.

A social wellbeing approach to the gendered impacts of fisheries transition in Gujarat, India was authored by Dr. Rajib Biswal, a post-doctoral fellow at Memorial University, and Dr. Johnson of University of Manitoba, uses a social wellbeing approach to look at the gendered livelihoods effects of 70 years of fisheries development in the town of Saiyad Rajpara, Gujarat. The move away from a local subsistence economy to a market-oriented economy led to material improvements, but a more mixed effects on the social and subjective wellbeing of the residents. On aggregate, women’s wellbeing has improved in comparison to men’s during this period.

A popular article published in The News Minute by our partners in Karnataka, Dr. Jyotishi, Prasanna Surathkal of Azim Premji Foundation, and Dr. Bhatta of Snehakunja Trust highlights the effects of investments in private and large-scale fish production and the ever-increasing encroachment on the livelihoods of small-scale fish producers and processors. The article explains three areas of encroachment: development of ports and eco-tourism areas as physical space dispossession; underrepresentation in policy development as political and legal dispossessions; and finally, increasing focus on fishmeal production as livelihood dispossession.

Gendered dimensions of social wellbeing within dried fish value chains: insights from Sri Lanka is the latest publication in Dried Fish Matters. The publication, led by Dr. Galappaththi, looks at a central question in DFM, specifically on the subjective, relational, and material wellbeing contribution of the dried fish value chain. The research argued that these value chains are especially important in contributing to the wellbeing of marginalized people, especially women.

References by order of appearance

Surathkal, P., Jyotishi, A., Bhatta, R., Scholtens, J., Johnson, D., Mondal, G., & Gupta, P. (2023). Implications of utilization shifts of marine fish in India: a macro‑level empirical analysis. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-022-09752-5

Rizaldo, Q. V., Khaing, W. W., & Belton, B. (2023). Small fish consumption in rural Myanmar. Maritime Studies, 22(13). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-023-00304-6

Biswal, R., & Johnson, D. S. (2023). A social wellbeing approach to the gendered impacts of fisheries transition in Gujarat, India. Maritime Studies, 22. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-023-00299-0

Jyotishi, A., Surathkal, P., & Bhatta, R. (2023, April 13). Tragedy of the commons: In Karnataka, small-scale fishers are losing their foothold. The News Minute. https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/tragedy-commons-karnataka-small-scale-fishers-are-losing-their-foothold-175830

Galappaththi, M., N. Weeratunge, D. Armitage, and A.M. Collins. “Gendered Dimensions of Social Wellbeing within Dried Fish Value Chains: Insights from Sri Lanka.” Ocean and Coastal Management 240 (June 1, 2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2023.106658.

This paper is the first among the series of analytical write-ups that we plan to bring out as part of the Gujarat regional component of the Dried Fish Matters research project. In this paper we review some of the major policies and institutional arrangements that are critical for understanding the social economy of fisheries, especially marine fisheries, in the state. The paper is divided into two sections. In section one, we present a brief overview of the trajectory of the evolution of fisheries sector policies at the national level since they broadly define the context of our discussion. In section two, we will elaborate on the Gujarat case. Our focus here will be to interrogate the broader philosophy that guides Gujarat’s approach to fisheries development in recent years.

Gujarat is a major maritime state in India with a long and rich history of trans-oceanic trade relationships. The state has also been a major marine fish producer in India ever since it was reorganized as a separate linguistic state in 1960. It is one of the last maritime states to have enacted the marine fishery regulation focused on the development of the sector. The Gujarat Fisheries Act 2003 provides for the protection, conservation, and development of fisheries as well as regulation of fishing in the inland and territorial waters along the coastline of the state.

The Office of the Commissioner of Fisheries, located within the Department of Agriculture, Farmers’ Welfare, and Cooperation of the government of Gujarat, is the nodal department for the regulation and development of fishing activities in the state. The Department regulates the registration of fishing boats (as per Merchant Shipping Act, 1958) and granting of fishing licenses (as per Gujarat Fisheries Act, 2003).

The Gujarat Fisheries Central Co-operative Association Limited (GFCCA), the apex body of the fishermen cooperatives in the state, is the main agency that implements the fishery development projects in the state and the chief conduit for the flow of governmental and institutional assistance to the fisherfolk.            

An important policy initiative taken by the state government that can positively impact Gujarat’s fisheries industry is the framing of a policy for agro-business development (the Comprehensive Agro-Business (AB) Policy – 2016-21) and the Chief Minister’s Mission on Food Processing. The CMFP mission underscores the importance of food and nutritional security and food safety and promises to add capacities to the system through capital infusion, technology transfer, skill upgradation as also enhance employment opportunities on a wider scale.  This is an opportune moment to get some of the long-neglected concerns of small-scale producers engaged in low-end processing of fish, including curing/drying included in the state’s agenda.

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You can find a list of all reports published by Dried Fish Matters on our “Working Papers” page: https://driedfishmatters.org/pub/dfm-working-papers.html.

The DFM Bangladesh team, consisting of researchers from Bangladesh Agricultural University and Jahangirnagar University, has produced a study mapping the key locations for dried fish processing and trade in Bangladesh.

The dried fish sector of Bangladesh contributes significantly to the country’s economy. Processing and trading activities are spread across Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet-Mymensingh-Comilla and Khulna-Barisal-Patuakhali regions. The DFM Bangladesh research team visited each of these sites to identify its overall importance and unique characteristics.  

Key locations include Nazirar Tek (marine processing), Asadgonj (trade), the drying yards of the Sunamgonj Haor basin and Chalan Beel areas (freshwater drying), and Lalpur (the largest fermentation site). These sites were recommended for in-depth research on the dried fish economy in relation to factors including production/trade volume, stakeholders involved, and cross-cutting issues like gender, labour, ecological sustainability, and vulnerability. Dublar Char was recommended for follow-up research due to its remoteness, production volume, and distinct issues of child and bonded labour.

Key findings

There are four general categories of dried fish processing and trading sites in Bangladesh.

• Drying (marine fish) yards: Marine drying operations are referred to as “Khola” or “Kila”, which often shift based on raw material availability, accessibility, landing facilities, and other physical conveniences. The drying season varies slightly from site to site.
• Drying (freshwater) yards: Women and children labourers are widely involved in the fish processing process. Many of these workers remain unpaid, especially in the case of household labour supporting dangi owners or managers.
• Fermenting (marine & freshwater) yards: There are hundreds of women mainly involved in processing puti (cutting and gutting) in Lalpur.
• Trading (marine & freshwater) centers: Dried fish produced in Bangladesh is traded through a relatively small number of assembly markets.

Unequal power relationships in the dried fish value chain is a significant area of concern to be addressed in future studies. Producers have little to no influence over marketing and supply, which are controlled by large-scale traders, brokers, and supermarket companies. Price distortions in the domestic market, created by these large-scale actors, erode profitability for primary producers.

Reference

Hossain, M A R, Mirza Taslima Sultana, Sayeed Ferdous, Md. Samsul Alam, Rasheda Akhtar, Md. Siddiqur Rahman, Md. Shahjahan, and Mahmudul H Sumon. 2022. “Key Locations: Dry Fish Processing and Trading in Bangladesh.” Working Paper 10. Dried Fish Matters. The University of Manitoba / Bangladesh Agricultural University / Jahangirnagar University. 

The history of dried fish with its significance in the Bengal area starts from the medieval era. Dried fish got to India via the port cities such as Bombay, Visakhapatnam and Chennai by the inter-state and intra-state trades with the railways in the mid-19^th century. Popularly known as ‘Shutki’, dried fish is emblematic to the cultural oneness of (dis)integrated Bengal wherein Bengalis either relished dried fish with uncompromising endearment or rejected it because of the repugnant odor of a decaying fish.

The scoping research focused on two coastal districts of West Bengal: South 24 Parganas and East Medinipur.

Key findings

Small-scale fishers and labourers from neighbouring villages convene to work at camps known as “shabars”. Workers at these camps come from diverse social backgrounds. Women at these camps are often engaged through exploitative “no-work-no-pay” contracts and do not receive additional payment for overtime labour.

The Egra market in East Medinipur is the largest dried fish market of West Bengal. Consumers prefer unsalted dried fish, and they are willing to pay for hygienically prepared dried fish with desirable features.

The makeshift practices of fish drying have resulted in a condition of “making a living in transience” which necessitates ongoing adaptations. Socially and culturally significant events are focal points in the system of dry fish production, despite not being recognized by the formal administrative and legal systems.

While there is documented evidence that indigenous fish species are in decline due to commercial overfishing and unsustainable processing, the onus is borne by artisanal small-scale fishers, who face legal barriers, challenges and often outright prohibition of their established practices.

Land tenure is a dominant concern for dried fish producers in West Bengal.

Recommendations

The report recommends co-management, co-monitoring, and partnership as imperatives within formal dried fish management to generate species recovery and enhance sustainability of the dried fish system. The authors also advise an Interactive Governance approach to effectively identify and support opportunities in the dried fish sector of West Bengal.

Reference

Ghosh, Raktima, Jenia Mukherjee, Amrita Sen, Souradip Pathak, Anuradha Choudry, and Shreyashi Bhattacharya. 2022. “Dried Fish in West Bengal, India: Scoping Report.” DFM Working Papers. The University of Manitoba & Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur.

The patterns of dried fish consumption in Myanmar varies across the country in terms of types and quantity of products. Regardless of their importance as a source of human nutrition and cultural value, there have been no dedicated studies of dried fish consumption in the country. Thus, the DFM Myanmar team consisting of Ben Belton, and Network Activities Group NAG conducted a study of dried fish consumption in Myanmar especially in the areas where NAG offices are located between October 2019 and March 2020.

The study areas cover the three geographical zones of Myanmar, the Delta and Coastal Region, the Dry Zone, and the Hill. The Delta and Coastal Region includes Ayeyarwady, Yangon and Bago regions and Mon State.

Key findings

• Almost every respondent household (94%) except in Northern Shan had consumed at least one type of fresh or processed fish at least once in the last seven days.
• Processed fish was slightly more likely to be consumed than fresh fish across seven of the eight surveyed states and regions.
• The most consumed fish product was fermented fish products followed by dried fish and dried shrimp, and they were the most frequently consumed. Nga-pi-yay (liquid fish paste) is the most eaten fermented fish product, particularly in the Delta and Coastal Region.
• Dried fish were the second most common category of processed fish product consumed, and 45 species of dried fish were identified. Many respondents reported being unable to identify the species.
• Average annual per capita ‘dried fish’ consumption (in the broad sense, including all aquatic animal products processed to aid preservation at ambient temperatures) was consistently high, ranging from 13.2-16.4 kg in Delta and Coastal, Mandalay and Kayin, and 8 kg in Sagaing, but only 2 kg/capita in Shan North.

The study is the first ever dedicated large-scale survey of dried fish consumption habits in Myanmar. It reveals numerous important insights into role and significance of dried fish consumption in the country, which might be missed or underreported when using less specialized survey instruments, with important implications for the design of future surveys.

Reference

Lin, Si Thu, Ben Belton, and Wae Win Khaing. 2022. “Myanmar Dried Fish Consumption Survey.” Dried Fish Matters.