 Bangladesh lies between the Himalayan mountains and the
Bay of Bengal in the delta of the River Ganges and
Brahmaputra. It commands jurisdiction over 166 000 sq.
km of water area, including the 200-mile EEZ. One fifth
of the population live in coastal areas. Most of them
depend on marine resources for their livelihood.
Fisheries plays a conspicuous role – through nutrition,
employment generation and foreign exchange earnings.
Marine fishing is largely confined within a depth of 100
meters. Nearly 70 trawlers and 51 000 mechanized and
non-mechanized boats are active in fishing. Pelagic and
deep-sea resources are largely untapped.
Marine fishery production has
marginally increased over the last 10 years but its
relative share in fishery production has declined from 31%
in 1991 to 26% in 2000. More than 90 fish species are
commercially important. The majority of traditionally
targeted stocks are now reported to be over exploited.
Principal groups include artisanal/coastal fishing
vessels, a commercial/intermediate sector, and industrial
trawlers, each with its separate history and
characteristics The fishery is associated with open access
in all sectors and commercial gill netting and artisanal
fishing have both been expanding, leading to significant
declines in catch performance. Artisanal/coastal vessels
account for some 23% of total landings, and 40 % of marine
fishers, mainly using estuarine set bag nets and beach
seines. Around one third also participate in the small
mesh gill net fishery for hilsa. The sector as a whole is
believed to be continually growing as the population of
coastal villages continues to increase. Catches are
believed to have declined significantly since the mid
1990s. Fishers have reported declines in the marine catch,
which corresponds to recent research evidence. Kleih
(2002) points to significant declines in catch after
around 1997.
 This
subsector is primarily characterised by the production of
bagda (Penaeus monodon) shrimp in saline coastal ponds,
golda farming in less saline areas, a small production of
mangrove crabs, and varied quantities of brackish water
and marine fish species, most of which are produced as
by-crops or fallow crops in the shrimp ponds. This
constitutes the major export-oriented subsector, and is
increasingly shaped by international trade conditions and
by national responses to these. Its relatively high value
places considerable importance for upstream inputs such as
seed and feeds, and for downstream elements such as
transport and processing. Though golda production, and a
certain part of bagda production is artisanal, there has
been significant and continuing commercial interest,
particularly for the latter.
|
Length of Coastline |
710 km |
|
Population |
123 million |
|
Number of fishermen |
1.2 million full-time, 11 million part time |
|
Contribution of fisheries |
6.15 per cent of the GDP, 6.28 per cent of foreign
exchange earnings through export |
|
Average annual growth rate of fish production |
8 per cent |
|
Total fish production |
1 544 170 mt (1999), 846 144 mt (1990). |
|
No. of artisanal boats |
45 500 (including 10 500 mechanised boats) |
|
Export |
28 477 mt (1998-99), mainly frozen shrimp & fish |
Source: http://www.bobpigo.org
Map of the Fishing Zone
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Although the Exclusive Economic
Zone (EEZ) of Bangladesh covers an area of 70,000 km2
effective fishing areas for marine fish and shrimp have
been estimated at about 10,000 km2 and 5,000 km2
respectively. Total annual marine fisheries catch is
estimated at 0.23 million ton, which is around 28
percent of all fish produced per year (BBS, 1997).
Sector-wise Fish
Production
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