Fishing families living along the coast in Myanmar’s western Arakan State are facing a crisis due to the military’s two-year-long road and naval blockade of the region.
Fighting between the military, which seized power during the coup on Feb. 1, 2021, and the Arakan Army (AA) resumed in November 2023. Road and sea routes into Arakan have been blocked, causing rising fuel and commodity prices.
“In the past, we used two boats and six nets, with two people per boat. Now, after paying for fuel and workers, the income no longer covers the cost of living. We’ve had to cut back on our work.” Maung Tin Win, 40, a fisherman from Htoo Chay village, Myebon Township, told DVB.
Myebon, located 136 miles (218 km) west of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, was seized by the AA on Feb. 15, 2024.
Maung Tin Win supports his family of five. Their home is located along the Arakan coast. He sets his fishing net twice a day to catch shrimp and other fish to feed his family and sell at the market in Myebon.
Since fighting between the AA and the military resumed in late 2023, high commodity prices have led to a financial crisis for many families like Maung Tin Win’s.
The majority of residents in Arakan rely on fisheries and agriculture for their livelihoods. In Htoo Chay village, eight out of every 10 residents depend on the sea.
The cost of a liter of fuel went from 3,500 to 10,000 kyats ($0.85-2.44 USD). The price of one viss (1.6 kg) of fishing rope has tripled from 20,000 to 60,000 kyats ($4.90-14.60 USD).
The AA has seized control of 14 out of 17 townships in Arakan, but the Myanmar Navy patrols the coastline. Fishermen venturing too far at sea risk arrest, according to Myebon residents.
“If we go far out to sea, [the Myanmar Navy] will arrest us. This is where most fish are located. If we set three nets far away, we might catch only one’s worth near the coast. So now we can’t earn enough. No one dares to go far from the coast. They have speedboats.” Saw Than Swe, 50, another fisherman from Myebon told DVB.
Saw Than Shwe was arrested at sea for the first time in his 10 years of fishing. He was detained at Kyaukphyu Prison for nearly two months. He told DVB that he was released after paying his captors five million kyats ($1,224 USD).
In September 2024, seven fishermen from Pauktaw Township were also detained, according to local media in Arakan.
With transport routes blocked, fishermen can only sell their catch locally, which means a reduction in revenue for the fishing families. Khin Khin Hla, the wife of Saw Than Swe, told DVB that this has made their lives unlivable.
“In the past, we could send prawns to inland towns and get fair prices. Now we can’t transport them, so prices have fallen. Before, people waited to buy but now no one wants them, even when I go to sell them at the market.” Khin Khin Hla told DVB.
Residents across Arakan told DVB that household costs have skyrocketed. The cost of a bag of rice has gone from 5,000 to 25,000 kyats, ($1.22-6.11 USD). The price for cooking oil has also risen fivefold. For many families, a daily meal is uncertain.
The coastal areas where fishing is carried out in Arakan are mostly townships under AA control such as Pauktaw, Myebon, Thandwe, Ramree and Gwa. The capital Sittwe, the deep sea port of Kyaukphyu, and the island of Manaung, are still under regime control.
“I’d like to switch jobs because fishing no longer pays off. Fuel and living costs have risen, but I can’t sell my equipment. There are no other jobs, so I just keep fishing,” Maung Tin Win told DVB.
Since the 2021 military coup, Myanmar’s economy has sharply declined. The World Food Programme (WFP) stated on Sept. 5 that one in three citizens is now facing food insecurity.
The U.N. warns that over two million people in Arakan State are at risk of severe food shortages.
For fishermen along the coast of Arakan, each day at sea now brings more uncertainty than before. As prices soar and restrictions tighten, they fear that the cost of food may deny them the sustenance they need to go out to sea every day.
