Understanding Culture-based Fisheries: An Assessment of a Community-Managed Beel Fisheries in Bangladesh

Abstract

This paper presents a critical review of culture-based fisheries under the frame-work of a co-management arrangement of this resource in Bangladesh. It is recognized that the research and practice of culture-based fisheries are largely focused on production and put emphasis mainly on the economic aspects that relate to investment returns and cost-effectiveness of culture fisheries. In the resource management regimes of recent decades, little attention has been given to other crucial management, societal and environmental aspects. In consideration of these perspectives, the study attempts an empirical analysis of community-based fisheries management (CBFM), with a focus on the assessment of its role in facilitating the development of culture-based fisheries. By adopting a participatory approach to resource management, this research examines several critical aspects of management related to issues of property rights, the leasing out of public land and water bodies, and institutional linkages. It also pays due attention to related social considerations under a community-managed, culture-based fisheries program in Bangladesh. It is argued that culture-based fisheries will not achieve their goals without the adoption of a wide-encompassing management strategy.