Living marine resources are limited; therefore, utilizing them sustainably is essential. Not all resources obtained from the sea are used adequately, causing discards, on-board waste, and by-products and waste on land. Recognition of the limited marine resources and increasing environmental pollution has emphasized the need for better utilization of by-products. Waste may include particles of flesh, skin, bones, entrails, shells or liquid stick water. Unfortunately, no fishery waste and by-product management initiatives or projects exist in Bangladesh; by-products are generally thrown into dustbins, ponds, rivers, and the sea. Bangladesh’s fish-processing waste and fishery by-products could be exported, providing a source of foreign currency earnings. Primary and secondary data were collected through documentary analysis, a literature review, and in-depth interviews (n = 129) with fishers and other relevant stakeholders regarding the challenges of Bangladesh’s sustainable fishery by-products and fish-processing waste. The data were analyzed thematically, guided by the most meaningful stories, and show that fish waste, or fishery by-products, should not be considered less valuable than the fish itself but is a precious and profitable resource capable of bringing health, social, economic, and environmental benefits. Our results reveal that fishery waste can expand local communities’, especially fishers’ and other workers’, potential for jobs or alternative income-generating tasks during fishing ban seasons. Finally, suggestions for managing fishery waste and fishery by-products are made to ensure improved and sustainable utilization via a circular bioeconomy.

The present study aimed to map out the current threats and anticipated impacts of climate change on the most important hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha) fishery and the associated fishing communities based on fieldwork in six coastal fishing communities. To collect empirical data, individual interviews, focus group discussions, oral history, and key informant interviews were conducted. To supplement the empirical findings, time-series data of cyclones and sea-borne depressions in the Bay of Bengal were also analyzed. Analysis of secondary data regarding climate change-induced events and regional studies suggested that the biophysical conditions of the Bay of Bengal are likely to be aggravated in the future, potentially causing more frequent extreme events and affecting the livelihoods of coastal fishing communities in Bangladesh. The fisher respondents revealed that the main target hilsa shad fishery is particularly vulnerable to climate change in terms of alterations to migration patterns and breeding and growth performance. The fishers reported constant climate-related risks because they live in seafront locations, exposed to extreme events, and their occupation entails risky sea fishing. Fishers claimed that they often need return to the coast due to unsuitable weather conditions related to cyclones and frequent tropical depressions, which can cause financial losses or even causalities. Such events negatively affect fishers’ livelihoods, and wellbeing. To cope with the impacts of climate change the fishers have adopted various strategies at both sea fishing and household levels. However, these strategies only support the fishers in terms of immediate survival; they are not enough for long-term resilience. To improve the resilience of the hilsa fishers, the study argues for the implementation the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines (SSF Guidelines), which call for longer-term development goals, including in the immediate relief phase, and rehabilitation, reconstruction, and recovery to reduce vulnerabilities to climate and anthropogenic risks.

Social resilience is an essential aspect of sustainability in environmental management, especially in poor resource-dependent communities. To better understand the dynamics of social resilience, we have conducted a primarily qualitative study of communities dependent on hilsa fishing in two coastal villages in southern Bangladesh. This study applies concepts of social-ecological system (SES), social resilience and co-management in outlining our qualitative data and framing its interpretation. Our findings show that while the establishment of hilsa sanctuary areas has enhanced the previously low ecological sustainability of local small-scale fishing, the management of this program has challenged the social resilience of hilsa fishers by creating new inequalities in the distribution of power and privilege, in terms of the ways in which seasonal fishing bans are enforced and compensation for income loss during the ban periods is distributed. Based on our findings, we suggest specific measures for strengthening social resilience at the local level, including building community networks, developing community infrastructures, updating existing rules and regulations, providing alternative means of generating income for fishers during the crisis periods (e.g. natural disasters and fishing ban periods) and more active sharing of responsibility between stakeholders and government for management of the hilsa fishery. These findings are also applicable to understanding the issues beyond rules and regulations that co-management arrangements need to address in order to be successful and to enhancing the function of co-management arrangements in improving social resilience within resource-dependent communities.

The importance of recreational fishing, in many coastal areas and less developed nations, is increasing rapidly. Connecting fisheries to tourism can create innovative tourism products and provide new income sources. The present study is the first to explore the concept of coastal fishery-based ecotourism (FbE) to enhance the social–ecological resilience of coastal fishing communities in a specific tourist spot in Bangladesh. A combination of primary (quantitative and qualitative) and secondary (literature databases) data sources were used in this study. It applied a social–ecological system (SES) and social–ecological resilience (SER) concept to collect quantitative and qualitative data (120 in-depth individual interviews, four focus group discussions, and strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats-SWOT analyses) and frame their interpretation. The study found that Bangladesh needs to adopt a firm policy to utilize tourism’s potential in national economic development and societal progress. The findings show the considerable potential of the concept that integrates business, education, and an environmental conservation perspective in Bangladesh, specifically for Saint Martin’s Island: 32% of interviewees expressed that increasing employment opportunities and the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) is the primary potential, whereas 31% said it would attract fishing tourists and 23% believed it would develop the local infrastructure and facilities for fishing and tourism. Similarly, most of the respondents (31%) thought that the lack of awareness and promotional activities is the main limitation preventing this initiative from being well accepted. Moreover, based on the findings, specific measures for strengthening the social–ecological resilience of the coastal fishers via FbE at the local level were suggested, including building communal links, developing community infrastructures, revising prevailing rules and regulations, offering alternative means of generating income for fishers during disaster periods, and more active sharing of responsibility between stakeholders and government for the management of FbE. Finally, with its focus on the prospects and challenges of coastal FbE development on Saint Martin’s Island, this article provides a useful reference point for future discourse on similar social and economic strategies. While this study focuses on Bangladesh’s coastal fishing villages, the results are possibly applicable more broadly in similar contexts and developing countries worldwide.