ANALYSIS OF SUPPLY CHAIN OF FISH CAPTURED FROM THE JAMUNA RIVER IN BANGLADESH

Received 15 February, 2019 Accepted 13 April, 2019 Online 30 April, 2019

A study was conducted in two districts namely Bogura and Sirajgang to investigate the marketing channel and the marketing system of fishes captured from the Jamuna river in Bangladesh during a period of two consecutive years from January 2016 to December 2017. Fish captured from the Jamuna river were marketed through three types of market viz. auction market/arat, wholesale market and retail market. Operators of the fish market were the fishermen, faria, aratders, paikers or baparies, whole sellers and retailers. Ten channels were identified through which fish of the Jamuna river were shifted from the fishermen to the consumers. The shortest channel was the fishermen to consumers while the longest one was the fishermen→faria→aratders→paikers→whole seller→retailer→consumers. The highest price of fish (BDT 560/kg) was recorded for Wallago attu in retail market followed by BDT 500/kg for Tenualosa ilisha and Bagarious bagarious while, five small indigenous species (SIS) Tetraodon cutcutia, Chanda nama, Parambassis lala, Parambassis ranga, and Esomus danricus got the lowest price in retail market. Icing, weighing, transportation, capital supply were required in fish marketing channels as supporting function to overcome crisis. Major constrains prevailing in the fish marketing channels were reducing fishing areas, decreasing fish catch per day per fishermen, disturbance by illegal seasonal fishermen, lack of bargaining power and market information, lack of proper fish storage and preservation facilities in the fishing craft and fish markets, wastage of fish due to spoiling during transportation, sanitations, drainage and management problems within the market areas.

INTRODUCTION
Fish is the principal source of animal protein for the people of Bangladesh. Although the production from culture fisheries is increasing rapidly, still the popularity, demand and price of capture fish from river is very high. Fish marketing channel is a route or path through which fishes are shifted from the harvesting or capturing spots to the ultimate consumers. Fish supply is affected due to lack of a proper marketing system and channel. To make fish available to the consumers at the right time and in the right place requires an effective marketing system (Bahadur et al., 2004). Many steps are included within a fish marketing channel such as landing center, arat, wholesale market and retail market etc. The whole marketing process of fish includes various functions such as buying, weighing, grading, cleaning, storing or preservation, transportation financing, market information, pricing and selling. A large number of people, many of whom living below the poverty line, find the employment in the domestic fish marketing chain in the form of farmers, processor, traders, intermediaries, day labours and transporters (Ahamed et. al., 1993;Islam, 1996 andDFID, 2000). According to Alam et al. (2010) almost all fish trades internally move through the private sector where a large number of people are dealing with fish distribution and marketing system. The marketing chain from producers to retailers goes onward through a number of intermediaries: Traders, Brokers, Aratdars, Wholesalers, Mahajans and Dadondars. In Bangladesh, fish marketing is almost exclusively a preserve of the private sector where the livelihoods of a large number of people are associated with fish production and marketing systems (DFID, 1998).
Because of high demand and scarcity of riverine fishes and with the development of communication system the marketing system of these fishes are changing rapidly. The livelihood of fishermen who are engaged in fishing and marketing of fish from the rivers are affected due to lack of proper marketing system and are not getting fair price. Such information required documentation about the existing marketing channels, marketing practices and prices of riverine fishes for the betterment of fishermen community. With this view in mind, attempts were taken to investigate the marketing channel and the marketing system of fishes captured from the Jamuna River in Bangladesh. Identification of market constraints and opportunities as well as exploration of better fish marketing options was also the objectives of this study.

Study area and respondents
The study was conducted in two districts namely Bogura and Sirajgang which are situated in middle region of the western side of the Jamuna River. Again Sariakandi Upazilla of Bogura district and Sirajgonj sadar Upazilla of Sirajganj district were selected for the study. The main fish landing centers, nearby Arot (wholesale market), big marketing sites and some important retail markets were visited fortnightly during the whole study period of two years from January 2016 to December 2017. Data were collected from fishermen, Faria, Arotders, Paikers or Baparies, whole sellers and retailers.

Tools and techniques of data collection
The study followed both quantitative and qualitative methods of data/information collection. Data were collected through direct interview of the respondents at different stages following different sets of structured questionnaire. For getting some in depth information on different aspects of marketing, Focus Group Discussions (FGD) (one in each selected location) were conducted including different categories of respondents. Besides, direct observation method was also used for capturing existing selling and buying systems of fish at different stages.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Fish Market Structure
In the study area fish captured from the Jamuna river were marketed through three types of market which are described below:

Auction market/Arat
These are the primary markets located in landing centers on the bank of the Jamuna river for marketing of fish. Three auction markets were found in each of Shariakandi upazila of Bogra district and Sirajgong Sadar upazila of Sirajgong district (Table-1). Almost 70% fish of the Jamuna river was marketed through this auction markets. The fishermen themselves or in some cases, the farias who purchased the captured fish from the fishermen on the spot of capturing in the river transport the fish to the landing centers and carried to the auction markets. The number of auctioneers or Aratders varied from 15 to 20 in each of the auction markets of the study area. Three types of customer viz. the Paikers or Baparies, retailers and well off consumers take part in auction of fish and the highest bidder get the fish with cash payment. The major share of fish (60%) was purchased by the Paikers or Baparies who shift the fish to the whole sale market in the district or upazila town. The retailers share was found 39% while the consumers purchase 10% of the total amount of fish ( Figure 1).

Whole sale market
These are the secondary fish market located in the district and upazila level. Only one whole sale market was found in each study district Bogra and Sirajgang. The Paikers or Baparies who purchased fish from the Arats and shifted the fish to the whole sale market. In the whole sale market the Paikers or Baparies sale their fish to the retailers through the Aratdars or commission agents.

Retail markets
The retailers carried their purchased fish to these markets located in different parts of the town and sell to the consumers in small quantity.

Market Operators
The fish market within the sampling stations as well as in the whole stretch of the Jamuna river was found being operated by six types of operator and the efficiency depends on the activities of the marketing channels which are presented below:

Fishermen
Fishermen were the primary actors in the fish marketing channel. Three types of fishermen were found capturing fish from the Jamuna river viz. permanent fishermen, seasonal fishermen and subsistence fishermen for their livelihood. The fishermen who were fully dependent on fishing for their livelihood round the year from generation to generation are the permanent fishermen. There were some seasonal fishermen who do not catch and market fish round the year. They go for fishing during the peak fishing season mainly in the monsoon when availability of fish in the river increase and at the same time have had no works with their main profession of agriculture. The subsistence fishermen catch fish occasionally for their family consumption and never sell it. Therefore, the former two types of fishermen were found in the fish markets.

Faria
Farias are small fish traders who were found always moving to different fishing groups in the Jamuna river with boat in search of captured fish. They bought any amount of fish from the fishermen on the spot of capture in the river and carried it to the landing center or wholesale market at the nearest district or upazila level. In most of the cases, each faria has their pre-selected Paikers or Aratders to sale the collected total fish, otherwise, many times directly to consumers at the daily market place. Even, in whole sale market they sold it to the wholesaler.

Paikers/Bepari
In the study areas Paikers purchased fish from the fishermen or farias who came to the landing centers with their captured or purchased fish. The Paikers took the collected fish to the wholesale market at the district or upazila level and sold it to the retailers through Aratders.

Aratdar
Aratdasr were found as the main actors in the fish marketing process at the fish landing centers and in the wholesale market. The Aratdars were commission agent who had a fixed establishment and helps the fishermen and paikers to sell their fish and charged a fixed amount of commission of Tk.3 to 4 per cent of sale price. The Aratdars often provided loan to the fishermen, farias and paikers on the condition to sell fish through them.

Retailers
Retailers were the last intermediaries of fish marketing channel, did not have any permanent establishment but they have fixed places in the market centre. The retailers bought fish from the landing centers through Aratdar or from the wholesalers and sold directly to the consumers. Mostly they purchased fish on cash. In case of very large sized fish, the retailers cut it into pieces and sold to the consumers as their required.

Marketing channels
In the study areas, ten types of channel ( Figure 2) were found for marketing fish captured in the Jamuna River which is described below: Channel I: In this channel the fishermen sold their captured fish directly to the consumers.
Channel II: In this system the fishermen sold their captured fish to the consumers who took part in the auction done by Aratders in the landing centers.
Channel III: In this case the fishermen sold their captured fish to the consumers through the farias who bought the fish from the fishermen from the capturing spots.
Channel IV: In this channel the fishermen sold their captured fish to the farias in the capturing spots. Then the farias sold it to the consumers who took part in the auction done by Aratders in the landing centers.

Channel-V:
Here the fishermen sold their captured fish to the retailers who took part in the auction done by Aratders in the landing centers. The retailers carried the fish to the retail markets of the surrounding areas and sold to the consumers.

Channel-VI:
People involved in this channel are the fishermen themselves who directly carried their captured fish to the wholesale markets in the district or upazila level and sold it to the wholesalers. The wholesalers then sold the fish to the retailers. The retailers took the fish to retail markets and sold to the consumers.

Channel-VII:
It was the most common type of fish trading, where the fishermen sold their catch to the farias on the capturing spot. These faria carried the fish to the permanent retail markets in the district or upazila level and sold directly to the retailers. The retailers sold to the consumers.

Channel-VIII:
In this case, the fishermen sold their catch to the farias on the spot where they caught fish in the river. The farias carried the fish to the landing centers where auction was done by Aratders. The retailers took part in the auction and bought fish. They carried the fish to the retail markets of the surrounding areas and sold to the consumers.

Channel-IX:
Here, the fishermen came to the landing center with captured fish and sold to the Paikers through Aratders. The Paikers carried the fish to the wholesale markets in the district or upazila level and sold it to the wholesalers. Wholesalers sold the fish to the retailers. The retailers took the fish to retail markets and sold to the consumers.

Channel-X:
In these channel, the faria collected fish from different fishing group in the river where the fishermen captured fish. The farias carried the fish to the landing centers where auction was done through Aratders. The Paikers took part in this auction and bought fish. The Paikers carried the fish to the wholesale markets in the district or Upazila level and sold it to the wholesalers. Wholesalers sold the fish to the retailers. The retailers took the fish to retail markets and sold to the consumers.

Fish price
It was observed that the price of fish of the Jamuna River varied from species to species depending upon the size, weight and freshness of fish, marketing channel and consumers' preference. A total of 65 species of fish were found capturing and marketing during the study period of two years.

Supporting functions in fish marketing channels
Fish marketing activities include a series of supporting functions perform by different market actors at various levels which are as follows: Icing: The fishermen who go for fishing in a group with large boat for a long time, carried ice in the boat and the captured fish was kept with ice until it was shifted to the market for sale.
Transportation: At the end of the fishing trip the fishermen came with captured in the boat to the nearest point of landing center where auction of fish is arranged. The captured fish is carried from the boat to the auction place through head loads. From the auction place the collected fish is transported to different markets through van, rickshaw and pickup.
Weighing: In the landing centers and auction places of the study area auction of fish is done in eye estimation without weighing. In the retail market weighing machine is used for selling the fish to the consumers.

Capital supply:
In the study area the fishermen and fish traders borrowed loan from different sources for facilitating their fishing and fish trading activities. According to sources three types of loan were found in both Shariakandi and Sirajgong upazila which are described below: Bank loan: Bank loan was taken by aratders and whole sellers. Out of 50 aratders and whole sellers of two upazila 15 (30%) borrowed loan from three commercial banks.
NGO loan: Some fishermen were the beneficiaries of NGOs working in the study areas. Three NGOs namely TMSS, ASA and Grameen Bank were providing small amount of loan to the fishermen and retailers. Out of 100 fishermen of two upazilas, 27 fishermen got loan from these NGOs ranging from BDT 5,000/ to 25,000/ with interest rate varied from 12 to 15% per year.
Private loan: In the study area some fishermen and traders were taking private loan in the form of dadan which is very traditional system of money borrowing in the fish marketing channel. Out of 100 fishermen of two upazilas, 35 fishermen borrowed money from the aratders. The important condition of this type of loan is that the borrower fishermen must sell their fish through the respective Aratder.

Constraints of marketing of fish of the Jamuna River
A number of constraints for marketing of fish in the Jamuna river were reported by different actors of the fish marketing channel within the study area. The constraints of marketing of fish are mentioned below:

Constraints in the fishermen level
Fishing areas in the Jamuna river reducing due to formation of islands; ▪ Fish catch per day per fishermen decreasing due to decrease in fish production in the Jamuna River and more andmore increasing number of seasonal fishermen; ▪ Could not go for fishing every day due to natural calamities; ▪ Disturbance by illegal seasonal fishermen; ▪ Disturbance by robbery; ▪ Lack of bargaining power and market information; ▪ Lack of proper storage of fish in the craft during summer after harvesting; and ▪ Lack of necessary amount of capital.
Constraints in the farias level ▪ Increasing number of farias in this profession; ▪ More and more reducing in the per day harvested fish; and ▪ Lack of necessary amount of capital.

Constraints in the Aratders level
▪ Sufficient amount of fish was not found; and ▪ Absence of permanent infrastructural facilities. In the study area fish captured from the Jamuna River were marked through three types of market such as auction market or arat, whole sale market and retail market. Main operators of fish market in the study area were the fishermen, faria, aratders, paikers or baparies, whole sellers, retailers and consumers. Goon et al. (2012) also found that fish marketing channel consists of fish farmers, beparies, aratdars, paikers, retailers and consumers. The auction markets are the primary fish market located in landing centers on the bank of the Jamuna River for marketing of fish. Three auction markets were found in each of Sariakandi upazila of Bogra district and Sirajgang Sadar Upazila of Sirajgong district. Almost 70% fish of the Jamuna River was marketed through this auction markets. The fishermen came to the landing centers with their catch and carried to the auction markets. The aratders arranged for the auction of fish. Three types of buyer viz. the paikers or baparies, retailers and well off consumers took part in auction of fish and the highest bidder get the fish with cash payment. The aratders took three per cent of the sale price from the fishermen as their commission. The major share of fish (70%) was purchased by the paikers or baparies who shift the fish to the whole sale market in the district or upazila town. The retailers share was found 20% while the consumers purchase 10% of the total amount of fish. The paikers or baparies shifted the fish to the whole sale market. The whole seller purchased from the paikers or baparies and sold it to the retailers. The retailers carried their purchased fish to these markets located in different parts of the town and sell to the consumers in small quantity.

Constraints in the
The fish of the Jamuna River were taken from the fishermen to the consumers through 10 channels. The shortest channel was the fishermen to consumers while the longest one was the fishermen→faria →aratders →paikers →whole seller →retailer →consumers. The supporting functions in fish marketing channels included icing, transportation and weighing capital supply from different sources like, bank, NGO, aratdars and private loan. The price of fish of the Jamuna River varied from species to species depending upon the size, weight and freshness of fish, marketing channel and consumers' preference. Very wide variations in the prices of different groups of fish at different level have been observed both at landing center and consumer markets. The highest price (BDT 550/kg) was recorded for Ompok bimaculatus in Sirajgong Sadar retail market followed by BDT 500/kg for Tenualosa ilisha and Ompok pabo.

CONCLUSION
Three types of market such as auction market or arat, whole sale and retail market were found for marketing the fish of the Jamuna River which were operated by fishermen, faria, aratders, paikers or baparies, whole sellers, retailers and consumers and fish was channelized through ten different channels from the fisherman to the consumers. Price of fish varied from species to species, even within the species according to the size of the fish. As the Jamuna River is the one of the most important sources of many indigenous fish species, it is the prime need to address the problems of the fisherman who were engaged in fishing in the Jamuna River to conserve its fish diversity as well as to ensure the sustainable livelihood for the fisherman.
The concern laws and regulations should be imposed by the authorities properly in case of fish harvesting in the river.