C T Online Desk: Country’s fishermen face high risks of serious injuries and death at sea due to inadequate lifesaving equipment.
Over 1,350 fishermen die at sea each year in Bangladesh, according to a data of Lloyd’s Register Foundation’s fish SAFE 2025 project that provides safety awareness training for fishing communities in Bangladesh, helping save the lives of the world’s poorest fishermen.
The boats appear to be without the most basic safety equipment, including life buoys, life jackets, radios and compasses. Many of the fishing boats are unregistered and generally have very poor onboard conditions due to a lack of effective oversight, said experts.
Over 200 industrial trawlers and more than 67,000 artisanal vessels involved in fishing in the sea provide about 15.05% of national fisheries production.
Four fishermen died and 34 others went missing as 11 fishing trawlers capsized in the Bay of Bengal amid inclement weather on Friday noon to midnight, Coast Guard said on Saturday.
Bangladesh Coast Guard Nizampur Contingent Commander Mohammad Selim Mandal said at least eight fishing boats capsized and 15 fishermen went missing till now while they are conducting rescue drive in the area.
The fishing boats capsized in the Bay due to adverse weather under the influence of low pressure, said Ansar Uddin Mollah, president of Alipur Kuakata Fish Arat Malik Samity of Kalapara upazila.
At least three fishermen went missing in the Bay of Bengal near Nazirartek Channel in Cox’s Bazar after a fishing boat carrying them capsized on Friday.
These are just a few examples of death of fishermen in the sea during adverse weather that appeared in the national newspaper in recent time.
“Around 90% of drowning that occurs while fishing or boating can be avoided by wearing a life jacket. When you first fall into the water, it lessens the impact. It could aid in avoiding hypothermia,” said Dr Headyet Ullah, Scientist, ECOFISH II activity of World Fish in Bangladesh.
Most of the time boat owners do not provide life jacket, life buoys and other lifesaving equipment to fishermen, he said.
Owners of boats are disobeying laws that aid fishermen. The “Marine Fisheries Act 2020” governs artisanal fisheries in the Bay of Bengal.
A fishing vessel is deemed artisanal if its net capacity is 15 tons or less. According to this law, the Bangladeshi government provides regulations and licenses to fishing vessels operating in its territorial seas with regards to the type of vessel, the way fishing gear is stored, vessel inspections, and fishing grounds.
The “Coast Guard Act 2016” has been regarded as providing safety and security.
Dr Sazed ul Haque, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Fisheries Technology at Patuakhali Science and Technology University (PSTU) told the Daily Sun that adverse weather took lives of fishermen each year due to lack of proper lifesaving equipment.
“Fishermen did not get early weather warning and for this reason many of them went to the sea at a time that increases the casualty,” he said.
More than 5 million people who live in Bangladesh’s coastal regions depend mostly on marine fishing for their income.
Millions of people live in Bangladesh and rely on fishing for a living in the rivers, canals, and sea of the nation.
Bangladesh having sovereign rights over almost 118,813 sq. km in the Bay of Bengal possesses vast marine water resources rich in biodiversity.
