USAID |Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh II (ECOFISH II). Annual Report: January to December 2022

Abstract

This annual report describes the accomplishments and achievements of ECOFISH II from January to December 2022. Activities were implemented using key partnerships with the NGO Shushilan, Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU), Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST), Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) and Sher-E-Bangla Agricultural University (SAU). Target activities on ecosystem health management, coastal biodiversity conservation and monitoring coastal fisheries dynamics were achieved under the first Sub-IR1. Three universities (CVASU, SAU and SUST) played important roles in achieving the science outputs. To improve coastal ecosystem health, ECOFISH II field teams collected 9,012 kg of plastic, nets and other garbage from the beaches and other coastal shore areas by engaging 100 local youths as Blue Guards. In partnership with the CVASU, ECOFISH II assessed fish biodiversity using DNA barcoding technology. Through barcoding, the identification of 33 species were confirmed. In ZOR, fish landing records of six LCFs indicated 49 predominant species/groups in the commercial marine fishery that contributed 14,246 tons (t) of fish landing in Cox’s Bazar during the reporting quarter. Hilsa dominated in the landings, and large Hilsa (1 kg size) was the highest contributor (1,787 t), followed by medium sized Hilsa (<500g size, 1,375 t). Other important contributors were Anchovy, Bombay duck, Ribbonfish, Pomfret, Croaker, Sea catfish and Shrimps. The project engaged 35 Citizen Scientists (CSs) of which 25 CSs used to work in ZOR covering Cox’s Bazr Sadar, Ukhiya, Moheshkhali and Teknaf and the remaining 10 CSs collected catch data from the Nijhum Dwip MPA. Based on the CS’s data, catch per unit efforts (CPUEs) of Hilsa and other species/groups in major intervened areas were estimated. The highest CPUE was found in Cox’s Bazar Sadar (1,589 kg/boat/day), followed by Moheshkhali (1,260 kg/boat/day) and MPA (548 kg/boat/day), while the overall average value was 786 kg/boat/day. As a part of stakeholder’s capacity building for co-management, ECOFISH II trained 2,315 beneficiaries from Y3 in biodiversity conservation in 2022. Additionally, 22 Fisheries Conservation Groups (FCGs) were formed. Executive members of these groups are expected to disseminate biodiversity conservation messages throughout the communities. The team also provided biodiversity conservation training to 97 FCG groups from Y2 beneficiaries consisting of 2,468 participants. Total 16 Ghat group consultation meetings were conducted in ZOR area alongside four awareness events with elite and powerful stakeholders of different fish landing centers. A 13-member executive committee was formed in Moheshkhalipara Ghat in the presence of SUFO-DoF, other Ghat based stakeholders and officials from WorldFish. Environmental stewards such as boat skippers and Citizen Scientists helped to facilitate community-led conservation initiatives. As of this year, 28 megafauna were released by trained fishers, including 24 turtles, one skate, one shark, one dolphin and one porpoise. ECOFISH II adheres to an EAFM approach and tries to involve government and non-government stakeholders in the decision-making process and implementation of fisheries governance. ECOFISH II hired an international consultant to conduct training on EAFM in February 2023. Participants in the training program will include relevant representatives from the Department of Fisheries, BORI, universities, and NGOs. For improved fisheries governance, total 13 batches of boat skipper training were conducted this year. The majority of boat skippers are unaware of the rules and regulations of the government. SUFO/UFO from DoF, Coast Guard Commander, Navy personnel from Bangladesh, and the president and secretary of the press clubs in different regions facilitated these sessions alongside ECOFISH II staffs. ECOFISH II conducted 31 awareness events related to 65-day marine fishing ban, 22-day brood hilsa ban, Jatka conservation, megafauna conservation, and catfish conservation. Team provided 379 life jackets to boat skippers who had been trained on marine biodiversity conservation and responsible fishing. Further, the team successfully conducted FirstAid training events and distributed FirstAid Kits to 93 selected fishers from the working area. This year, ECOFISH II distributed 4,000 posters and 20,000 leaflets on Jatka conservation, 5,000 posters and 20,000 leaflets on the 65-day marine fishing ban, and 5,000 posters and 20,000 leaflets on the Hilsa fishing ban. The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2022 to be the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022). On 29 May 2022, ECOFISH II recognized the contribution of artisanal fishers to food security and employment, particularly those involved in reviving the hilsa fisheries by celebrating IYAFA 2022 at Kuakata, Patuakhali. To provide policy support to DoF, delineation activities for a new marine protected area (MPA) in the Naf River Estuary were conducted in partnership with SUST. Based on the socioecological assessment and stakeholder consultations, the project proposed 860 km2 area of the Naf River Estuary for delineating a potential new MPA. Three options for restriction zones: entry/no-take, partial reserve, general reserve were also suggested. SUST arranged an expert consultation workshop and revised the proposal incorporating the recommendations from the workshop and re-submitted to DoF. SUST also proposed a management framework focusing on stakeholder integration, livelihood safety of local communities, trans-boundary issue, governance and effective biodiversity conservation through zonal management, monitoring and evaluating the success of MPA declaration. ECOFISH II is helping small-scale fishing households to increase livelihood resilience for reducing fishing pressure in the Bay of Bengal and coastal riverine ecosystems. The team selected 19 new and 8 existing villages of 09 upazila in ZOR (Teknaf, Ukhiya, Ramu, Cox's Bazar Sadar, and Moheshkhali), MPA (Hatiya, Charfasson, and Rangabali), and MRE (Barguna) under the ECOFISH II intervened areas. After community profiling and beneficiary selection, ECOFISH II provided livelihood support to 2,429 fishing households out of the targeted 2,500 in 2022 (Year 3). Sixty-seven percent of the beneficiaries received goats, 20% received poultry (duck, pegion, and chicken), and the rest received agriculture farming (4%), small business (2%) and other non-farm businesses. These start-up livelihood support helped fishing households to generate income. The team has organized 37 goat husbandry and other AIGA trainings for 1,038 participants (50% women). ECOFISH II organized "Livestock Treatment and Vaccination Campaigns" in 15 intervened fishing villages in ZOR, MPA, MRE region with the Department of Livestock Service (DLS). To support fisher’s women access to finance 17 new Community Savings Groups (CSG) were formed with 532 fisher’s women of ZOR and MPA in Year 3. Team conducted 351 CSG mobilization meetings with 8,109 participants. Up to December 2022, 2,082 members from 69 CSGs have savings BDT 3.73 million including their own savings (BDT 2.55 million) and matching fund (BDT 1.18 million). Most of the matured CSGs have started different AIGAs by taking loans from CSGs savings and distributed BDT 540,000 among 84 CSG members to support goat rearing, chicken rearing, agriculture, dry fish business, grocery and tailoring business. An assessment was conducted to better understand the local level climate change perception, impact, and adaptation strategies of fishermen in Bangladesh's ZOR and MPA coastal villages. The ECOFISH II team organized eight focus group discussions (FGD) with community members for the Community Risk Assessment (CRA) and Risk Reduction Action Planning (RRAP) to address climate change adaptation. Seaweeds are a form of marine autotrophic macroalgae prevalent in coastal waters and are of both ecological and economic importance. Considering these blue economic importance, ECOFISH II, with the assistance of CVASU, introduced seaweed farming in the coastal waters of Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh. The objective of this initiative was to develop a production and economically efficient seaweed farming technology through a trial and error process engaging fishing households. CVASU identified four potential seaweed culture species (Gracilaria sp., Ulva sp., Hypnea sp., and Enteromorpha sp.). CAVSU also developed habitat suitability maps to select the best suitable site for better growth rate and culture method for seaweed with a view to expand the floating culture system. However, in order to ensure the financial viability of the floating lone line system, a complete economic analysis of the system is required, and this evaluation will take place during the next year. ECOFISH II also piloted green mussel (Perna viridis) farming as another natural solution for the coastal men and women in Cox’s Bazar. Preliminary observations suggested that spat attachments would improve following the breeding season. ECOFISH II distributed micronutrient rich vegetables seeds to 3,337 and 3,623 HHs of Year 2 and 3 during summer and winter season, respectively. The beneficiaries (>70% women) were oriented on nutrition-sensitive homestead gardening and HH nutrition during seed distribution in winter. Total 1,338 beneficiaries were supported to improve HH income and nutrition through the production and marketing of safe and hygienic dried fish. NSTU assessed the nutritional efficacy of fish powder by a trial with the complementary foods of children and draft report has been prepared on it, developed a SoP for seaweed powder preparation, and prepared eleven food items from the seaweed powders. The project’s Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) team generated community-level information covering all the villages where the project is working in and integrated the information into the GIS map, Google Earth maps and maintained offline-online database. The MEL team conducted periodic and annual assessments to assess project performance against six standard USAID indicators and seven custom indicators and submitted the PIRS report to USAID. MEL team conducted internal Data Quality Assessment (DQA) for ZoR and MPA sites to assess the data quality and performance of the ECOFISH activities in the field levels. As communication outcomes, the project produced 60,000 leaflets and 14,000 posters on Jatka conservation, 65-day marine fishing ban, and 22-day brood Hilsa fishing ban; achieved 184 media coverages; published 05 op-eds in leading media and organized a live TV talk show on "Socio-economic Improvement of fishers". Total 24 pieces of content for social media on various aspects of key interventions and thematic issues were created. A video documentary on biodiversity conservation and fisher livelihoods was produced and organized Blue Food Festival & Artisanal Fishermen Congress.