2. History
Knowledge of the freshwater fish fauna of Bangladesh
begins with the work of Francis Hamilton (Hamilton 1822).
Francis Day published accounts of marine as well as
freshwater fish fauna of the subcontinent in 1878.
Subsequently numerous other works contributed to the
knowledge of fish and fisheries of eastern Bengal, now
Bangladesh.
Shrimp cultivation has been in vogue since the 1940s in the
south and southeastern coastal belt of Bengal. Calcutta was
the principal consumer of most of the shrimps cultivated
there. After the partition of India, the Bengal shrimp
cultivators lost their Calcutta market and the practice of
shrimp cultivation gradually disappeared. Thereafter, in the
1970s when the demand for shrimp grew in the world
market, shrimp culture again started in the Khulna,
Bagerhat, Satkhira and Cox's Bazar areas. Rearing of fish
along with paddy is an age-old practice in Bengal. Use of
pesticides in recent years, however, has greatly impeded
fish culture in paddy fields
3. Freshwater
Always inhabit freshwater
Marine
Lives in sea water or may be oceanic
Brackish-Water
Inhabit the less saline regions of the seas
and estuaries
Migratory
Moves for reproductive purpose
either from The sea to freshwater or
from freshwater to sea
FishHabitats
4. The fisheries sector in Bangladesh is broadly
divided into three sub-sectors: Inland
Capture, Inland Culture and Marine fisheries
5. The inland capture fishery has five types of
habitat containing approximately 853,863
ha of river and estuary, 177,700 ha of
Sundarbans, 114,161 ha of beel, 68,800 ha
of Kaptai lake, and2,695,529 floodplain
(haor); and the inland culture fishery,
which has six types of habitat containing an
area of 371,309 ha of pond, seasonal
130,488 ha of cultured water body, 5,488
ha of baor,275,274 ha of shrimp/prawn
farm, pen culture 6,775 ha, and 7 ha of
carge culture
At present, major carps species and Labeo
calbasualong with exotic carp arethe
available carp species in the market. The
catch from the inland capturefishery is
noteworthy, especiallyfor rural areas in
terms of fish supply and employment.
Inland Open Water Fishery
6. Inland Closed Water Fishery
The entire area of inland closed (culture) water fisheries
bodies is 0.29 million ha. Among various segments of the
fisheries sub-sector, the inland aquaculture has generally
experienced the fastest growth, particularly in pond
aquaculture, entirely over the country. Aquaculture now
provides around half the fish for direct human consumption in
Bangladesh and is set to grow further. Aquaculture industry
contributes to the economy with increasing production
capacity and high export opportunities. Over the last 10 years,
the average growth rate of fisheries is 5.4%, while aquaculture
has grown 8.2%. This recent and rapid development has
boosted Bangladesh to 5th in world aqua-culture production.
The present unit area aquaculture productions (MT/ha) are
3.60, 1.50, 0.95 and 0.71 for the pond, seasonal water body,
baor (oxbow lake) and shrimp gher, respectively. Inland culture
represents the mainstay of aquaculture in Bangladesh,
accounting more than 80% of the total recorded aquaculture
production, and is presently dominated by carps (indigenous
and exotic), Mekong pangas and tilapia. This sector contributes
more than half of the total fish production.
7. MarineFishery The coastal and marine environment of Bangladesh is blessed with a warm tropical climate and
high rainfall, enriched with nutrients from the land, creating one of the world's richest
ecosystems with high productivity. Exploration, exploitation and management of living and non-
living resources of the Bay of Bengal have potential to substantially contribute to the economy
of Bangladesh. The Bay of Bengal is blessed with rich coastal and marine ecosystems, hosting a
wide range of biodiversity
8. Socio-Economic Impact of the
Fisheries Sector
Employment of People
Exports and imports
Impact on GDP
Food Security
Rural Development
More than 17 million people including about 1.4 million women depend on
fisheries sector for their livelihoods through fishing, farming, fish handling,
and processing (BFTI, 2016, p. 1215). A different surveys revealed that more
than 80% of laborers engaged in the fish processing industries were women
The number of landless in rural areas is increasing and non-farm rural
employment is increasingly important for poverty reduction. Fishing
(professionally or for subsistence) provides an important source of
employment. The growth of aquaculture provides non-traditional
employment opportunities in rural area
The number of landless in rural areas is increasing and non-farm rural
employment is increasingly important for poverty reduction. Fishing
(professionally or for subsistence) provides an important source of
employment. The growth of aquaculture provides non-traditional
employment opportunities in rural area
Bangladesh is one of the world’s leading fish producing countries with a
total production of 41.34 lakh MT, where aquaculture contributes 56.4
percent for last 10 yearsNational fish Hilsha as a single species has been
making the highest contribution to the country’s total fish production.
‘Geographical Indication Registration Certificate’ has been achieved for our
national fish Hilsha. In FY2017-18 fishing sector contributes 3.57 percent to
the GDP and 25.30 percent to the country’s total agricultural products.
Year Imports Exports
Quantity (t) Million US $ Quantity (t) Million US $
2010–11 28,981.19 13.1846 96,469.23 443.1063
2011–12 37,180.12 18.72 92,479.18 598.4771
2012–13 63,062.81 28.08 84,904.50 611.5135
2013–14 69,778.11 39.4914 77,328.86 560.6393
2014–15 97,383.67 39.5161 83,524.37 636.7686
2015–16 88,593.50 43.2276 75,337.93 605.878
9. Current Position of Fisheries Industry
The Future of Fisheries Industry
In the 2016-7 fiscal, Bangladesh produced a total of 41,34,000 metric tonnes of fish, including a first-time
surplus of 84,000 tonnes. It helped the country to achieve the rank.The production of hilsa stood at around
five lakh metric tonnes that year, twice the amount in 2008-09.
The Future of Fish resources seems bright. The growth rate of fish production from all sector is 4.760208%
in 2018.
The government of Bangladesh has made illegal to catch jhatka (Hilsha fries) in order to have massive
production of full grown hilsha. Krishi Bank Bangladesh (the agriculture bank) is lending money to the fish
producers. They also lend money to the fishermen. All agricultural Universities have a department of
fisheries. Now many public universities have a department of fisheries. So it can be concluded that there is
a high potentials for fisheries.
