Freshwater fishes of Bangladesh: Fisheries, biodiversity and habitat

Abstract

Fisheries play an important role in nutrition, income, employment and export earnings in Bangladesh. Fishes contribute to 63% of animal protein intake, about 5% of gross domestic product and 5% of export earnings; approximately 1.4 million people are directly engaged in fishing, 11 million in part-time fishing and another 3 million in aquaculture activities. The fisheries are highly diversified and comprised of inland open water capture fisheries, inland closed water culture fisheries and marine fisheries, which contribute respectively 35%, 44% and 21% to total fish production of 2.1 million tonnes. The major environmental factors having negative impacts on fisheries development are mainly: human impacts on riverine morphology, disruption of ecology, intensive agriculture, and modern developments. Fish conservation acts and regulations exist, but enforcement is difficult because of prevailing socio-economic conditions. Few regulatory mechanisms presently exist for protecting aquaculture environments.

Production from inland openwater capture fisheries is declining due to over-exploitation and habitat degradation. However, aquaculture production, which mostly follows traditional practices, has been steadily increasing. Fisheries research has made significant contributions to the large growth of aquaculture through generating a number of economically viable, socially acceptable and environmentally compatible technologies being used by different categories of farmers, large and small. Presently, formulation and implementation of strategies and policies for conservation and sustainable management of degraded aquatic habitats have been immensely effective along with the generation and wider application/dissemination of suitable aquaculture and management technologies, which are expected to ensure the conservation of aquatic genetic resources. This paper reviews all these subjects and emphasizes future needs for development and implementation of policies/regulations at the national level, before it becomes too late to conserve valuable aquatic biodiversity and their habitats.