Alleviating Poverty in Small-Scale Fisheries: A Sustainable Livelihood Approach for the Jaffna Lagoon Shrimp Fishing community 

This study assesses the livelihood status of shrimp fishers in the Jaffna Lagoon using the sustainable livelihoods framework A structured questionnaire survey was carried out at all landing sites in the Jaffna lagoon to gather data from 250 shrimp fishers between January and December 2024. The data were standardized and analyzed. The results show that financial capital is highly vulnerable (0.41 ± 0.13), while social capital is the strongest (0.79 ± 0.15). Other capitals, including natural (0.48 ± 0.14), physical (0.48 ± 0.14), and human capital (0.48 ± 0.14), showed moderate levels of vulnerability. The fishing community faced major vulnerabilities from economic instability (0.84 ± 0.37), declining shrimp catches (0.58 ± 0.31), and global warming (0.47 ± 0.29) during the study period. Fishers employed various strategies to mitigate these vulnerabilities. Marine fishing diversification (45%) and intensified fishing practices (19%) were the most common strategies used by lagoon fishers. However, aquaculture (0.65 ± 0.08), entrepreneurship (0.64 ± 0.08), and a combination of agriculture/animal husbandry and entrepreneurship (0.61 ± 0.01) were key strategies contributing to livelihood resilience. Ordinal regression analysis identified significant factors contributing to livelihood resilience, including savings (OR = 429.024, p < 0.0001), housing conditions (OR = 164.057, p = 0.0006), skills beyond fishing (OR = 4.917, p = 0.0304), and access to other natural resources (OR = 15.1, p = 0.0314). These findings suggest that improving financial security, diversifying livelihoods, and skills development are crucial for enhancing the resilience and sustainability of shrimp fishers in the Jaffna lagoon.