1. Introduction:Bangladesh is a South Asian country located in between latitude 20°34' and 26°39' north and longitude 80°00' and 90°41' east. The country is crisscrossed with hundreds of rivers and it has established a credible record of sustained growth within a stable macro-economic framework where fisheries sector play an imperative and prospective involvement in agro-based pecuniary expansion, destitution easing, employment and delivering of animal protein and grossing the overseas exchange. Fish (including shrimp and prawn) is the second most valuable agricultural crop and its production contributes to the livelihoods and employment of millions. The key objectives of the sector are enhanced fisheries production; poverty alleviation through creating self-employment and improvement of the socio-economic paradigm of the fishers; meet the demand for animal protein; achieve economic growth and earn foreign currency by exporting fish and fisheries products and maintain ecological balance; conserve biodiversity and improve public health.
Bangladesh has achieved remarkable progress in the fisheries sector since its independence in 1971. The fisheries sector has been playing a very significant role and deserves potential for future development in the agrarian economy of Bangladesh. This sector contributes 4.39% to the national GDP and almost one fourth (22.76%) to the agricultural GDP (Bangladesh Economic Review 2012). In recent years, this sector performs the highest GDP growth rate in comparison to other agricultural sectors (crop, livestock, and forestry). The growth rate of this sector over the last 10 years is almost steady and encouraging, varying from 4.76 to 7.32 percent with an average of 5.61 percent. Whereas the last four years the average growth rate of this sector is 6.22 percent. The country's export earnings from this sector are 2.46% in 2011-12. The sector's contribution to the national economy is much higher than its 4.39% share in GDP, as it provides about 60% of the animal protein intake and more than 11% of the total population of the country is directly or indirectly involved in this sector for their livelihoods. There are 40.24 lakh ha open water bodies in our country. Among them, 8.5 lakh ha are rivers and estuaries, 1.8 lakh ha Sundarbans, 1.1 lakh ha beel, 28.32 lakh ha floodplains and 68,800 ha Kaptai. Beel is one of the best natural habitats for the indigenous fishes of different food habits of Bangladesh. Most of the aquatic species especially the fish and prawn enter the inundated areas of the beel from the adjoining rivers and canals to feed and grow during the monsoon months. The ‘beel’ a Bengali term is used for a large surface water body that accumulates surface runoff water through the internal drainage channel. Bangladesh has thousands of beels, with the most common names being Chalan Beel, Gopalganj-Khulna Beel, Meda Beel, Aila Beel, Dekhar beel, Kuri Beel, Erali beel, and Arial Beel. The average rate of production from beel is 714 kg/ha which can be increased manifold.
Therefore, it can reduce its malnutrition problem by increasing the production of fish. The fisheries sector creates more than 1.65 million people in employment opportunities. A large portion of rural family members is engaged in part-time fishing from the rivers and other open water bodies. The mission of the fish department is to support sustainable growth in fish and shrimp production with other aquatic resources for domestic consumption and exports as well and management of open water fisheries resources through community participation leading to equitable distribution of the benefits generated for optimal economic and social growth of Bangladesh. The total area of perennial inland water is generally estimated at 1.58 million hectares while the area of inundated paddy fields and other low-lying places that retain monsoon waters for about six months allowing seasonal fish culture is estimated at 2.83 million hectares. The Republic has a 480 - kilometer long coastline and approximately 1 million hectares of territorial waters. The nation's exclusive economic zone extends 320 km out to the sea from the coastline. Thus the nation's total area of waters having fish production potential is very great.
2. Fishery Resources:Bangladesh is endowed with rich and extensive fisheries resources. Due to natural conditions and geographical location, Bangladesh has huge fisheries resources having a high potential of increasing fisheries production. The country's fisheries may be conveniently divided into inland and marine sectors, although the dividing line between salt and fresh water, and open sea and inland waterway is very nebulous. Fishermen too move seasonally from inland open waters to sea fishing so that any demarcation between the two fisheries must be arbitrary. Inland fisheries are further divided into two groups i.e. aqua-culture and inland capture. Inland fisheries occupy an area of 45.75 lakh ha and marine capture covers 1, 66,000 sq.km. The culture fisheries include ponds, ox-bow lakes, and coastal shrimp farms. The flood-plains and the beels, which cover an area of 29.5 lakh ha, offering tremendous scope and potential for augmenting fish production by adopting aquaculture based enhancement techniques.
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