By: Camp Correspondent
May 8, 2025 | Rakhine State, Myanmar
Rohingya fishermen in parts of northern and coastal Rakhine State say they are being compelled to give up nearly half their catch to local representatives of the United League of Arakan/Arakan Army (ULA/AA) to access fishing zones. The practice has been described by residents as a systematic form of extortion, enforced through threats and exclusion from livelihoods.
In areas like Maungdaw Township and along the coastal regions near Jetty Taw, where fishing was once the primary means of survival, Rohingya fishermen report being forced into “profit-sharing” arrangements—in which up to 50% of their daily catch or income is seized by AA-affiliated local administrators.
“They only allow us to fish if we give them a share,” said one fisherman in Maungdaw. “If we refuse, they threaten to ban us from the river or sea. We’re not free to work or feed our families anymore.”
Fishing Access Now Politicized and Restricted
Following heavy clashes in Thandwe, Ngapali, and surrounding areas, many local fishing families were displaced and are still unable to return to their coastal livelihoods. In contrast, those permitted to fish under the new local arrangements—mostly men from Rohingya communities and some Rakhine villagers—must reportedly secure verbal permission from AA local officials and agree to the enforced revenue-sharing model.
“We used to survive by fishing. Now, even the sea has a price. If we don’t give them what they want, we go hungry,” said another fisherman from southern Maungdaw.
Sources indicate that this practice has intensified since supply routes in northern Rakhine were blocked by the military junta, leading to severe shortages of fuel, rice, and other necessities. In response, ULA/AA leaders have tried to generate resources by taxing local trade, labor, and now subsistence fishing.
Food Security Crisis Deepens Amid Blockades and Airstrikes
With junta airstrikes, burned farmland, and trade disruptions mounting across Rakhine State, many families—especially in Muslim-majority townships like Maungdaw and Buthidaung—are now facing extreme hardship. Humanitarian organizations have warned that a looming famine is possible if access to food and livelihoods continues to be restricted.
Rohingya fishermen, already among the most vulnerable and stateless in the region, say this new pressure from local AA officials amounts to economic coercion layered upon ethnic marginalization.
“We don’t have land. We don’t have citizenship. Now even the ocean doesn’t belong to us,” said a displaced Rohingya man who previously worked on the Naf River. “Everything we have left is being taken.”
No Accountability, No Redress
Despite growing testimonies from affected communities about harassment, forced taxation, and intimidation by AA-linked actors, no public disciplinary action or investigation has been reported. Local sources believe that the practice may be informally sanctioned as part of ULA/AA’s wartime resource extraction strategy, particularly as control expands across northern Rakhine.
As tensions escalate and humanitarian corridors remain politically deadlocked, Rohingya families fear that what remains of their fragile livelihoods may soon vanish completely.
Rohingya Khobor will continue to monitor these developments and provide firsthand reporting from affected communities.
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