Baisali’s Fisheries Business

Tashi looks at Lalima and Baisali.

"Ok, of you two, who wants to share an example of climate risk to businesses, next?"

Baisali shifted forward and everyone turned to listen.

"Bangladesh, which is one of the world's major fish-manufacturing nations, has abundant water resources and produced 43.84 lakh metric tons of fish in the fiscal year 2018-19, with freshwater aquaculture accounting for 56.76% of the country's fish output (Sunny & Prapti, 2022). It has both an inland and coastal fisheries industry. However, climate change has affected its fisheries industry. For example, the northwestern region of Bangladesh has endured a climate-induced long-term drought; the central and northeastern regions have been plagued by flooding, flash floods, and river erosion; and coastal areas have been affected by tidal surges and waterlogging, as well as saltwater intrusion and rising sea levels (Sunny & Prapti, 2022). Some effects of climate change in the fisheries sector are:

● Change in physio-chemical parameters.

● Rise of temperature: Every year the average temperature is rising, making it difficult for the species to survive. The Ganges Brahmaputra River delta in Bangladesh has seen a 1.2-degree increase in water temperature.

● Ocean acidification: Ocean acidification mainly targets shellfish and corals as ocean acidification reduces calcium carbonate, a key element for shell and skeleton formation.

● Sea level rise: Bangladesh will lose freshwater sources, especially in the coastal areas due to sea level rise. Sea level rise may cause loss/shift of natural breeding grounds of native fish species.

Furthermore, the small-scale fisheries sector of Bangladesh is suffering due to a lack of technical support and ignorance. On top of the yearly cyclones and tropical storms, increasingly turbulent tidal activities make fishing operations dangerous and limited. Rough seas and frequent cyclones force coastal fishers to stay home and abandon fishing trips. However, due to limited options for livelihood and survival, they ignore the weather forecast warning and continue fishing which can lead to casualties (Afroz, 2018).

Additionally, due to few rainfalls in the June-July period, Hilsa (type of fish) did not respond to spawning as before. The fishing communities now need to adapt to cyclones, floods, variations in temperature and rainfall, sea level rise, drought, and land erosion, and their impacts. These shocks force fishing communities to adjust their livelihood assets, and strategies (fishing, pre-harvest activities such as boat making, financing, and post-harvest activities such as processing and marketing) (Afroz, 2018).

The businesses engaged in the fisheries sector are then impacted by the changing nature of the sector overall. This introduces uncertainty in business potential, and business income, and increases business risks."

“Thank you for sharing this Baisali. As climate change creates an imbalance in the aquaculture ecosystem, it will have a direct impact on the fisheries sector.”