Factors Affecting Small-Scale Fishers Adaptation toward the Impacts of Climate Change: Reflections from South Eastern Bangladeshi Fishers

The main objective of this research is to understand fishers' perceptions of climate change and to identify factors that influence their expectations concerning adapting to change. Two coastal communities at Salimpur on the Sitakunda coast and Sarikait in Sandwip Island were selected as a case study to analyse fishers’ perceptions of climate change in southeastern Bangladesh. This research involved a questionnaire survey to interview 135 male fishers in two areas, who are professional fishers. Exploratory factor analysis and a binary logistic regression were adopted for empirical analysis. From the fishers surveyed, 84% opined that they might adapt and continue the fishing profession in response to climate change. The results suggested that fishers, although they have experienced formal and institutional barriers to adaptation in response to climate change and pursued alternative livelihoods as adaptation strategies, may continue to a fishing profession in the future. On the contrary, the fishers who have generated a high fishing income and experienced extreme climate events may not continue to a fishing profession. Fishers also cited climatic factors along with non-climatic factors (fishing ban, no return on investment, low supply of caught fish) as the reasons hindering their adaptation strategies in response to climate change.