Govt aid eludes 96% families of coastal fishermen after they die in sea

During a heavy storm on 20 July 2018, fisherman Babul Mia, 42, from Badurtala village of Patharghata upazila in Barguna went fishing. He never returned. His wife Fatima Begum and two sons are still waiting for his return.

Losing her husband, Fatema has been struggling to run her three-member family as she has not yet received any aid provisioned for the families of disaster victims because she failed to prove that Babul died.

"My husband, along with 18 fishermen, went fishing. A strong storm hit their trawler and it sank. Ten of them returned home. That storm shattered our dreams and took away everything. Now, I have nothing but 10-katha land," Fatima told The Business Standard (TBS).

"Following the incident, the upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Patharghata and a union parishad member visited us. The UNO gave me Tk3,000 and a piece of cloth. I have been told that I have to show the dead body to be eligible for the grant of Tk1 lakh," she added.

There are hundreds of families in coastal areas, like Fatima's, that have lost their sole bread earner after going fishing. In worse cases, natural disasters like storms and floods have destroyed their houses several times and fish worth a huge amount of money was lost, heaping sorrow upon sorrow.

Golam Mostafa Chowdhury, president of Barguna District Fishing Trawler Owners Association, told TBS that at least 2,500 people have gone missing while fishing in the sea in Barguna in the last 17 years, of whom only 50 bodies were found.

"There is a provision of a grant of Tk1 lakh in case of death of a fisherman while fishing and Tk50,000 in case of disappearance from the Department of Fisheries but most of the victim families do not get this assistance as they cannot show the dead body to the authorities concerned," he added.

In 2022, at least 35 people went missing while fishing in the sea and only eight bodies were found. In 2006, 449 fishermen went missing, which is the highest in the last 17 years. In 2007, 235 people disappeared in Sidr, Golam Mostafa added.

However, the Department of Fisheries claimed that only 259 fisherman families received Tk50,000 in Barisal Division, including 100 families in Barguna district since 2016 when the grant started, which means only 4% of families received government grants.

Anisur Rahman Talukder, deputy director of Department of Fisheries, Barisal Division, told TBS there have been 609 boat capsizing incidents since 2016 in Barisal division, which left 172 fishermen missing, 1,106 injured, and 259 dead.

"If any registered fisherman dies during fishing in the sea, his family will get a grant of Tk50,000 if they provide proper proof – if the body is found. Most of the families do not get the grant due to a lack of proof," he added.
Md Abdul Quaiyum, additional secretary (Fisheries Wing) of Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, told TBS, "The number of fishermen who died while fishing in the sea is very low. All those who are missing may not be dead."
Golam Mostafa said bodies are rarely found as most of those are drifted far away from the place where boats capsize. There are very few examples of fishermen returning after an accident except those who managed to reach a coast in neighbouring India.

Last year, the Indian Coast Guard handed over seven fishermen after rescuing them. The authorities concerned should revise the policies regarding the eligibility for receiving a grant, he added.

Md Shamsuddoha, chief executive of Centre for Participatory Research and Development (CPRD), told TBS that fishing practices in coastal areas are mostly unregulated. 

"Many times, people go fishing in the deep sea with small boats. Accidents are more frequent as fishermen go fishing taking a risk to pay off creditors. When they go missing, they do not get much help. Local government and other authorities concerned should solve the issue," he added.