Fishing constitutes a key source of income and food for rural communities worldwide. This is the case in predominantly rural Myanmar (World Fish, 2019), particularly in the Ayeyarwady (Irrawaddy) River Delta. Fishing has long been a central livelihood strategy and valuable source of food security in the Delta, and now also generates a substantial contribution to the gross domestic product. However, the livelihood practices of the fishers, particularly small‐scale fishers, are largely ‘invisible’ in the literature and policy. In this article, we advance understanding of the significant but understudied livelihoods of small‐scale fishers through interviews with fishers and a range of other actors in 2018. Taking a careful examination of the challenges, practices and responses of fishers in the Delta, our research underlines that fishers are important actors in the ‘making’ of the Delta as a geographical scale and concept, yet they are being pushed out of the very landscape they have helped co‐create and have lived in for generations. At this crucial point in Myanmar's development and change, we contend that a better understanding of the livelihoods of fishing households, as some of the nation's most vulnerable, is important for inclusive policy development, economic reforms and research strategy going forward.

中文翻译：

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三角洲捕鱼生计的工作与斗争：缅甸伊洛瓦底江沿岸的发展与“新”变化

捕鱼是全世界农村社区的主要收入和食物来源。这种情况主要发生在缅甸农村地区（World Fish，2019），尤其是在伊洛瓦底江（Ayeyarwady）三角洲地区。长期以来，捕鱼一直是三角洲的一项主要谋生策略，也是粮食安全的重要来源，现在，捕鱼也为国内生产总值做出了巨大贡献。但是，渔民，特别是小规模渔民的生计方式在文献和政策中基本上是“看不见的”。在本文中，我们将通过2018年与渔民和其他参与者的访谈，增进对小型渔民重要但未被充分研究的生计的了解。仔细研究三角洲渔民的挑战，做法和对策，我们的研究强调，渔民在三角洲的“制造”中是一个重要的参与者，从地理规模和概念上来讲，但它们已脱离了它们共同创造并世代相传的地貌。在缅甸发展和变革的这一关键时刻，我们认为，作为该国一些最脆弱的国家，更好地了解捕鱼家庭的生计对于包容性政策制定，经济改革和未来研究战略至关重要。