Location: Dhaka, Bangladesh
Application Deadline: 24 September 2021
Type of contract: Senior Consultant
Language(s) required: English (native/fluent writing and oral skills)
About WorldFish
WorldFish is an international, non-for-profit research organization that works to reduce hunger, malnutrition and poverty by improving fisheries and aquaculture. With a 45-years track record of leading-edge science, WorldFish generates research evidence and innovations to inform sustainable practices and inclusive policies that enable better livelihoods and healthier diets for millions of poor people, particularly women, who depend on fish for food, nutrition and income. WorldFish is a member of CGIAR , the world’s largest global partnership on agriculture research and innovation for a food secure future. Headquartered in Penang, Malaysia and with regional offices across Africa, Asia and the Pacific, WorldFish leads the cross-disciplinary CGIAR Research Program (CRP) on Fish Agri-Food Systems (FISH).
About the Position
Enhanced Coastal Fisheries in Bangladesh II (ECOFISH II) is an ongoing project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Jointly implemented by WorldFish and the Department of Fisheries (DOF), ECOFISH II activity has been built upon the previous work of the original ECOFISH-BD project focused on conservation of hilsa shad and other coastal biodiversity in the Meghna River ecosystem. ECOFISH II is scaling up lessons learned from the previous project while expanding interventions for improving the livelihoods of fishing communities and enhancing biodiversity conservation in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) for sustainable artisanal fisheries. The ongoing conservation activities in the lower Meghna sanctuaries and the improved management of the Nijhum Dwip marine protected area (MPA) remain as integral parts of the current activity.
The ECOFISH II activity wants to offer an exciting opportunity to the qualified candidate(s) to work on developing an Artisanal Fisheries Management Plan (AFMP) for the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh to sustainably manage marine fisheries resources and improve the livelihoods of thousands of fishers who relied on these resources.
Small-scale artisanal fisheries contribute 84% of the total marine catch that significantly provides food and income to the coastal fishing communities in Bangladesh. However, the coastal and marine resources of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) are under significant anthropogenic pressure, predominantly due mostly to the indiscriminate fishing practices and pollution, and partly due to poor management practices. In addition to that the small-scale fisheries now compete for resources and access rights with other resource users like large-scale commercial fisheries. The main challenges are the lack of infrastructures, access to services and markets, post-harvest loss, lack of access to formal financial services and weak organizations. The absence of a robust and holistic management plan and the lower number of existing workforces and logistic supports together make it difficult to manage such a vast coastal water resources and their human component. While thousands of fishermen depend upon these open access resources to make their living, managing the resources without a proper management plan and guidelines would be equally impractical. Thus, the primary objective of this assignment is to provide critical insights into the current status of small- scale artisanal fisheries with particular emphasis on its various management scenarios for improving the understanding of this fisheries. The insights can be helpful to develop an artisanal fisheries management plan to achieve SDG 14 targets by 2030- Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
Responsibilities