The slow death of a fishing village

By Ei Ei Toe Lwin
Auguet 8 - 14, 2011

FISHERMEN in rural communities of Dedaye township, Ayeyarwady Region, are increasingly looking to other industries for work because they are unable to compete with commercial-scale businesses, residents say.

Predictably this means leaving Dedaye for more economically vibrant towns and cities, such as Pyapon, Yangon or even Myeik and Dawei in Tanintharyi Region and rural populations are dwindling, particularly during rainy season.

Most affected are Ou To, Yae Twin Gone and Than Date villages, which are situated at the mouth of the delta, where the river flows into the Andaman Sea.

These villages were formerly home to at least 3700 people but barely 1200 remain and administrators are unsure how many of those who migrated will return when the fisheries industry restarts after thisrainy season.
“The main reason for people migrating to other places is the dwindling fishereies resources in the sea,” said U Thein Aung, a fisherman from Ou To village. “Fishermen also don’t have enough equipment so they are struggling to catch anything when they do take to the water.”

He said the situation had been exacerbated by Cyclone Nargis. Before the cyclone hit in May 2008, nearly every household in these communities owned a boat and fishing net but all were destroyed in the storm.
“Some NGOs gave motor boats only five in every 100 households got boats. For the most part they have to rehabilitate themselves. It costs K800,000 to buy a boat and fishing net,” he said.

Many of those that didn’t return to fishing became sajin hnga – contracted seasonal labourers, usually on a farm – or casual fisheries workers.

“But there is very little farmland near our village and all of it is owned by two people; they have about 5 or 6 acres each. Some people work on fishing boats owned by other people for a daily wage. If they borrow money from others to invest [in fishing equipment] they are often unable to meet the interest payments and in the end give up,” said U Tun Tun Naing, the village tract administrator of Kyone Dut village group, which includes eight villages.

The sajin hnga earn a lower salary – K30,000 to K40,000 a month – than daily workers, who get from K2000 to K3000 a day, but have the advantage of steady work for eight months of the year.

“It’s no longer easy to be a day worker on the fishing boats because fewer and fewer businesses are running. Fishermen from our area have migrated to Dawei and Myeik, where they can find work on larger fishing boats,” said U Mya Win Lay, a local official in Yae Twin Gone village.

Residents say that three or four years ago the owner of a fishing boat could expect a catch of about 800 kilograms from a 25-day stint on the ocean. Now they regularly get as little as 300kg, which they say is barely enough to cover their operating costs.

“There is a scarcity of fish, especially ngathalau (hilsa); it’s no longer easy to catch with our nets. Larger boats from private fishing companies use a net called bon kyaung, which is produced in China, to catch hilsa. This net costs K10 million and we can’t afford to purchase it so we only get what they leave behind,” said fishing boat owner U Hlaing Kyaw, from Than Date.

Government officials, industry associations, business owners and workers attribute the decline to a number of different factors but all agree that fish stocks are a shrinking natural resource.

“It’s a problem not only in Myanmar but throughout Southeast Asia,” said U Mya Than Tun, deputy director of the Department of Fisheries. “There are many boats from Thailand and China that our department permits to fish in Myanmar waters but there are other foreign boats that enter illegally. These boats are large, with many workers and big nets but it’s difficult to do anything about it because the Navy is responsible for enforcing the law.

“Some fishing businesses are also using illegal methods; they are using small nets that catch not only big but also small fish.”

U Win Kyaing, general secretary of the Myanmar Fisheries Federation, said other illegal fishing methods, such as poisons and electric shocks, were also widely used.

“We can’t restore fish resources to what they were in previous years but we have to make strong efforts to maintain the present status. We are conducting workshops with fishermen at regional and local levels about responsible fishing methods but it will require the cooperation of all stakeholders,” he said. “I also think the effects of climate change have had a serious impact [on fish stocks], particularly of late. Fish are dying because the warmer water is affecting their food supply.”

For the residents of coastal Dedaye villages, the effect on livelihoods has been stark and has led some to question whether the communities will even survive.

“There were so many businesses in our village before Nargis. Now only two [fisheries] employers are doing business in our village. I also had a fishing business in the past but I now run a teashop and a few boats. My two daughters are working in Malaysia and I plan to leave this area in about 12 months,” said U Tin Ko Lay from Yae Twin Gone village.

His business was also severely affected by Cyclone Nargis and has struggled to recover.

“I had 25 boats before Nargis, now I only run two boats. I had 500 employees then but now only 10. My old workers have had to go to other places to find jobs.”

While it was not unusual for residents to migrate to other areas in the past, they could at least rely on fisheries work for four months of the year, from September through December.

However, the reduced job opportunities mean there are few reasons for people of working age to stay in the villages.

“Only four months of the year people could do business and now even those four months are not good, so many have gone to work in other places. The women usually follow their husbands so now there’s only one-third of the population left behind. Most leave permanently but some go temporarily during the rainy season – especially June, July and August – to Yangon, Myeik and Pyapon,” said U Hla Myo Than from Than Date, which previously had about 1200 residents.

Ironically, this means seasonal businesses, such as those that specialise in making fisheries products like ngapi (fish or shrimp paste) and nga pya yay (fish sauce), are likely to face a shortage of female workers when work begins after the monsoon.

“Most of the women have migrated to other places. Before women could work making ngapi or nga pya yay or repairing fishing nets and get a daily income of K2000, but the work is only for four months of the year,” said Daw Tin Tin Hla, who owns a fisheries products business in Yae Twin Gone.

“We have to pay them in advance to secure them for the four months but nobody is here, they’ve all left and I’m not sure if they’ll come back in October.

“I am still considering whether it’s worth continuing this business,” she said. “I might also have to look for another line of work.”