Marine Fisheries of Bangladesh. Prospect & Potentialities

Marine Fisheries of Bangladesh:
Prospect and Potentialities
M. Enamul Hoq
Project Director, Support to BOBLME Project
A. K. Yousuf Haroon
National Technical Advisor, Support to BOBLME Project
S.C. Chakraborty
National Coordinator, BOBLME- Bangladesh
Support to Sustainable Management of the BOBLME Project

Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute
Marine Fisheries of Bangladesh: Prospect and Potentilities
2013
Hoq, M.E., A.K. Yousuf Haroon and S.C. Chakraborty. 2013. Marine Fisheries of
Bangladesh: Prospect & Potentilities. Support to Sustainable Management of the
BOBLME Project, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Bangladesh. 120 p.
Disclaimer: This publication may be of assistance to you but the authors or the publisher do not
guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or wholly appropriate for your
particular purpose and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequences
which may arise from relying on any information in this publication.
Printed in Dhaka, Bangladesh
Cover design by Enamul Hoq
ISBN: 978-984-33-7777-7
ii
Foreword
Bangladesh is one of the marginal coastal countries of the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem
(BOBLME) with a land area of 144,054 km2 and population of around 160 million, located on the
northern tip of the Bay of Bengal. Its marine waters cover an area of 165,887 km2 which is greater
than the land area. Fishery resources play a very important role to the economy of Bangladesh not
only as an important means of animal protein, income and employment, but also as an important
source of foreign exchange earning. At present total annual fish production is 3.261 million tons of
which inland catch is 82.26% which mainly comes from substantial inland water resources that
provide freshwater fish from aquaculture and capture fisheries. While coastal and marine catch is
17.74%. Out of the coastal and marine catch, the contribution of industrial catch as based on trawl
fishery is 12.7% and artisanal catch stands 87.3%. Historically artisanal fisheries are the major
contributor of marine and coastal fisheries in Bangladesh.
Production of marine fish has increased steadily during last few years, indicating a viable
alternative for more fish production to meet the demand of the vast population of the country.
Recently Bangladesh has established her right for exploration, exploitation, conservation and
management on the additional area of about 111,000 km2 after resolving the maritime boundary
disputes with Myanmar and hopefully this will fetch more marine fish catch in near future. Lack
of proper exploitation, conservation and sustainable management measures hampering marine
fisheries development in the country. Intense exploitation with high fishing efforts is the present
trend of marine fishery resources. Marine fisheries surveys in the marine waters of Bangladesh
dated back to 1857 and the latest survey was about 25 years back and most surveys were
exploratory in nature, looking at fisheries feasibility. Despite having some pragmatic rules,
regulations, ordinances and acts, in the absence of proper implementation and an updated stock
status of marine fisheries it has become more problematic to manage the coastal and marine
fishery in a sustainable way.
This report prepared by the Support to the Sustainable Management of the BOBLME Project of
the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute carefully reviewed most of the previous works and
tried to identify options of handling the resilient coastal and marine fisheries in a better way. We
agree all our suggestions may not be acceptable to everybody. We would consider our endeavor
fruitful if our suggestions ignite new and further refined ideas and thoughts for improvement of
this sector.
Prof. Dr. Subhash Chandra Chakraborty
Director General
iii
Acronyms and Abbreviations
BFDC Bangladesh Fisheries Development Cooperation

BFRI Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute
BoB Bay of Bengal
BOBLME Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem
BOBP-IGO Bay of Bengal Programme-Inter Governmental Organization
CCRF Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
CPUE Catch Per Unit Efficiency
DoE Department of Environment
DoF Department of Fisheries
ECFCP Empowerment of Coastal Fishing Communities for Livelihood Security
Project
EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment
ESBN Estuarine Set Bag Net
FAO Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations
FD Forest Department
FRSS Fisheries Resource Survey System
GEF Global Environment Facility
GoB Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh
ICZM Integrated Coastal Zone Management
IUCN The World Conservation Union
MCS Monitoring Control & Surveillance
MFO Marine Fisheries Ordinance
MMD Mercantile Marine Department
MoEF Ministry of Environment and Forest
MoFL Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock
MSBN Marine Set Bag Net
MSY Maximum Sustainable Yield
NEP National Environment Policy
NGO Non Government Organisation
PL Post Larvae
POPs Persistent Organic Pollutants
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
iv
Contents
Page
Introduction
Marine areas and fisheries of Bangladesh 3
Saint Martin’s Island 4
Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs) 5
Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA’s) 6
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Marine Managed Areas (MMAs) 6
Marine fisheries 11
Ecology of the Bay of Bengal 13
Hydro-morphology and meteorology 14
Sea level 16
Primary productivity and nutrient 18
Ichthyodiversity 20
Marine Fisheries surveys 21
Fishing grounds 24
Fishing efforts 26
Industrial 26
Artisanal 30
Present stock status 36
Demersal stocks 37
Pelagic stocks 37
Shared fish stocks of the Bay of Bengal 39
Signals of stock status 42
Fisheries resources and species composition 43
Catch composition of industrial trawlers 44
Catch composition of artisanal fisheries 46
Stock estimates 54
Shrimps 59
Other shell-fish species 59
Sea snakes 60
Dolphins and whales 60
Sea weeds 61
Catch per unit effort (CPUE) trends 62
Economically important, iconic, endangered and threatened species 66
Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) 66
v
Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) 70
Sharks (elasmobranchs) 72
Sea turtles 80
Marine fishery management approach 85
Legislation and policy implications 92
Conflicts 97
Potential for development of un-exploited resources and new interventions in 105
marine fisheries
Survey on Tuna fishery resources and its exploitation 105
Strengthening fisheries management in the coastal areas 106
International co-operation 106
Priority policy issues for immediate considerations 106
Poverty status and socio-economic concition 112
References 115
vi
List of Tables
Table1: Extent of EEZ and depth distribution of the continental shelf of 4

Bangladesh.
Table 2: Coastal and marine ecologically critical areas (ECAs) of Bangladesh. 6
Table 3: Protected areas in the coastal zones of Bangladesh. 9
Table 4: Marine reserves of Bangladesh. 9
Table 5: Trawler fleets as per Zaman Committee’s Report of 1985 engaged in
fishing in the Bay. 26
Table 6: Marine fish harvest by industrial fishing trawlers during 1999-2011. 27
Table 7: Present trawler fleets engaged in fishing in the Bay. 28
Table 8: Characteristics of shrimp and fish trawlers operating in offshore
trawling ground. 28
Table 9: Fishing gears used for both industrail and artisanal fisheries together
with their target species and depth of operation. 29
Table 10. Characteristics of key marine fisheries gears used in Bangladesh. 30
Table 11: Fishing gears used in the coastal/marine waters of Bangladesh with
target species and depth of operation. 32
Table 12: Number of fishermen and fishing gears, as of 2001, in coastal districts. 33
Table 13: Standing stock (t) of demersal, pelagic fish and shrimps of the Bay of
Bengal, Bangladesh. 36
Table 14: Examples of likely shared or straddling stocks in the Bay of Bengal
region. 40
Table 15: Most exploited fish and shrimp species, un-exploited/under-exploited
species and non conventional marine fisheries resources of
Bangladesh. 43
Table 16: Relative abundance of family/groups of marine fishes of Bangladesh. 47
Table 17: Important species of fin-fishes that contribute about 75% of the
demersal catch in the marine water of Bangladesh. 48
Table 18: Distribution of fin-fish and shell-fish (%) in different depth strata of
the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh. 48
Table 19: Sub-sector wise marine fish catch of commercially important
groups/species. 50
Table 20: Criteria used for fish stock classification. 54
Table 21. Landing, % of maximum landing, % growth and present estimated
status of Indian salmon (Polynemus indicus) and Pomfret (Pampus
chinensis and P. argenteus) in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh during
vii
2000 through 2012 55
status of Indian salmon (Polynemus indicus) and Pomfret (Pampus
chinensis and P. argenteus) in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh during
2000 through 2012 56
status of Jew fish (Otolithoides pama and related species) and catfish
(Arius maculates, A. thallasinus & related species) in the Bay of
Bengal, Bangladesh during 2000 through 2012 57
status of sharks (sharks, skates and rays) and shrimps (all marine
shrimp species combined) in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh during
2000 through 2012 58
status of other species (all unidentified species clumped together) in
the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh during 2000 through 2012 58
Table 26. Location-wise harvesting depth, catch percentages of sharks, skates
and rays. 74
Table 27: Gear- and year-wise catch records (in metric tons) of sharks and rays in
respect to total marine catch, Bangladesh. Figures in the parenthesis
are percentages of marine harvest. 75
Table 28: Seasonal abundance of sharks, skates and rays during July 2011
through June 2012. 77
Table 29: Fishing zones demarcations of south-east Asian countries. 98
Table 30: Categories and jurisdiction of operations of small-scale and large-scale
fisheries of south-east Asian countries. 99
viii
List of Figures
Figure 1: Countries and extent of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) region showing
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) areas. 1
Figure 2: Fishing grounds of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. 24
Figure 3: Mean contribution of major fishing gears to total marine fish
production during 2000-01 to 2010-11. 34
Figure 4: Mean trawler catch composition (%) in 2005-06 and 2010-11 periods
in the marine waters of Bangladesh. 45
Figure 5: Mean trawler catch composition (t) during 2005-06 to 2010-11 periods
in the marine waters of Bangladesh. 45
Figure 6: Mean catch composition (%) of artisanal fisheries during 2005-06 and
2010-11 periods in the marine waters of Bangladesh. 46
Figure 7: Average contribution (industrial and artisanal combined) of major fish
species to total marine fish production during 2000-01 to 2010-11. 53
Figure 8: Time-series hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) landing data (metric tons) from
inland and marine sectors. 67
Figure 9. Yield curve and stock status of hilsa estimated from Bangladesh data
(2008-09). The biomass for MSY is estimated at 1,25,000 t. 68
ix
The Bay of Bengal (BoB) is an arm of the Indian Ocean, between India on the west and
the Malay Peninsula on the east, measuring about 2,090 km long by about 1,600 km
wide. The Bay is generally considered to extend southwards beyond Sri Lanka, and as far
as the coastlines of Thailand, Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra that border
on the Andaman Sea and the Straits of Malacca, after which it merges into the waters of
the Western Indian Ocean. For the purpose of this report, the BoB region is defined as
including selected coastal and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) areas of eight countries
(Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand)
as well as the international waters between them. The disposition of these countries
around the Bay, as well as the extent of their EEZs, is shown below (Fig. 1).
1
The above eight countries with the greatest extent of EEZ area in the Bay are, from
largest to smallest and Bangladesh, Myanmar and Sri Lanka have 100% of their
coastlines within the BoB area, while other countries have only parts of their coastline in
the Bay. Several large rivers in the region flow into the BoB: the Ganges and the
Brahmaputra (of Bangladesh) on the north; the Irrawaddy (of Myanmar) on the east; and
the Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery (of India) on the west. These
rivers introduce large quantities of silt into the bay from July-September during the
summer monsoon season.
The coastal and marine zones of Bangladesh includes coastal plain lands, islands, tidal
flat, estuaries, neritic and off-shore waters that extends to the edge of the continental
shelf. A dynamic system of estuaries, islands and chars (silted submersed areas) is
located along the entire coast. In terms of land area 32% (47,200 km2) of Bangladesh
with 19 coastal districts out of 64 (11 meet sea or lower estuary directly), 147 upazilas
out of 484 (48 are exposed to coast– exposed coast) belongs to the coastal zone with a
population of about 40 million (28% of country total). The remaining 99 Upazilas of the
coastal districts are termed interior coast (MoEF 2004). The threshold levels for the
recognition of the coastal zone are: tidal fluctuations 0.3 m; soil salinity 4 dS/m; surface
water salinity 5 dS/m; groundwater salinity 2 dS/m; cyclone risk and wind risk (MoEF
2008).
The coastal zone covers about 23% of the country and is on the front line of climate
change, directly affected by storm surges, drainage congestion and sea level rise. Most of
Bangladesh is <10 m above sea level, with almost 10% of the country below 1 m, making
it extremely vulnerable to increasing high tides. The coastal areas usually face severe
cyclones, tidal surge and storms every year, and are among the poorest parts of the
country. The cyclone ‘SIDR’ of 2006 and ‘AILA’ of 2009 that struck the coastal areas
was major setbacks to the coastal economy, and the fisheries sector was a particular
casualty. The coastal economy is habitually vulnerable to recurrent cyclones and storms.
However, depending on the tidal fluctuations, salinity (soil, surface and ground water),
cyclone and storm surge risk, the coastal zone of Bangladesh has been delineated
administratively as considering 19 districts and 147 Upazillas and also the EEZ. The
rivers contributing to the coastal Bangladesh have deep sea connection through the
‘Swatch of No ground’ (a deep sea canyon) and thus have the potentiality to influence the
tropical marine ecosystem due to its chemical load, which has far reaching spatial and
temporal environmental (Dutta et al. 2008) and ecological consequences in the coast of
Bangladesh.
2
Marine Areas and Fisheries of Bangladesh
Bangladesh is very rich in marine waters, which covers an area of 165,887 km that is2
greater than the land area. Total continental shelf area covers roughly 66,400 km2 and the
EEZ spans 166,000 km2 towards open sea, which is bigger than the land area and its
jurisdiction is up to 200 nautical miles seawards from the beach baseline and is now
under the economic jurisdiction of the country for exploration, exploitation, conservation
and management of its resources.
The continental slope is about 100,000 km2. The coastal area is generally shallow where
10 m depth zone spans over 24,000 km2, 0-40 m depth zone spans around 37,000 km2
from the beach base line and 40-100 m depth zone spans around 20,700 km2 (GA 2012).
The shelf area of 150 m depth appears to be smooth, few obstacles for bottom trawling,
and the continental edge occurs at 160-180 m depths. The slope of continental edge is
very steep and seems trawling is not possible in waters deeper than 180 m (Khan et al.
1997). The entire shelf area of Bangladesh (up to 200 m depth contour) covers about
70,000 km2 (Khan 1985). Brief idea about common terminology used for defining various
areas according to distances from the coast line and depths are given below:
Internal water: Up to 10 fathom (20 m approximately) depth from the coast line is
regarded as internal water. State reserves the right of use and control of all resources and
implements any law; no foreign vessels are allowed to pass through this water.
Territorial water: Up to 12 nautical miles from the coast base line is regarded as
territorial water. State reserves the right of use and control of all resources and
implements any law. Foreign ships can pass through this area as ‘innocent passage’
hoisting her own and the territorial state’s flag but not the military vessels; they are only
allowed to pass through this water with transit permit. Concerned territorial country
reserves the right of temporary suspending passage of all ships because of security
reasons.
Contiguous zone: Up to 24 nautical miles from the coast base line is regarded as
contiguous zone. Usually known as the sea navigation route, territorial country reserves
3
the right of implementing of tax collection, customs and immigration and pollution
control.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): Up to 200 nautical miles from the coast base line is
regarded as EEZ (Table 1). Territorial state reserves the right of use and control of all
resources and implements any law. But passage of ships and air craft over this area will
remain independent but foreign countries can set ‘submerged pipe lines’ and ‘cable
lines’.
Table 1. Extent of EEZ and depth distribution of the continental shelf of Bangladesh
Depth zone (m) Area (km2)

<10 24,000
10-24 8,400
25-49 4,800
50-74 5,580
75-99 13,410
100-199 10,250
All shelf 66,400
Total EEZ 166,000
Source: Khan et al. (1997)
Continental shelf: Up to 1,000 feet depths from the coast base line, may vary, and areas
with sudden increase of depth is termed as continental shelf. In some cases it may go
beyond 200 nautical miles and can extend up to 350 nautical miles. Territorial state
reserves the right of use and control of all mineral resources and harvesting of non-living
matter from the mud and implements any law. But the territorial country can not erect
any stone or brick column in this area.
Saint Martin’s Island
The Saint Martin’s Island is the only coral reef (?) island of Bangladesh in the BoB,
having an area of about 7.5 km2. To the north, the mainland of Bangladesh (the Teknaf
coast) lies about 9.8 km away, to the east Myanmar boundary (the Arakan coast) lies
about 10 km away, while to the west and south it faces the open sea. The St. Martin's
Island is a patch type coral reef and has about 7.6% coverage of coral on the southeast
coast. Although the St. Martin’s Island is referred to as a coral Island no indication of
coral reef formation was found in the Island. The earlier reports of coral reefs are in fact
“boulder reefs” (Tomascik 1997). Coral reefs are quite limited off Bangladesh due to
4
high river discharge and turbidity. Haider (1992) recorded four coral species of the genus
Acropora (A. pulchra, A. horrida, A. humilis and A. variabilis) from neritic waters of the
St. Martin’s Island. Besides, 10 more genera namely, Stylocoeniella, Pocillopora,
Stylophora, Porites, Povona, Favia, Favites, Pseudosiderastrea, Goniastrea and
Montastrea were also recorded.
Information on the existence of seagrass beds is meager. Halodule uninervis has been
reported from the sandy littoral zone around St. Martin’s Island (Aziz 2010), a
eurythermal and euryhaline species. In the coastal region generally sea fronts of newly
formed islands and some low-lying coastal areas are found to be carpeted with
seagrasses. Subtidal macroalgal beds (e.g. Sargassum, Dictyota, Codium, Ulva, etc.) play
an important role in the life cycles of a number of species such as PL of shrimp (P.
monodon, P. indicus, P. semisulcatus) and spat of oysters (Perna spp.). A total of 165
species of algal seaweeds belonging to 77 genera have been reported (Islam 1976). But
these available seaweeds are not used as human food in Bangladesh due to non-
traditional item; rather local people collect, sun dry them and sell to Myanmar markets.
On the other hand, St. Martin’s Island have got rocky substratum, sandy beach, a lagoon,
marshes and coral clusters as well as favorable ecological parameters, which are suitable
for seaweed propagation.
The reef is subject to greater scouring and supports rich stands of macroalgae, sometime
seasonally, as well as some well-developed coral communities. The hard substrates and
reef are important for artisanal fisheries and they can act as important foci for
commercially important species. The island is an important nesting area for marine
turtles, and a wintering area for migratory shore birds. The corals are subject to mining,
sedimentation, uncontrolled extraction by tourism practices, anchoring, pollution from
sewage and waste, and overfishing. Major threats include destructive fishing, siltation,
unplanned tourist development and the effects of global warming. Coral collection at the
present rate is detrimental for the island. Local people exploit large quantities of live
corals for selling to tourists.
Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs)
Based on the significance and ecological sensitivity, Ministry of Environment & Forest
(MoEF), Government of Bangladesh has declared a number of areas as Ecologically
Sensitive Areas (ESAs) and Ecologically Critical Areas (ECAs) and Environmentally
Protected Areas (EPAs), but there is not much information or study on the ESAs, ECAs
and MPAs.
5
Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA’s)
In 1999, the MoEF declared some area as Ecologically Critical Areas (ECA’s) in marine
and freshwater ecosystem. They are: i. Sundarbans, ii. Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf sea beach, iii.
St. Martin’s Island, iv. Sonadia Island, v. Hakaluki Haor, vi. Tanguar Haor, vii. Marjat
Baor, viii. Gulshan Lake and ix. Buriganga, Shitalakhya, Turag and Balu Rivers. Later
on, Sundarbans was withdrawn from the list and instead outside of Sundarbans Reserve
Forest an area of 10 km extent was declared as ECA. In addition, MoEF declared some
area as Environmentally Protected Areas (EPA’s) with a view to save the natural habitat
and to save the biotic flora and fauna of the area. Considering the high biodiversity value
of Bangladesh coast, some parts of the zone has been declared as protected areas..
Table 2. Coastal and marine ecologically critical areas (ECAs) of Bangladesh
Name of the ECA Habitat Types Area (ha) Year of declaration

Sandaracs (10 km periphery Mangrove forest - 1999
around the forest)
Teknaf Peninsula Sandy beach 10,465 1999
St. Martin’s Island Char land and mangrove 590 1999
forest
Sonadia Island Mangrove forest 4,916 1999
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Marine Managed Areas (MMAs)
Development of fishery and critical habitats such as, MPAs, MMAs, ECAs management
plans and guidelines associated with assessing the role of fish refugia in the management
of fish stocks in the BOBLME. Any marine geographical area that is given greater
protection than the surrounding waters for biodiversity conservation or fisheries
management purposes will be considered a MPA. The term MPA is usually understood to
apply to areas specifically designated to protect a particular ecosystem, ecosystem
component or some other attribute. IUCN has defined that any area of the intertidal or
sub-tidal terrain, together with its overlying water, flora and fauna, historical and
cultural features, which has been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part
or all of the enclosed environment is an MPA. MPAs are increasingly recognized as an
important management tool for fisheries under the ‘ecosystem approach to fisheries
management’ (EAFM) model.
6
Bangladesh has around 1,400 km2 of MPA (over 0.05% of its EEZ); India has around
12,300 km2 of MPA (over 0.5%); Indonesia has around 5,100 km2 of MPA (about 0.2%);
Malaysia has around 350 km2 of MPA (about 0.01%); Maldives has around 92 km2 of
MPA (about 0.004%); Myanmar has around 340 km2 of MPA (about 0.01%); Sri Lanka
has around 2,500 km2 of MPA (about 0.1%); and Thailand has around 5,000 km2 of MPA
(about 0.2%). In Bangladesh there are already 10 wildlife sanctuaries, 5 national parks,
17 fish sanctuaries, 2 marine reserves, 4 ECAs, and 1 Ramsar site in the coastal/marine
zone. The question is how much of the area (i.e. fish population) is to be given protection,
so that the population will persist and sustain, regardless the intensity of fishing outside
the MPAs. Secondly, how effectively will MPAs protect fish populations (control fish
mortality) so that enough of them can reproduce. Review of empirical evidences suggests
that, an estimate of 20-35% lifetime spawning per recruit (SPR) is necessary to sustain a
population. Lower value corresponds to minimum level necessary for population
sustenance and the higher value corresponds to minimum value necessary for population
abundance of maximum sustainable yield (MSY). Country status report on MPAs in
Bangladesh, present condition of MPAs, mapping of existing MPAs (including
transboundary MPAs, such as the Sunderbans), ECAs and threats to conservation and
management were prepared through the BOBLME initiatives. In addition, MPA
Framework for Bangladesh was also prepared by IUCN-Bangladesh through Regional
BOBLME Project’s initiatives.
Besides, legal instruments, policies, strategies and plans pertaining to environment and
coastal/marine fisheries were evaluated. There are fairly large numbers of policy related
papers, policy act, action plans, strategy papers on Bangladesh coastal/marine fisheries,
coastal zone, environment management, climate change, biodiversity etc., however, a few
information is reported to be related to MPA or LME. The existing policy on fisheries as
whole and marine fisheries in particular on Bangladesh has mixed success on limited
scale. The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan-2004 (NBSAP) advocated
expansion and enhancing protected area management, recognizing the already proven
benefits of collaboration with local communities in their management (co-management)
in the inland fisheries sub-sector. The Coastal Zone Policy 2005 incorporated coastal
based natural resource management only, vast marine resource management lacks policy
guidelines. These policy, in regard to MPAs, need to be updated/modified due to post
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) verdict on EEZ between
Bangladesh and Myanmar and further modification may be needed in future, if a
settlement between Bangladesh and India is made in near future. To make the existing
marine fisheries policy eco-friendly, important and well judged marine
environmental/ecosystem targets areas like; MPAs, Species Safeguard Areas (SSAs),
7
Biodiversity Protection Area/s (BPAs), Coral Reef Protected Area/s (CRPAs), Sea Weed
Protected Areas (SWPAs) needs to incorporated. As per FAOs guideline all countries are
mandated to declare 10% of their sea EEZ (Aichi target fixed at Nagoya COP of CBD)
by the year 2020 as MPAs. Bangladesh will face problems to declare 10% (declare and
manage roughly 12,000 km2 sea/coastal region) of its EEZ as MPA by 2020 that was
agreed upon earlier. The recent ITLOS verdict has made the task more urgent and more
area needs to be incorporated under the MPAs.
In the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) the Bangladesh Government has set a
target of bringing 5% of the country under PAs by 2015. Admitting the Aichi target
Bangladesh is planning to conserve 17% of its terrestrial and inland water and 10% of
coastal and marine areas potential for biodiversity and ecosystem services under PAs
network within 2020. At present there are 34 forest protected areas covering 2,654 km2
which is about 1.8% of country area. But there are 1.6 million ha of forests in
Bangladesh, which is protected by restricting biotic interferences. Such forests are
maintaining status almost similar to the criteria set for different PAs category by IUCN,
but so far have not been declared as PAs through existing regulations. Such forests are
managed mainly for conserving the biodiversity through protection of ecological integrity
and others are managed for providing sustainable flow of goods and services to meet the
community needs. Considering such criteria set by IUCN more forest area already
obtained PA status in Bangladesh. Necessary rules are being framed to regulate different
activities inimical to conservation of biodiversity in the ECAs.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) have declared two marine reserves
(69,800 ha) in 2000. Forest wildlife sanctuaries and National parks of coastal area can be
counted as MPAs of Bangladesh. The marine area of the Sunderbans is of outstanding
importance for biodiversity conservation. Therefore the Integrated Resource Management
Plan (IRMP) of the Sunderbans proposed for including 12 nautical miles in the BoB to
the south of the Sunderbans as marine area and protected area as well. Such extension
will add 1,603 km2 more and thereby the Sunderbans itself will account for 7,620 km2 of
marine and coastal protected areas. It is estimated that Bangladesh has a total marine area
of 2.2 million km2. Present estimates of PAs of Bangladesh are as follows (Table 3):
8
Table 3. Protected areas in the coastal zones of Bangladesh
Type Name Area (ha) Location

Reserved forest - 885,043 Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat,
Bhola, Patuakhali, Noakhali,
Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar
National park Himchari 1,729 Cox’s Bazar
Nijhum deep 4,232 Hatiya, Noakhali
Wildlife sanctuaries Sundarbans, east 31,227 Bagerhat
Sundarbans, south 36,970 Khulna
Sundarbans, west 71,502 Satkhira
Char Kukri-mukri 2,071 Bhola
Chunati 7,761 Chittagong
Ramsar site Sundarbans 601,700 Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat
Environmental critical areas Sonadia 4,916 Cox’s Bazar
Teknaf 10,465 Cox’s Bazar
St. Martin Island 590 Cox’s Bazar
World Heritage site Wildlife sanctuaries of the Khulna, Satkhira, Bagerhat
Sundarbans
Marine reserve 69,800 Bay of Bengal
(204 nm2 )
Source: Islam (2004)
On 21 October 2000 the Bangladesh Government declared the following areas (Table4)
as Marine Reserves as per the ‘Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983’ (XXXV of 1983)
section 28. Government is actively considering declaring the Swatch of No Grounds in
the BoB as another Marine Reserve.
Table 4. Marine reserves of Bangladesh
Ground Distance from shore Geographical location Depth Total area

(m) (nm2)
Boundary Mark No. 1 Boundary Mark No. 1 20-75 698 km2
From Elephant point 21°08' N 91°32' E (204 nm2)
Middle along coastline
ground and (21°10.5' north;
South patches 92°03.5' east) towards
of the Bay of 55.5 km (30 nautical
Bengal miles) west.
Boundary Mark No. 2 Boundary Mark No. 2
9
From Elephant point 21°08 N 91°20 E
along coastline towards towards 55.5 km (30
75.85 km (41 nm) west. nautical miles) west.
along coastline towards
66.60 km (36 nm)
south-west.
along coastline towards
84.18 km (45.5 nm)
south-west.
nm = nautical mile
10
Marine fisheries
Statistics on fishery catch and effort in the BoB are fragmentary and unreliable. The
most comprehensive source of fishery statistics for the region as a whole is FAO, which
compiles summary information primarily from national reports submitted by government
agencies. The proportion of the catch to be identified at the individual species level has
tended to decrease over time, while ‘unidentified fish’ account for an increasing share as
fisheries diversify and large stocks are depleted (Preston 2004). Although the available
statistics probably do reflect general trends such as growth in production, annual figures
and assessments involve considerable uncertainty, and changes from one year to the next
may not be statistically meaningful. Annual marine fisheries catch exclusively from
within the BoB, including that of the Maldives during 2001, was around 3.38 million t
(Preston 2004). Bangladesh’s present (2010-11) annual marine fisheries catch is 5,46,333
t, whic is about 16% of the BoBs total marine catch. Three of the global top marine fish
producing countries are Indonesia (#5 with 4.2 million t/yr), India (#7 with 3.8 million
t/yr) and Thailand (#9 with 2.9 million t/yr) are from the BoB area. Of course not all the
production from these countries comes from the BoB itself, since many of their fishing
operations take place in other areas. Only 25% of the Indonesian catch from FAOs
statistical area 57 is taken in the BOB. Similarly some of the Thai catch is also taken
from outside the BoB. Again Myanmar is the region’s most important fishing nation in
terms of production volume taken from inside the BOBLME, followed by India,
Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and, lastly, Maldives. Despite having the
lowest marine fishery catch of any country of the region, Maldives is the BoB nation that
depends most on marine fishery resources for its economic and dietary well-being
(Preston 2004).
Production of marine fish has increased steadily for the last few years, indicating a viable
alternative for more fish production to meet the demand of the vast population of the
country. Recently Bangladesh has established her right for exploration, exploitation,
conservation and management on the additional area of about 111,000 km2 after
resolving the maritime boundary disputes with Myanmar and hopefully this will fetch
more marine fish catch in the future (ITLOS 2012).
Historically artisanal fisheries are the major contributor of marine and coastal fisheries in
Bangladesh. Artisanal fishing operations in the estuaries and coastal waters used to be
carried out by traditional wooden non-mechanized craft until the mid 1960s. Later after
independence, the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) and the
11
Bangladesh Jatio Matshyajibi Samobay Smity (BJMSS) started mechanization of fishing
boats by importing and introducing marine engines (Khan 2010). At present (as of 2010-
11) total annual fish production is 3.062 million tons of which inland catch is 25,15,354 t
(82.16%) which mainly comes from substantial inland water resources that provide
freshwater fish from aquaculture and capture fisheries. While marine catch is 5,46,333 t
(17.84%). Out of marine catch industrial catch based on trawl fishery is 41,665 t (7.6%)
and artisanal catch is 5,04,668 t (92.4%) (DoF 2012). A characteristic of artisanal
fisheries in the BoB region is the low volume of discards, since almost all components of
the catch are consumed.
Marine fisheries are an important national resource as the natural gas, coal and oil
deposits and also include coastal area, marine area, mangroves and the only coral island.
Lack of proper exploitation, conservation and sustainable management measures is
hampering its development. Intense exploitation with high fishing efforts is the present
trend of marine fishery resources. There had been about 258% increase in fishing efforts
since the start of mechanized fishing in 1975-76. Artisanal fishers complain about decline
in catch per unit effort (CPUE) for mechanized and non-mechanized boats using medium
to large-meshed gill nets and becoming non-remunerative. Shrimp trawlers as well are
experiencing declining CPUE and are currently concentrating in shallow waters and often
come in conflict with artisanal boats.
One of the problems facing the marine and coastal fishing communities of the region is
the unsustainable harvesting of the resource. Many of the fishery resources in the regions
have already been heavily exploited and if this continues unregulated, the situation will
likely worsen with significant adverse impacts. Another problem is the continuous
degradation of highly productive coastal and near-shore marine habitats such as coral
reefs, mangroves, estuaries, sea-grass beds and other shallow spawning and nursery
areas.
12
Ecology of the Bay of Bengal
The entire water body of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) consists of different types of water
masses due to the influence of the upper river systems. Fish fauna are also sometimes
distinctly variable in different types of these waters. For convenience the BoB waters
may be grouped into the following zones: i. Estuarine Zone, ii. Coastal cleaner water
zone, iii. Coral and rocky zone and iv. Off-shore and open sea.
i. Estuarine zone: In this zone the mixing of the freshwater and seawater takes place
with some degrees of variation. This zone has a variable salinity and richer oxygen
and organic contents. This zone may again be tentatively sub-divided into: (a) Upper
estuaries and (b) Lower estuaries.
a. The upper estuaries have a very low salinity usually not exceeding 10 ppt and
consist of the river mouths, the rivers and channels around deltaic islands. The
bottom materials in this area are silt to soft mud. Usual depths are up to 10
meters. Typical example of important commercial fishes of this area is: L.
calcarifer, Lobotes surinamensis, P. pangasius, Harpodon nehereus etc.
b. The lower estuaries have a higher salinity up to 20-25 ppt and consist of waters off
shoreline up to a depth of 30-35 m. The color of this water is muddy to turbid and
the bottom is muddy, occasionally sand and mud also. Typical examples of
commercial fishes of this area are: Polynemus indicus, Pristis cuspidatus,
Johnius bleekeri, Trachysurus gagoroides, Muraenesox talabonoides, H.
nehereus etc.
ii. Coastal cleaner water zone: This water is rather clean but not typically saline. Typical
examples of commercial fishes of this zone are: Chorinemus lysan and other
Carangids, Cybium guttatum, Stromateidae spp., Hilsa/Tenualosa spp., Trachysurus
thalassinus, Trichiurus spp. etc.
iii. Coral and rocky zone: This zone consists of rocky and weeds grounds along the coast
from Cox's Bazar up to the border with Myanmar, and the coral reefs of St. Martin's
Island. Typical commercial fishes of this zone are: Lutianus johni, Lutianus rivulatu
and other Lutianids, Ephinephalus spp., sharks and many other beautifully colored
fishes of families belonging to Labridae, Scaridae, Chaetodontidae, Scorpaenidae etc.
13
iv. Off-shore and open sea: Blue and typical saline waters far off the coast. Typical
example of fishes of this zone is: Mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurata, Sardine,
Sardinella melanura, flying fishes and many pelagic sharks.
Hydro-morphology and meteorology
The coastal zone of Bangladesh is categorized as tropical maritime climate. Four distinct
seasonal weather patterns are governed by the monsoon, the south-west monsoon and the
north-west monsoon. These are: dry winter (December-February), transition or pre-
monsoon period (March-May), rainy season (June-September) and the second transition
or post-monsoon period (October-November). Precipitation continues from late May up
to mid October while the peak (around 70%) period is July-September. The BoB is
located in the tropical monsoon belt and is strongly affected by monsoons storm surges,
and cyclones. The monsoon wind changes direction with the change of seasons, and
prevails mainly in the Indian Ocean. It blows from the south-west, generally from April
to October, and from the northeast from October to April. The south-west, or summer,
monsoon occurs when warm, moist air from the Indian Ocean flows on to the land, and is
usually accompanied by heavy rain in areas of South and South-East Asia, constituting
the dominant climatic event of the area. The north-east monsoon occurs when cold, dry
winter air flows out of the interior of Asia from the north-east and brings the cool, dry
winter season.
The climate in the Indian Ocean including BoB is characterized by its monsoon seasons.
The wind in this area undergoes a complete shift between January and July resulting in
the northeast monsoon in the former and the southeast monsoon in the later. This annual
cycle is dominated by the heating and cooling of the Asiatic Continent. During the
summer monsoon season strong winds, above 7 on the Beaufort scale are dominant over
the BoB and the sea appears very much rough. The winter (December-February) is calm.
During pre-monsoon (April-May) and post-monsoon (October-November) seasons
tropical cyclones being generated in the area around 850E-950E, 100N and (the southern
limit of the Bay of Bengal) usually approach the coast of Bangladesh with full force. The
cyclones are very much destructive to the country’s coastal zone being accompanied with
tidal surge and torrential rainfall. Cloud cover over the Bay is highest during the
southwest monsoon, but it becomes clear when the northeast monsoon sets in.
The total annual precipitation is high and varies from about 1,200 mm in the west to over
2,500 mm in the south eastern and northern region. About two thirds of this rainfall
14
occurs during the south-west monsoon period. The south-west monsoon tends to produce
an easterly drift in the open water of the Bay, together with a current setting northward
and north-eastward along the east coast of India to the head of the Bay. The northeast
monsoon tends to produce a westerly drift in the open water of the Bay and a current
setting south-westward and southward.
The alternation of northeast and southeast monsoons brings about a complete reversal of
the surface current pattern, which is clockwise from January to July and counter
clockwise from August to December, according to the direction of the wind. Velocity of
current varies from 4.5 to 5.5 knots during spring tide in the summer monsoon, while in
the neap tide it is 2.3 -3.9 knots (Lamboeuf 1987). The southwest monsoon, characterized
by hot and humid winds blows from the Bay of Bengal during May-September, results
heavy rainfall and about 80% of the total rainfall occurs in this period. The northeast
monsoon blows during November-March bring cool, dry air from the continental areas,
and between the two monsoons, wind is variable and unstable causing frequent cyclones
and tidal surges (Lamboeuf 1987).
Sub-continent’s three mighty rivers flow into the Bay: the Ganges and the Brahmaputra
on the north (India-Bangladesh); the Irrawaddy on the east (Myanmar); and the
Mahanadi, the Godavari, the Krishna and the Cauvery on the west (India). Sub-
continent’s three mighty rivers– the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna (GMB) drain vast
area of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and the Himalayas. These rivers and their tributaries
converge in Bangladesh and carry approximately 85% (1,100 km3 annually) of the total
water volume to the BoB through Bangladesh. This freshwater run-off is the dominant
feature that influences the dynamics of the coastal and marine fisheries and their
environment. Freshwater run-off can reach up to 195,000 m3/second in the monsoon
creating riverine water conditions during monsoon through post-monsoon season
(September-October). The coast as a whole is dominated by soft substrate ecosystems
that are biologically productive and provide critical ecological habitats like, mangroves,
algal beds, salt marshes, sandy beach and mudflats (Kabir et al. 2004). These rivers
introduce large quantities of silt into the Bay from July-September during the summer
monsoon season.
The tidal range at the head of the BoB is strong, ranging from 1.3 m at neap tides to about
4.83 m at spring tide near Sagardip, West Bengal, India. Similarly, 4.27 m neap tides and
6.10 m spring tides are observed in the Sandwip Island area, Bangladesh. This range is
reduced toward the south along the eastern shore of the BoB. During the lean period
(April and May), the tide penetrates up to 170 km in the north (Khulna-Satkhira area) and
15
340 km in the northeast region (Sylhet area). Along the east coast, the tide penetrates
only from zero to 50 km depending on the topography and presence of channels in the
area (Mahmood et al. 1994).
The entire coastal zone is prone to violent storm and tropical cyclones during pre-
monsoon and postmonsoon seasons. Sometimes cyclones associated with tidal waves
cause great loss of lives and property. The coastline configuration of the BoB plays a
significant role in the building up and intensity of cyclones and tidal surges in the Bay
(As-Salek & Yasuda 1995). The bottom topography of the BoB plays a vital role in the
generation, direction of movement and intensity of tidal surge in the Bay. The Swatch-of-
no-Ground, a submarine canyon, along with other bottom topographical features, plays
almost a decisive role in generation, intensity and landfall of cyclones and tidal surges in
the Bay (As-Salek and Yasuda 1995). The geo-climatic environment of the BoB is
dominated by three main factors: i. Wind direction, ii. Precipitation and iii. River
discharge. These factors have a very strong influence on the marine environment, as they
affect to various extent and time sequences, the water circulation, salinity, turbidity,
productivity and bottom topography, which in turn influence fish distribution and
abundance (Hossain 2004).
Sea level
Annual variation of sea level along the Bangladesh coast is single modal with absolute
maxima during August. The range of annual variation is maximum at Char Changa is
about 5.4 cm and that at Hiron Point in Sunderbans is about 6.5 cm. The lowest MTL is
recorded during January. There is a significant difference in sea level along the
Bangladesh coast during August September of El-Nino and La-Ninã years. Post-monsoon
cyclones and monsoonal floods of La Ninã years have more disastrous potential for
coastal regions of Bangladesh due to increased sea level.
The correlation coefficients between September Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and
Mean Tide levels at Hiron Point and Char Changa were +0.39 and +0.33 respectively,
which were significant at 95% and 90% levels (Singh and Khan 2001). It has been
observed that, the mean sea level rise at Rangoon was about 16 cm in 1962 compared to
the sea level in 1920. In Chittagong mean sea level rose about 25 cm in 1964 in
comparison to the sea level of 1944. In Kolkata sea level also rose to about 16 cm and in
Diamond Harbour 10 cm. Only in Khidirpur the sea level remain almost constant. In
Sagardwip sea level rose almost 30 cm compared to the sea level of 1931 (Das 1978).
Other workers also reported both rise in Khulna (4.65 mm/yr) and fall in Chittagong
16
(1.11mm/yr) of sea level in the coast of Bangladesh. The causes of this change may be
due to climate change. The mean tidal level at Hiron Point has shown an increasing trend
of about 4.0 mm/year. Similarly at Char Changa near the Meghna estuary and near Cox’s
Bazar it has registered a positive trend of about 6.0 mm/year and 7.8 mm/year
respectively. Thus the increment in the sea level along the Bangladesh is much more
pronounced as compared to the Global rate. As some geological studies along
Bangladesh coast revealed that major threat to Bangladesh coast is subsidence, steeper
increase of sea level along Bangladesh coast may be associated with subsidence in
addition to the thermal expansion due to warming of seawaters (SMRC 2000).
Sea surface water temperature: The annual variation of Sea Surface Temperature (SST)
is bimodal along Bangladesh coast. The two maxima are observed during May and
October. Which coincide with cyclone periods. The annual range of SST along the
western and central coasts of Bangladesh is about 5°C. As expected the lowest SST’s are
observed in January. SST varies from 22.8°C to 32.9°C with maximum in September and
the lowest in January-February. Winter lasts for an average period of two months (mid-
December to mid-February). BIMSTEC survey during 25 October through 21 December
2007 in the northern Bay of Bengal (latitude 16°N-19°N, longitude 88°E-91°E) reported
SST between 27.8°C and 29.7°C (Laongmanee et al. 2008). In other seasons, the modal
temperature values range between 25°C and 33°C. Depth gradient of temperature showed
a sub-surface maximum at about 10-30 m depths due to cooling of surface layer.
Water salinity: Coastal waters are characterized by prolonged low saline regime due to
the huge discharge of freshwater from upstream numerous rivers, and a strong semi-
diurnal tide mixes the highly turbid coastal waters, which receives sediment from as far
as the Himalayas. Inundation by such an enormous amount of freshwater renders the
surface waters of the northern part of the Bay almost riverine during the post-monsoon
months (September-October), while near estuarine conditions occur during January to
June. Surface salinity distribution shows a strong gradient to the north-south direction.
Highest salinity of 36 ppt have been reported in March, and 30.3 ppt in February; the
lowest salinity of 10.5 ppt was observed in September (Mustafa and Day 1994).
BIMSTEC survey reported sea surface salinity (SSS) between 31.5 and 33.6 psu,
respectively (Laongmanee et al. 2008). High saline water flows into the Bay from the
south, then flows northward and eastward by wind driven current. Surface salinity of the
Bay is influenced by water circulation and density driven. At the north and the east of the
Bay, large rivers supply huge amount of freshwater that leads to lower salinity by 2-3 psu
than the rest areas. Sea water salinity in the BoB, Bangladesh is highly seasonal and there
is no evidence of long-term changes in the estuarine and coastal salinity regimes.
17
Measurements from Chittagong have shown that between 1988-89 and 2003-04 sea water
salinity remained within 2-20 ppt (Chakma 2004). Salinity of offshore water remains low
for prolonged period mostly during monsoon and post-monsoon periods due to heavy
precipitation and upstream freshwater run-off from the three mighty rivers. Evaporation
is high in winter as well as in summer, maintaining raised salinity in coastal water. Winds
throughout the year maintain strong evaporation and elevated salinity regime and in
summer very high temperature may increase salinity further. Hyper-saline conditions
appear from October to July.
Dissolved oxygen and pH: Dissolve oxygen concentration of surface water in that area
ranged between 3.94 mg/l and 5.02 mg/l. Dissolved oxygen and pH in surface layer
shallower than 150 m ranged from 4-5 mg/l and 8.2-8.3 and 1.0 mg/l and 7.7
respectively. Dissolved oxygen and pH values were homogenous below 150 m depth.
While beyond 200 m depth dissolved oxygen was <0.5 mg/l and pH was <7.6
(Laongmanee et al. 2008). The dissolved oxygen content decreases rapidly with depth
gradient within the upper part of the thermocline. The pH ranges between 6.9 and 8.9.
The lowest value has been recorded in September and highest in January (Lamboeuf
1987).
Primary productivity and nutrient
No exhaustive study was conducted on the nutrients and productivity aspects of the BoB
in the Bangladesh coast. Study from the mouth of Karnafully river in Chittagong to St.
Martin’s Island in Cox’s Bazar showed that concentrations of nitrate, phosphate and
silicate vary respectively from 0.16 to 8.98 µg-at/l, 0.08 to 2.33 µg-at/l and 0.67 to 63.31
µg-at/l, respectively with the highest value during monsoon (Hossain 2004, Huntington et
al. 2008). In the ecosystem study of the BoB concentrations of nitrite, nitrate, silicate and
phosphate were found to correlate positively with depths. Average concentration of total
alkalinity and total phosphorus in the surface waters of the northern part of the BoB was
around 2.20+0.03 meq/l and 1.18+0.71 µM, respectively. Its concentration increased with
depths. Concentrations of total alkalinity at 100 m, 200 m, 300 m and 400 m were
2.31+0.01 meq/l, 2.33+0.01 meq/l, 2.34+0.01 meq/l and 2.35+0.01 meq/l, respectively.
Concentrations of total phosphorus at 100 m, 200 m, 300 m and 400 m were 2.77+0.64
µM, 2.87+1.17 µM, 2.94+0.73 µM, and 3.34+0.73 µM, respectively (Sompongchaiyakul
et al. 2008). The detectable ranges of nitrite+nitrate, silicate and phosphate in the
northern part of the BoB were 0.07-37.38 µM, 0.01-48.56 µM and 0.10-3.13 µM.
Concentrations of nitrite+nitrate was almost undetectable at surface and up to 30 m
depths, its concentrations increased with depths up to 400 m. Mixed layer depths had
18
very low nutrient concentrations or sometimes even undetectable. Concentrations of
silicate as well was almost undetectable at surface and up to 30 m depths, its
concentrations also increased with depths up to 400 m. Concentrations of phosphate was
almost undetectable at surface and its concentrations increased with depths up to 400 m
(Prommas et al. 2008a).
The chlorophyll-a content varies from 0.19 to 12.62 µg/l. The primary productivity of the
BoB is comparatively low when compared to the Arabian Sea and shows maximum
values of 0.15-1.45 g C/m2/day during north-east monsoon (Huntington et al. 2008).
Integrated primary productivity (up to 120 m) of the BoB varied from 8.9 to 22.1 g
C/m2/day. Chlorophyll content in the BoB as determined by Nimbus-7 (CZCS) Satellite
Data (study has been made at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the United
States and partly at SPARRSO, Bangladesh using VAX-11/750 computers and SEAPAK
software) showed that the BoB has 0.1 to 10 mg/m3 chlorophyll content from coast to
deep sea (Quader 2011).
The average surface chlorophyll level for the BoB was 0.224 mg/m3 (Qasim 1978).
Eddies and circulation patterns as observed in a winter MCSST image of NOAA
(AVHRR) data were also observed in a CZCS data. Concentrations of chlorophyll-a at 2-
10 m depths in the northern BoB was around 0.0365-1.1162 mg m-3, low latitude stations
had higher values than the hig latitude stations and at 100-150 m and 300-400 m depths
its concentration was negligible (Prommas et al. 2008b). Spatial distribution of
chlorophyll-a content displayed a pattern similar to that of water salinity. Most of the low
latitude stations exhibited somewhat higher chlorophyll-a concentrations than in those of
high latitude stations.
Two unequal peaks of Chlorophyll-a were observed following start of monsoon (May-
June) and post monsoon (November-December) with maximum chlorophyll-a value of
6.14 and 9.63 µg/l respectively (Mahmood and Chowdhury 2007).The first peak was
found abnormally in early monsoon. It may be the result of a cyclonic storm appeared in
middle of May 1997. It is reported that, within the spiral arms of such cyclone the vertical
displacement of the thermocline bring the chlorophyll rich water to the surface, a
characteristic of the chlorophyll maximum (Pingree 1979). The BOBLME is considered a
moderately productive (150-300 gC/m2-yr) ecosystem. Benthic phytoplankton and
zooplankton production is higher in the coastal areas, which receive nutrient-rich waters
(Preston 2004).
Ecosystem study of BIMSTEC indicated that a total of 135 phytoplankton species

belonging to cyanobacteria, diatom, dinoflagellates and silicoflagellates are present in the
19
Bay (BIMSTEC 2008). Surface waters of the northern BoB are productive with high
phytoplankton densities during the noth-east monsoon, phytoplankton densities were
around 261-133,790 cells/l, Oscillatoria erythrare and Proboscia alta were the dominant
species and Pseudo-nitzschi pseudodelicatissima along with Chaetoceros messanensis
formed plankton bloom (Boonyapiwat et al. 2008). High concentration of zooplankton
was found in the northern area of the Bay as well. The zooplankton community consisted
of 205 species. The distribution pattern of zooplankton community indicated that the
northern part is more productive than other areas of the BoB. Total zooplankton ranged
around 154-568 individuals/m3, copepod was the dominant and was followed by
sarcodine protozoans (Jitlang et al. 2008). Thirteen families of cephalopod para-larvae
were found during the survey period.
Ichthyodiversity
Average number of fish larvae in the northern part of the BoB was 411 larvae/1,000 m3
and the top five dominant families were Photichthyidae, Bregmacerotidae, Myctophidae,
Callionymidae and Carangidae. Their average contribution was Photichthyidae 53.66%,
Bregmacerotidae 24.8%, Myctophidae 7.82%, Callionymidae 5.27% and Carangidae
3.74%. A total of about 52 families of fish larvae were identified. As per the category of
the adult’s habitats six families (Labridae, Callionymidae, Gobiidae, Bothidae,
Cynoglossidae and Ostraciidae) were inshore-reef fish and six families (Photichthyidae,
Stomiidae, Myctophidae, Gemphylidae, Exocoetidae and Paralepididae) were oceanic
fish. It could be concluded that the eastern part of the Bay (along Andaman sea) is very
rich in ichthyodiversity (BIMSTEC 2008). In terms of average total fish larvae the
Andaman sea area has the highest larve density of 485 larvae/1,000 m3 and richest
diversity. Tuna larvae of the family Scombridae were more abundant in the northern BoB
(Bangladesh waters) than in the Anadaman sea (eastern part) and Indian waters (western
part). In Bangladesh’s waters larvae of Katsuwonus pelamis, Thunnus obesus, T.
alalunga and T. albacores were found. Their mean abundance ranged around 3
larvae/1,000 m3 (Lirdwitayaprasit et al. 2008). The BOBLME is considered a moderately
productive (150-300 gC/m2/yr) ecosystem. Benthic phytoplankton and zooplankton
production is higher in the coastal areas, which receive nutrient-rich waters. The BoB is
traditionally considered to be less productive basin compared to the Arabian Sea
(Prasanna et al. 2002).
20
Marine Fisheries Surveys
The definition of stock assessment used by the International Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) is: ‘The application of statistical and
mathematical tools to relevant data in order to obtain a quantitative understanding of the
status of the stock as needed to make quantitative predictions of the stocks reactions to
exploitation (alternative future regimes’) (Lleonart 2002). More comprehensive forms of
stock assessment take into account the size, age and sex distribution of the target
population, as well as its dietary, reproductive, migratory and other behavioural
characteristics, the location of its feeding and spawning grounds, the current impacts of
fishing activities and the effect of environmental variables. These variously allow the
determination of a stock’s productive potential and its resilience in the face of
exploitation, and permit establishment of ways to maximise biological or economic
productivity in a sustained manner (Preston 2004).
Several surveys have been undertaken in the past to evaluate abundance (i.e. stock status)
and promote marine fishery management in Bangladesh’s water. Early surveys were
mainly aimed at identifying good fishing grounds to prove that fishing was economical.
The later surveys were aimed at predicting the standing stocks and how much of it could
be exploited on a sustainable manner. Pelagic fish received little or no attention compared
to demersal species, which have been viewed as potential targets for increased trawl
fishery production. The following marine fisheries surveys in the marine waters of
Bangladesh were documented which dated back to 1857. Most surveys were exploratory
in nature, looking at fisheries feasibility.
i. R. V. Novara (1857-1859: Oceanographic and functional in nature), Austria

ii. R. V. Valdivia (1898-1899: Oceanographic and functional in nature), Germany
iii. R. V. Investigator (1865-1902: Oceanographic and functional in nature), UK
iv. R. V. Golden Crown (1908-1909: 1st exploratory trawling), UK
v. R. V. Chosui Maru (1958-1959: 02 months Exploratory trawling), Japan
vi. R. V. Kagawa Maru (1960: 01 year exploratory trawling), Japan
vii. R. V. Kinki maru (1961-62: 02 year trawling in coastal regions), Japan
viii. R. V. Jalwa (1962-1970: 08 years marine biological and oceanographic studies),
Pakistan
ix. R. V. Lesnoy (1969-1970: 02 months oceanographic study), USSR
21
x. R. V. Sagar Sandhani (1965-70: 03 years fisheries research), FAO/Pakistan
xi. R. V. Meen Sandhani (1965-70: 06 months fisheries research), FAO/Pakistan
xii. Lesnoy (November 1969-January 1970, USSR
xiii. R. V. Tamango (June-November 1972: 06 months fisheries research), USSR
xiv. B. N. S. Padma (1974: two trips on 21st and 28th March, 06 days, from Chittagong
to St. Martin’s Island, marine biological research), Marine Biology Deptt.,
Chittagong University, Bangladesh
xv. T. V. Kandari (1976: 03 days marine biological research), Marine Biology Deptt.,
Chittagong University, Bangladesh
xvi. Mitajava (1976-77: 01 year oceanographic research), Japan
xvii. Santamonica and Orion-8 (1976-77), Japan
xviii. R. V. Fisheries (1978-79: 10 days oceanographic research), Thailand
xix. Fishery Research Vessel-II (March 1979), Thailand
xx. R.V. Dr. Fridtjof Nansen (December 1979-May 1980), Norway
(FAO/NORAD/BGD) through a joint FAO/ Norway fishery research programme,
under which the Norwegian Fishery Research Vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen visited
all BoB countries except India. The vessel made assessments of mainly demersal
and small pelagic finfish resources, based primarily on echo-sounder surveys,
fishing trials using pelagic and demersal trawls, and occasional sampling using
other fishing gears such as bottom longlines and lobster traps.
xxi. B. N. S. R. Amin (1980: 03 days, 1st expedition of NCEERSO), Bangladesh
xxii. M. V. Hijbul Bahar (1980: 03 days, 2nd expedition of NCEERSO), Bangladesh
xxiii. R. V. Anushandhani (1981-84), Bangladesh (BGD 1983)
xxiv. FAO/BGD marine fisheries survey of 1984-86
xxv. Bangladesh Fisheries Resources Survey, demersal trawling with R.V. Machranga
(1988-89), Bangladesh
xxvi. BIMSTEC (The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multisectoral, Technical and
Economic Cooperation) - SEAFDEC survey of the northern part of the Bay of
Bengal (Myanmar, India, Bangladesh) during 25 October-21 December, 2007.
Only the BIMSTEC survey of 2007 specifically describes the large pelagic species.
[Source: compiled from reports of DoF; Institute of Marine Science & Fisheries, Chittagong University and other reports]
Immediately after independence Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation started

exploitation of marine fishes in 1972-73 with 11 Russian (cooperation of USSR) trawlers.
In addition to these 18 shrimp trawlers were allowed in private sector in 1978 to harvest
shrimp commercially of which 10-15 trawlers were capable of exploiting fin-fishes.
22
Hussain (1971) reported availability of 45 species (with scientific names) of
commercially important fish species. While in his other report (Hussain 1969) he just
documented availability of 475 species without mentioning the names of species. FAO-
BOBP/WP/36 of 1972-82 reported 380 species of which 215 species are demersal, 65
species are pelagic, 20 species of shrimps and 40 species of cartilaginous
(elasmobranchs). Survey of Sagar Sandhani and Meen Sandhani (1968-71),
FAO/Pakistan identified four fishing grounds in the BoB-Bangladesh jurisdiction.
Surveys of Anushandhani (1981-84) and Bangladesh fishery resources survey, demersal
trawling with R.V. Machranga (1988-89) was done to locate and know the exploitable
demersal shrimp stocks. Survey report of Penn (1983) has reveled demersal fish stocks of
264,000-373,000 t in the continental shelf area of Bangladesh of which allowable
exploitation is around 175,000 t. It is still a mystery why pelagic stocks were not
surveyed at that time. Since then numbers of demersal fishing trawlers started increasing
and at one stage a large numbers of foreign shrimp trawlers were allowed to harvest
shrimp through joint venture programmes with Thailand under ‘Pay as you earn (PAYE)’
programme. Shrimp export was the major forex earner during that period. Later West
(1973) reported 2,000-5,000 t of shrimp, 150,000-160,000 t of demersal fish and 60,000-
120,000 t of pelagic fish stocks within the EEZ of Bangladesh and annual exploitable
demersal shrimp stocks are around 7,000-8,000 t and fish stocks are around 40,000-
50,000 t. Later joint venture programme was abandoned due to raising voices of scientists
and recommendations of West’s (1973) report regarding possible indiscriminate
destruction of marine fishs’ spawning and breeding grounds by those demersal trawlers.
23
Fishing grounds
Following fishing grounds were identified through survey of Sagar Sandhani and Meen
Sandhani (1968-71), FAO/Pakistan (Fig. 2):
Fig. 2. Fishing grounds of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh.
i. South patches, spans 3,400 km2 (towards km west of Cox’s Bazar, 10-40 m
depths)
ii. South of south patches, spans 2,800 km2 (towards 5 km south west of Teknaf, 10-
100 m depths). These two fishing grounds (south patches and south of south
patches) lie between 20°50Ń to 21°40Ń latitude and 91°00É to 91°50É
longitude.
iii. Middle ground, 4,600 km2 (towards 30 km south of Hatiya and Patuakhali, 10-
100 m depths). It lies between 20°50Ń to 21°20Ń latitude and 90°00É to
91°00É longitude.
24
iv. Swatch of no ground, 3,800 km2 (towards 29 km south of Dubla Island, 10-100 m
depths). This area lies between 21°00Ń to 21°25Ń latitude and 89°00É to
90°00É longitude (Shahidullah 1983).
Four different areas in the Middle ground and South patches have been declared as 'Fish
sanctuaries' by the Government in the Bay of Bengal-Bangladesh maritime area.
Even after 35 years of independence neither new fishing grounds are identified, though
fishing grounds are reported to change or shift continuously, nor any survey was done in
the continental slope. It is believed that the continental slope has significant stocks of
harvestable pelagic fish species. Until now our marine fisheries exploitation is
concentrated predominantly within shallow waters of only 14,000 km2 out of total
maritime area of 166,000 km2. The total fishery of the BoB, Bangladesh can broadly be
categorized in to two:
a. Off-shore fishery: Trawlers mainly use trawl nets (both demersal and bottom trawl),
gill nets and purse seine nets. Besides, mechanized boats ranging from 8 to 15 m long
carry out off-shore fishing and there are two types of gears operating in the coastal
and marine zone, namely set bag net (SBN) and shore seine net (SSN).
b. Inshore fishery: Inshore fishing is carried out by artisanal fishermen by small open
non-mechanized boats ranging from 5 to 12 m. There are 16 types of artisanal fishing
gears operating in the inshore fishery. Those are: Creek net (khalapata jal), beach
seine (kati jal), angling rod (borshi), crab long line (dundori), long line (borshi jal),
shrimp PL bag net (pata jal), drag net (tana jal), catfish gill net (pangas jal), otter
fishing (uud and tar jal), push net (thela jal), boat net (rocket jal), ilish gill net
(chandi jal), set bag net (behundi jal), gill net (fash jal), cast net (khepla jal), shore
net (charpata jal).
25
Fishing efforts
The development of the private sector for the off-shore trawl fishery commenced only
after the confirmation of the presence of commercially exploitable shrimp resources. The
number of privately owned trawlers increased rapidly from only 4 trawlers operating in
1978 to about 100 by early 1985 and subsequently a total of 250 licenses were issued for
importation of trawlers into Bangladesh (White and Khan 1985). Both the industrial and
artisanal fisheries exploit the coastal and off-shore marine fishery resources without any
appropriate management plan. This is mainly due to the non-availability of scientific
information and difficulties in implication of management strategies.
Industrial
Until mid 1960s, historically, marine and coastal fishing operations used to be carried out
by traditional non-mechanized crafts. Industrial trawl fishery developed in Bangladesh,
with the assistance of Russia, just after independence. As per Zaman Committee’s Report
of 1985 a total of 114 trawlers were imported up to December 1985. Out of 114 only 91
trawlers were engaged in fishing in Bangladesh waters as shown below (Table 5) and the
rest 23 trawlers either left Bangladesh or sunk in the Bay. Out of 91 trawlers 57 were of
steel body and 34 were of wooden body (ice trawler) of which 33 were within PAYE
scheme with Thai entrepreneurs as shown below:
Table 5. Trawler fleets as per Zaman Committee’s Report of 1985 engaged in fishing in the Bay
Type Shrimp trawler Mixed trawler Non-shrimp trawler

Bangladesh owned 19 7 16
Joint venture 6 10 0
Pay as you earn (PAYE) 7 12 14
Total = 32 29 30
Source: Hoque (2010)
Later on as per Task force’s recommendation the MoFL freshly categorized those mixed
trawlers as shrimp trawlers and non-shrimp trawlers (as fish trawlers) in March 1988.
Following the increasing of trawler fleets it was felt by the scientists and the policy
makers that the number of trawlers should be reduced to encourage sustainable
exploitation of the resources. Trawler fleets were reduced to 72 and joint ventures with
Thai entrepreneurs ceased.
26
After 2002 the GoB permitted new 50 licenses under various categories for off-shore
pelagic fisheries resources exploitation. Those were 13 white fish trawler, 12 demersal
(white fish) trawler, 10 mid-water trawler, 5 squid jigger, 5 long-liner and 5 purse seiner.
Of these 10 mid-water trawler, 13 white fish trawler, 9 demersal (white fish) trawler and
1 squid jigger (a total of 33) i.e. have already been imported while rest 4 squid jigger, 5
long-liner and 5 purse seiner have not yet been imported. Due to inexperience the
imported squid jigger could not catch squids and has changed its gear (with permission of
the honorable court) and now engaged in catching other fishes.
As of 2011-12 a total of 166 industrial trawlers (DoF 2012) were harvesting only 7.61%
(industrial fishery) and about 43,000 non- and mechanized boats (about 51% and 49%
respectively) are harvesting 92.39% (artisanal fishery) of the total marine catch of
546,333 t (17.84% of total annual fish production). Historically industrial trawlers’
cataches were within the range of only 6.3%-7.61% (mean 7%) of the total annual marine
catch during 2000-01 up to 2010-11. In tonnage it ranged between a minimum of 23,901 t
and a maximum of 41,665 t during the said period (Table 6).
Table 6. Marine fish harvest by industrial fishing trawlers during 1999-2011
Shrimp Trawler Fish Trawler Squid jigger
Nos. of Shrimp Fish Fishing Nos. of Shrimp Fish Fishing Nos. Squi Day
Year trawler (mt) (mt) days trawler (mt) (mt) days of d s
jigger (mt)
1999-
44 2908 5372 7152 21 6 8017 2517 - - -
2000
2000-01 44 3155 4701 7289 31 17 16027 3871 - - -
2001-02 44 3142 4459 6935 36 26 16586 4841 - - -
2002-03 45 2455 5447 7069 42 22 19428 5414 - - -
2003-04 45 3059 6034 7442 49 17 23207 6284 - - -
2004-05 45 3272 5038 7866 68 38 25895 8535 - - -
2005-06 41 3377 3544 7466 78 67 27096 11469 - - -
2006-07 39 2138 3769 5919 88 36 29446 11462 1 33 146
2007-08 38 2579 2362 5969 95 41 29176 13368 2 91 225
2008-09 40 2877 2295 5956 101 55 30202 13825 4 156 388
2009-10 41 2457 1836 124 39 29850
2010-11 35 2681 2215 123 104 36665
2011-12 33 133
27
Source: Uddin and Khan (2011)
Out of these 166 trawlers (Table 7) 33 were shrimp trawlers and remaining 133 were fish
trawlers. Shrimp trawlers ranged in length from 20.5 to 44.5 m, used outriggers and
operated 2-4 nets at a time using modern shrimp trawl nets with cod-end having a mesh
size of 45 mm and a head rope length of 15-35 m (Table 8). Fin-fish trawlers ranged from
28.0-30.5 m and mostly carried out single trawls using high opening stern bottom trawl
nets with 60 mm mesh size at the cod-end (Huntington et al. 2008).
Table 10. Present trawler fleets* engaged in fishing in the Bay
Permission source of license Shrimp trawler Fish trawler Total

(nos.) (nos.)
Permitted as per Investment Board and MoFL 29 38 67
approval
Permitted as per honorable Court’s order 4 22 26
Permitted temporary license (iced trawler) as per - 9 9
honorable Court’s order
Permitted trial permission (iced trawler) as per - 27 27
honorable Court’s order
MoFL approved modern freezing trawler - 37 37
Total = 33 133 166
Source: (personal communication Director, Marine Fisheries, DoF)
Table 8. Characteristics of shrimp and fish trawlers operating in offshore trawling ground
Trawlers specification Shrimp trawlers Fish trawlers

Overall length 20.5 –44.0 m 8.3- 29.1 m
Breadth 6.4 – 8.2 m 4.6 – 6.5 m
Depth 2.3 – 5.42 m 2.0 – 3.35 m
Engine power 400 –1250 hp 240 – 850 hp
Gross tonnage 89.7 – 471 tons 49.0 – 207 tons
Fish hold capacity 12 – 249 m3 37.7 – 140 m3
Source: Hossain (2004)
Fin-fish trawlers range from 28.0 to 30.5 m and mostly carry out single trawl using high
opening stern bottom trawl nets with 60 mm mesh size at the cod end. Almost all trawlers
are equipped with modern navigation, communication and fish finding equipment
(Huntington et al. 2008). Tables 9 and 10 summarizes fishing gears and their
characteristics used for both industrial and artisanal fisheries together with their target
species and depth of operation. The trawler fleets exploit the following key shrimp and
28
fish species: P. monodon, P. merguiensis, P. indicus, Metapenaeus monoceros, M.
brevicornis, pomfrets, haittails, goatfish, catfish, croakers, Bombay duck and lizard fish.
Table 9. Fishing gears used for both industrail and artisanal fisheries together
with their target species and depth of operation
Fishery/Gear Mesh size Depth of Target species/ group Level of water

(mm) operation (m) column
Industrial
Shrimp trawler 45-48 25-100 Penaeid shrimps, Demersal
(cod end) especially Penaeus
monodon
Fish trawler 40-60 15-100 Pomfrets, grunter, Demersal
(cod-end) croakers, catfish, Indian
salmon, jewfish,
robbonfish, etc.
Artisanal
Drift gillnet (large 150-200 25-35 Hilsa shad (Tenualosa Pelagic
mesh) ilisha), sharks, mackerls
Drift gillnet (small 75-100 15-50 Hilsa shad (T. ilisha), Pelagic
mesh) mackerel
Fixed gillnet 8-10 Hilsa shad (T. ilisha) Pelagic
Bottom-set gillnet 45-55 10-80 Indian salmon Demersal
Mullet gillnet 5-10 Grey mullet Pelagic
Estuarine set 8-15
bagnet (ESBN) Shrimps, croakers, Demersal
Marine set bagnet 12-30 3-12 ribbonfish, Bombay
duck, clupeids,
(MSBN)
anchovies, mackerel etc.
Large mesh set bag
net
Trammel net 40-50 10-30 Sea bass and penaeid Demersal
(inner panel) shrimps
Bottom longline 10-30 Shrimps, croakers, Demersal
catfish, sea bass
Beach seine 12-24 0-5 Croakers, catfish, Semi-pelagic
shrimps
Fixed bagnet 2 0-10 Shrimps and small fish Demersal
Push net 2 0-10 Shrimps Demersal
Drag net 0-5 Shrimp PL Demersal and
(P. monodon) semi-pelagic
Cast net 0-10 Anchovies, ribbonfish Demersal
Source: Adapted from Huntington et al. (2008), Hussain and Rahman (2010) and (Khan et al. 1997)
29
Table 10. Characteristics of key marine fisheries gears used in Bangladesh
Gear Mesh size (mm) Depth Type Water column

operated (m)
Shrimp trawler 45-48 (cod end) 25-100 Active Demersal
Fish trawler 40-60 (cod end) 15-100 Active Demersal
Drift gill net 150-200 25-35 Drift Pelagic
(large mesh)
Drift gill net (small mesh) 75-100 15-50 Active Pelagic
Bottom-set gill net 45-55 10-30 Drift Demersal
Marine set bag net 12-30 10-30 Static Semi-pelagic
Bottom-set longline 10-30 Drift Demersal
Trammel net 40-50 (inner panel) 10-20 Drift Demersal
Beach seine 12-24 0-5 Active Semi-pelagic
Estuarine set bag net 8-15 3-12 Static Demersal
Push net 02 0-1 Active Demersal
Fixed bag net 02 0-2 Static Demersal
Source: Huntington et al. (2008)
All the shrimp trawlers have modern processing and Contact Plate Freezer preserving
facilities. Among the fish trawlers only about 25% have got Air Blast Freezer preserving
facilities, while rest of the fish trawlers use ice blocks/cubes onboard by building ice
holds in the craft for preserving their catch.
Artisanal
Historically traditional non-mechanized boats were the major fishing vessels in

Bangladesh until mid 1960s. In 1967-68 there were only 41 mechanized boats
(Huntington et al. 2008). In 1970’s with Danish assistance mechanized Danish style
wooden boats were officially introduced and given licenses to harvest Indian salmon
using large mesh drift gillnets (LMD) and hilsa using small mesh drift gillnets (SMD).
By 2005-06 the number of mechanized fishing boats increased to about 25,379. It is
reported that most of these are fishing without any license and often use illegal small-
meshed monofilament gillnets (current jal).
At present artisanal fishing gears include those operated by mechanized and non-
mechanized boats. Non-mechanized small boats operate in comparatively shallow coastal
water areas and large mechanized boats operate in deeper regions. Artisanal fisheries use
different types of gears and crafts. Some gears are operated by mechanized/motorized
30
boats and some gears are operated by boats with oars and sail, while some gears are
operated without any boat. As per the previous estimates presented by the DoF (2012),
the total no of artisanal boats were 43,136, of which 21,016 are motorized and 22,120 are
non-motorized. However, most recent surveys conducted by the Bangladesh Marine
Fisheries Capacity Building Project showed 27,761 mechanized boats (Barisal Divn.
16,102, Khulan Divn. 1,624 and Chittagong Divn. 10,035) and 24,753 non-mechanized
boats (Barisal Divn. 15,825, Khulna Divn. 5,928 and Chittagong Divn. 3,000), which is
significant increase in the number of crafts. The recent survey also revealed that total
fishing gears operating in the coast and the Bay are now 158,529 (Barisal Divn. 37,013,
Khulna Divn. 11,220 and Chittagong Divn. 11,0296). All the non- and mechanized boats
carry ice onboard by building ice holds in the craft to preserve their harvested catch.
Though some boats return to landing station with daily catch, they use only ice blocks.
There are three types of boats namely, Dinghi, Chandi and Balam. Based on the type,
length of the boat varies from 6 to 20 m and these are mainly used for behundi nets
(ESBN) and gill nets. Mechanized boats are operated by 9-75 HP engines (mostly of 20-
63 HP) with 6-10 crews. Gross tonnages of the boats are 7-25 t/trip. The gears mostly
used with these boats are drift gill nets, behundi nets (MSBN) and long lines (Ahammed
2010).
The artisanal fishery (both mechanized and non-mechanized boats) uses 5 different types
of gill nets (drift gill net, fixed gill net, large mesh gill net, bottom set gill net and mullet
gill net), 2 types of set bag nets (estuarine set bag net – ESBNs and marine set bag net-
MSBNs), seine nets, purse seines, beach seines, push and 11 kinds of drag nets, 16 kinds
of trammel nets, mosquito net, three-tire net, 9 kinds of fixed nets, 3 kinds of cast nets
and many kind of other nets, 26 kinds of traps, 9 kinds of harpoons, many kinds of hooks
and bottom long-lines to harvest fish in the coastal and offshore waters. Previous
estimates (MFSP 2002, FSYB 2011) reflectd that there were a total of 223,858 gears of
which set bag nets 51,522; gill nets 108,040; long-lines 25,538; trammel nets 7,122 and
other gears 31,636. But as per the latest survey of the Bangladesh Marine Fisheries
Capacity Building Project the total numbers of gears are only 158,529 of which 37,013
nos. are in the Barisal region; 110,296 nos. are in the Chittagong region and 11,220 nos.
are in the Khulna region. As ther arises a huge and significant differences between the
previous and recent estimates hence a verification activities is going on basing on gear
types.
Drift gill nets are predominantly used in the inshore areas and specially used targeting
hilsa (T. ilisha). MSBNs are operated in deeper areas and ESBNs are operated in
31
shallower areas and rivers, where tidal effect is high. There were a total of 3,086 MSBNs
in 1985; 5,400 in 1987-88, 3,852 in 1991 and about 21,000 in 2002-02 (Huntington et al.
2008), while during 2001 there were about 11,674 ESBN boats (Rashid 2001). Hook and
line fishing is seasonal and limited to the winter season when the sea is calmer. Most of
the fisher fished for croakers, catfishes, groupers, skates, rays, sharks, Indian salmon, etc.
Most of the seine nets are operated at the very near shore targeting small fishes (Table
11). Except for the rough weather of monsoon months (June-August) artisanal fleets play
round the year, in this period few boats operate only in the near shore areas.
Table 11. Fishing gears used in the coastal/marine waters of Bangladesh

with target species and depth of operation
Fishery/gears Target species/group Depth of operation (m)

Industrial
Shrimp trawlers Penaeid shrimps 40-100
Fish trawlers Pomphrets, grunter, croakers, catfish, 40-100
Indian salmon, jewfish, ribbonfish, etc.
Artisanal
Drift gill net Hilsa (T. ilisha), mackerel down to 30
Fixed gill net Hilsa (T. ilisha), mackerel 8-10
Large meshed drift net Sharks down to 30
Bottom set net Indian salmon down to 80
Mullet gill net Grey mullet 5-10
Estuarine set bag net Shrimps, croakers, ribbonfish, bombay
Marine set bag net duck, clupeids, mackereletc. 5-10
Large mesh set bag net Anchovies, etc.
Trammel net Sea bass 10-30
Bottom longline Shrimps, croakers, catfish, mackerel 10-30
Beach seine Croakers 10-30
Char pata (4 tier) net Clupeids, croakers 8-10
Cast net Anchovies, ribbonfish down to 10
Push net Shrimps down to 10
Fixed bag net Shrimps down to 10
Drag net P. monodon PL down to 5
Source: Khan et al. (1997)
Table 12 shows the number of fishermen and fishing gears, as of 2001, in coastal
districts. A total of 2,641 long line (LL) fishing vessels are used, which use 24,614 long
lines and are used within 10-30 m depth ranges (Khan 2010). The bottom long line
fishery was introduced in late 1960s. There are different types of LLs, such as jewfish LL
32
and miscellaneous fish LL which mainly catches croakers. The common species targeted
by LLs are Pennahia argentata, Johnius belangerii, Protonibea dicanthus, Otolithes
pama. These LLs operate in the south of Chittagong, Noakhali and Patuakhali and south-
west of Cox’s Bazar. Mean contribution of major fishing gears to total marine fish
production during 2000-01 to 2010-11 and area of operations of different gears marine
waters can be seen respectively in Figs. 3 and 4.
Table 12. Number of fishermen and fishing gears, as of 2001*, in coastal districts
District Fishermen ESBN Gillnet Push net SMD, Other

(nos.) (nos.) (nos.) (nos.) Bhasan jal nets
(nos.) (nos.)
Chittagong 63,138 14,114 20,118 4,779 117 6,985
Cox’s Bazar 356,601 21,372 28,018 13,002
Noakhali 72,474 3,093 3,752 1,819 3,693
Barisal 84,350 7,179 32,166 11,060
Jhalokathi 1,570
Pirojpur 10,662
Bhola 188,018
Patuakhali 49,112 2,800 8,289 20,019
Borguna 15,284
Khulna 50,871 4,982 3,228 1,889 76 6,752
Bagerhat 5,923
Satkhira 9,265
Total = 907,268 53,540 95,571 6,668 2,012 61,511
Source: Completion Report of the Marine Fisheries Strengthening Project (Rashid 2001)
* Rrecent estimates are being compiled by the BMFCBP and these would be higher in numbers in every cases.
Trammel nets are operated by dinghy-type wooden non-mechanized sail boats shallow
water depths and have got three paneled bottom set gill nets with outer 1.8 m, panels of
large meshes 265 mm and an inner loose 2.25 m panel with small mesh 50 mm with a
higher hanging ratio. It mostly catches penaeid shrimps, croakers, catfish, and bombay
ducks.
Historically artisanal (small-scale) fishers’ catches are within the range of 92.74% to
93.7% of the total annual marine catch during 2000-01 up to 2010-11 (Fig. 4). In tonnage
it ranged from a minimum of 373,596 t to a maximum of 504,668 t during the said
period. Historical analysis of gear-wise catch during 2000-01 up to 2010-11 revealed that
during the said period artisanal mechanize boats harvested 44-49% (mean 47%), artisanal
33
non-mechanized boats harvested 7.46%-11.75% (mean 9%), set bag nets harvested
27.23%-32.03% (mean 31%), long-lines harvested 2.74%-6.04% (mean 3%), trammel
nets harvested 1.54%-2.64% (mean 2%) and other gears harvested 0.7%-1.65% (mean
1%) of the total annual marine catch (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4. Mean contribution of major fishing gears to

total marine fish production during 2000-01 to 2010-11.
Of all the gears the bulk are contributed by artisanal mechanized boats (47%) using
mostly large mesh drift gell nets and small mesh gill nets. The other one is the set bag
nets (both estuaraine set bag nets- ESBNs and marine set bag nets- MSBNs) (31%) using
fine meshed (at the tail end) nets. The artisanal non-mechanized boats also predominantly
use large mesh drift gell nets and small mesh gill nets.
Total annual catch of different important species/groups (except hilsa) caught by different
gears in 2010-11 showed Bombay duck as the most important contributor, and was
followed by shrimp, jew fish and pomfrets. In gill net catch, jew fish and pomfrets are the
major contributor, while for set-bag net catch, Bombay duck, shrimps and pomfrets are
the major contributors.
34
The set-bag net is one of the most important non-selective gears in the artisanal fisheries.
About 170 species or groups were identified from the MSBN catch throughout the fishing
season in 2003-2004 (Rahman et al. 2007). Most of the species were bony fishes
(osteichthyes), followed by cartilaginous fishes (chondrichthyes), shell-fishes (shrimps
and molluscs), jelly fishes and other animals (turtles, snakes, etc.). Again among all the
nets the ESBNs and MSBNs are extremely detrimental to coastal and marine fisheries
resources, as those mainly catches larvae, juveniles, sub-adults of various fin-fishes and
shell-fishes (of very low value) causing recruitment overfishing (affecting recruitments).
Various works and studies have established the fact that set bag nets, in its present form,
are extremely detrimental to fisheries (Islam et al. 1993, Khan et al. 1997, Rahman et al.
2007). Use of ESBNs and MSBNs are restricted by Fish Act and Marine Fisheries
Ordinance, unfortunately its implementation is very unsuccessful. If at all those could not
be controlled, its mesh size should be at least 2.5 inches (6 cm) so that larvae, juveniles,
sub-adults of various fin-fishes and shell-fishes can escape unhurt. If those larvae,
juveniles, sub-adults are given chance to escape (at least 20% could escape) through
increased mesh of set bag nets they could produce huge amounts of adult fin-fishes and
shell-fishes.
Continuously increasing fishing efforts in the coastal/marine fisheries has led to artisanal
fisheries being too non-remunerative to survive. Under the present level of exploitation, it
is realized that some of the fishing gears are harmful to the growth, regeneration and
maintenance of balance in the biological cycle of the marine community and there are
some indications, that coastal fish stocks are over-exploited year after year. Therefore, it
is necessary to assess precisely the extent of fishing pressure and the level of exploitation
by different gears in order to estimate the impact on sustainable management. This has
been well documented in the marine fisheries sub-strategy as a serious concern and been
prioritized for immediate attention, in order to address the process of restoring and
sustaining the fish stocks for livelihood and food security for future generations
(Huntington et al. 2008).
35
Present Stock Status
Most of the living marine resource stocks, on which the BoB’s fisheries are based,
traverse the international boundaries of adjacent, and sometimes non-adjacent, countries.
Large pelagic species such as tunas and billfishes may move over large ocean ranges and
pass through the EEZs of many countries (not just those of the BoB). Smaller pelagic
species such as anchovies, herrings and shads are not individually mobile on such a large
scale, but may still migrate through the coastal waters of two or more neighbouring
countries.
The marine capture fisheries of Bangladesh consist of complex, multi-species resources.

As per the stock survey of about two decades old (of 1986-1989), no recent assessment
done since then, trawlable dominantly demersal standing stocks vary widely from
40,000-55,000 t to 260,000-370,000 t (Penn 1983) (Table 13). At present 40,000-55,000 t
of demersal fish can be harvested annually from the off-shore fishing grounds of 10-100
m depth zones (Khan 2010). An estimated 7,000-8,000 t of penaeid shrimp could also be
harvested (Khan et al. 1989). Pelagic stocks could be around 66,000 t in November-
December period and 133,000 t in May from the dept zones of 0-100 m depth zones
(Khan 2010). The total production from all sources of marine and brackishwater fisheries
could be around 264,000 t (Khan et al. 1994).
Table 13. Standing stock (t) of demersal, pelagic fish and shrimps
of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh
Year Demersal Pelagic Shrimps Reference

fish (t) fish (t) (t)
1972 264,000- - 9,000 West (1973)
373,000
1979-80 160,000 90,000- - Saetre (1981). R.V. Dr. Fridtjof Nansen. The
160,000 survey noted potential yield of 100,000 t for
each group, and seasonal variability is high.
1981 200,000- 160,000- 4,000- Penn (1982)
250,000 200,000 6,000
1981 152,000 - - Khan et al. (1983)
1984 - - 3,300 White and Khan (1985)
1986 188,000 25,600 - Lamboeuf (1987)
1984-86 176,160 - 857 Khan (2000). Re-assessment of data
collected in 1984-1986 by R.V.
36
Anusandhani.
Source: Hossain (2003)
Demersal stocks
West (1973) estimated the standing stock of demersal fish about 264,000– 374,000 t and
shrimp about 9,000 t (Table 13). Surveys of FAO/NORAD/BGD 1979-80, BGD 1983
and FAO/BGD 1984-86 revealed demersal standing stocks of 150,000–160,000 t within
the exploited 10-100 m shelf area. Besides, an additional 100,000 t is available within the
24,000 km2 open brackishwater area within the shore line and 10 m depth (Saetre 1981,
Khan et al. 1983 and Lamboeuf 1987). While Penn (1982) estimated the standing stock
of demersal fish about 200,000–250,000 t and shrimp about 4,000–6,000 t. Of
commercial importance were the stocks of croakers and catfishes around 40,000 t,
threadfin bream 7,000 t and Bombay duck 1,000 t (Lamboeuf 1987) (Table 13). The
recent report made by Khan (2000) on the basis of the surveys conducted by R.V.
Anusandhani during 1984-86 brought out an estimate of 176,160 t of demersal fish and
only 857 t of shrimp. The cause of poor estimation of shrimp resulted due to some
limitation of area coverage and sample size. During “RV. Dr. Fridtjof Nansen” survey
(Saetre 1981), the pelagic fish stock was estimated as 90,000-160,000 t through an
acoustic study. The current consensus based on the reassessment of the previous and
related studies showed a trawlable standing stock of 150,000–160,000 t in the coastal
water of Bangladesh, of which about 53% consists of commercially important demersals
and about 16% consists of commercially important pelagics (Lamboeuf 1987, Khan et al.
1997). Total production from both marine and brackishwater fisheries is around 264,000 t
(Khan et al. 1994) of which from drift gill net 136,000 t, from estuarine set bag net
(ESBN) 73,000 t, from marine set bag net 26,000 t and from trawl fishery 26,000 t (Khan
and Latif 1997). Based on the previous studies, calculated potential of demersal fish
indicated that about 40,000 to 55,000 t of demersal fin-fish can be harvested annually
from the off-shore fishing grounds lying 10-100 m depth zones. The results indicted that
7,000-8,000 t can be harvested annually (Khan et al. 1994).
Pelagic stock
No direct survey has been conducted on the estimation of pelagic resources. Acoustic
estimates by first generation equipment (used in FAO/NORAD/BGD 1979-80 survey of
R.V. Dr. Fridtjof Nansen) revealed stocks of 38,000 t in November-December 1979 and
76,000 t in May 1980 within 10-100 m shelf area, of about 9,400 nautical miles2. Area
within shore line and 10 m depth, of about 7,000 nautical miles2, was not covered by the
survey. If it assumed that density of pelagic fishes are same within shore line and 10 m
depth zone as that of 10-100 m depth zone, then the total pelagic fish stock in entire
37
Bangladesh shelf area would stand around 66,000 t in November-December and 133,000
t in May (Khan 2010). This estimate of pelagic fish stocks is regarded as underestimates
because of the use of first generation equipment in the survey (Table 13). Due to the lack
of information on the standing stocks of pelagic resources and sustainable harvest,
development of proper biological management policy in this sector has become
impossible.
There are wide discrepancies among the survey results, possibly due to differing
methodologies, different area coverage and seasonal variation. The current consensus
based on the reassessment of the previous and related studies showed a trawlable
standing stock of 150,000–160,000 t in the coastal water of Bangladesh of which about
53% consists of commercially important demersal and about 16% consists of
commercially important pelagic fishes. The amount of fishery resource survey work
carried out by BoB countries through research cruises or expeditions has tailed off in
recent years, with lack of funding again being frequently cited as a problem. Survey for
the estimation of standing stock and identification of new fishing grounds has been
totally stopped due to lack of research vessel and skilled manpower. Many BoB countries
can no longer afford the luxury of running full-time research vessels to gather fishery
independent data and carry out direct assessments of stocks. Besides, inadequacy of data
used, in terms of quantity and quality, tend to provide highly varied values of estimates
for the potentials of the resources and reduce the reliability of the estimates. The high
degree of variability makes it difficult to use even an average of the various values
available or consider any one particular value to be close the true situation.
The most recent BIMSTEC (2007) survey conducted on the pelagic resources in the BoB
revealed that five most abundant species captured by number were: skipjack tuna
(Katsuwonus pelamis, 22.94%), swordfish (Xiphias gladius, 12.94%), silky shark
(Carcharhinus falsiformis, 8.82%), frigate tuna (Auxis thazard, 8.24%) and bigeye
thresher shark (Alopias supersiliosus, 6.47%). In terms of weight, the swordfish (34.82%)
ranked first of the top-five species and was followed by bigeye thresher shark (33.88%),
silky shark (8.21%) black marlin (Makaira indica, 4.23%) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus
albacares, 3.98%), respectively. Khan (1986), Rahman and Zaher (2006) and BIMSTEC
(2007) indicated that Bangladesh marine water is potentially resourceful for deep sea
fishing; preparation of an action plan is essential for small pelagics and deep-sea fishing
targeting yellowfin tuna by pelagic long line and trawl line.
Due to lack of updated and reliable information (lack of skilled manpower, sufficinet
fund and research vessels) on the standing stock of pelagic resources and sustainable
38
harvest development of biological resources, a proper management policy has become
impossible. There is a need to improve fish stock assessment capacity, both through skill
development and through development of funding mechanisms to ensure that stock
assessment and data collection programmes are effective. This would best be addressed
through a donor supported broad regional capacity-building programme which supports
the functioning of key institutions and promotes human resource development.
Shared fish stock of the BoB
Many economically important species are transboundary and needs regional assessment
and conservation-management plan. Regional stock status assessment of transboundary
important fisheries resources are needed for collaborative regional conservation-
management strategy. Most of the living marine resource stocks on which the BoB’s
fisheries are based on those traverse the international boundaries of adjacent, and
sometimes non-adjacent, countries (Table 14). Large pelagic species such as tunas and
billfishes may move over large ocean ranges and pass through the EEZs of many
countries (not just those of the BoB). Smaller pelagic species such as anchovies, herrings
and shads (viz. T. ilisha) are not individually mobile on such a large scale, but may still
migrate through the coastal waters of two or more neighboring countries. Some small
pelagic species are distributed along the coastlines of all BOB countries, and their range
may extend well beyond the BoB to the east or west, or both. Resources which appear to
be sessile or only locally mobile, such as reef fish, lobsters, sea cucumbers and even
corals may have patterns of larval dispersal that give their distribution an international
dimension. The rainbow sardine (Dussumeria acuta), is one example of a species that
falls into this category (Preston 2004). Tropical lobsters (Panulirus spp.), which are
found in Bangladesh waters near St. Martin's Island, for instance have a pelagic larval
lifespan that may last from 4-12 months, during which period the larvae may travel
thousands of miles from the place of birth to the place of adult settlement (Preston 2004).
Fisheries or extractive activities based on these stocks in one country may be replenished
by recruitment that originates in another country. Intensive fisheries in several countries
that, knowingly or unknowingly, all target the same stock have the potential to cause
overfishing and stock decline or collapse. Table 14 lists several important fishery groups
which, based on the BOBLME national reports and other sources, appear to fall into this
category.
39
Table 14. Examples of likely shared or straddling stocks in the BoB region
Common name Scientific name Countries primarily concerned

Hilsa/ Terubok Ilisha/ Hilsa/ Tenualosa spp. All except Maldives
Small tunas Auxis thazard, Euthynnus affinis All except Bangladesh
Short mackerel Rastrelliger brachysoma Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand,
Myanmar
Indian mackerel Rastrelliger kanagurta Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand,
India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh
Spanish mackerel/ Scomberomorus spp. India, Bangladesh, Myanmar
Seer fish
Oil sardine Sardinella longiceps India, Sri Lanka
Bali sardinella Sardinella lemuru Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia
Rainbow sardine Dussumeria acuta, D. elopsoides All countries, especially southern
India, Sri Lanka
Indian pellona Pellona ditchella All countries except Maldives
Goldstripe sardinella Sardinella gibbosa, S. fimbriata All countries except Maldives
Indian scad Decapterus russelli All countries
Indian halibut Psettodes erumei Indonesia, Thailand
Bombay duck Harpodon nehereus India, Bangladesh, Indonesia
Black pomfret Parastromateus niger Indonesia, Thailand, India,
Sri Lanka
Sea catfish Arius maculatus, A. thalassinus, All countries except Maldives
others
Source: Preston (2004)
Not all the listed stocks are pelagic species. A neglected but important component of the
catch in some countries is made up of sea catfish of the family Ariidae. In recent years
this group has comprised 10% of the marine fish catch in Bangladesh, and 4.3% in India,
yet little is known about its biology or population dynamics, and in fishery statistics sea
catfish are reported by family or order rather than species (Preston 2004). Despite the
shared nature of most BoB fish stocks, there have been relatively few detailed, multi-
country studies on them. Some commercially important transboundary species found in
Bangladesh and adjacent countries are, Hilsa (T. ilisha), Small tunas (Euthynnus affinis),
Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta), Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus spp.),
Indian pellona (Pellona ditchella), Bombay duck (Harpodon nehereus), Black pomfret
(Parastromateus niger), Sea catfish (Arius maculatus, A.thalassinus), etc. Many of those
fish stocks are shared with other countries either through transboundary migration of fish
or larvae. Five species of tropical shads (Clupeidae: Tenualosa species) (known locally as
Terubuk in Indonesia and in Malaysia; Hilsa in the Indian sub-continent and Pha Mak
40
Pang in Thailand) live in estuaries and coastal waters throughout the BoB region. The
most widespread and well-studied species is T.ilisha, which is found in all BoB countries
except Maldives, and is the basis of important fisheries throughout its range. The closely
related T. reevesi occurs intermittently along the South China coast and far up the
Yangtze, Pearl and Qiantang rivers. Once T. toli was widespread, but is now common
only in the estuaries and adjacent coastal areas of Sarawak, Indonesia. T. thibaudeaui
only lives in the lower and middle Mekong system and is believed to be close to
extinction, and T. macrura lives in the coastal waters of Sumatra and Borneo (Blaber et
al. 2001). Different Tenualosa species exhibit varying life history strategies; for example,
that T. toli and T. macrura change sex (male first year, female second year), while T.
ilisha and T. reevesii do not. Habitat preferences, movement patterns and maximum age
also vary between species. In the case of T. toli lives for only two years, that it only
spawns in three very specific localities (Blaber et al. 2001). T. toli and T. thibeaudi are
thought to be close to commercial extinction, primarily due to fishers’ targetting the
spawning females for the roe, which command very high prices.
Not all the listed stocks are pelagic species. A neglected but important component of the
catch in some countries is made up of sea catfish of the family Ariidae. In recent years
this group has comprised 10% of the marine fish catch in Bangladesh, and 4.3% in India,
yet little is known about its biology or population dynamics, and in fishery statistics sea
catfish are reported by family or order rather than species (Preston 2004). Not all shared
stocks are of major importance to fisheries, but there may be other reasons why they
should receive research and management attention. In some cases excess fishing pressure,
environmental degradation or other factors may be leading to serious depletion and
possible localised extinction of species which may have only formed a minor part of the
commercial catch. Sampath (2003) reported that, in India, ‘certain commercially
threatened marine finfish due to indiscriminate fishing are the whale shark Rhiniodon
typus, marine catfish of the genera Tachysurus and Osteogrneousus, the white fish
Lactarius lactarius, the flat head Platycephalus maculipinna, the threadfins Polynemus
indicus and P. heptadactylus, the sciaenids Pseudoscianena diaqcanthus and Otolithoides
brunneus, the perch Pomadasys hasta, and the eel Muraenosox.’ There may thus be
arguments for joint research and stock assessment on fishery species because they are
threatened or endangered, rather than because they are of great commercial importance.
Moreover, fishing overlaps national jurisdictions, both legally and illegally.
41
Signals of stock status
Unsustainable resource use may be signaled by a number of indicators, including

declining catch rates, declining average size and weight of individual members of the
catch, fewer individuals in the catch, failure of migrations or aggregations, and fishermen
having to venture beyond their usual fishing grounds in order to achieve a good catch.
Falling catch rates and a decline in the average size of fish in the catch are normal
responses of a fish population to fishing and do not in themselves indicate overfishing.
As long as the total fishing effort in the fishery is below the level that will produce the
theoretical maximum sustainable yield (MSY), then further increases in effort will
produce increases in catch. The rate of such increases will progressively decline as MSY
is approached. In addition, since increases in effort usually mean increasing numbers of
fishing units in the fishery, the average catch per unit of fishing effort, or per fishing unit,
will also generally decline. Once the fishing effort has increased beyond that required to
produce MSY, however, then the fishery is said to be overfished. There are two
generalized types of overfishing:
• Growth overfishing, in which the level of fishing effort has gone beyond that
needed to produce MSY, but the resource still contains enough reproductive capacity
to ensure there will be a surplus of juveniles to replenish the stock in future years. In
such a case the consequences of overfishing are primarily economic, since the fishery
is not producing the biological maximum sustainable yield.
• Recruitment overfishing, in which the level of fishing effort is so great that the
resource no longer has the reproductive capacity it needs to replenish future
generations. In this condition the fishery is likely to collapse, either as a direct result
of overfishing, or due to a combination of fishing and an extreme variation in some
environmental variable, such as sea surface temperature or rainfall, which adds a
further stress to an already strained reproductive capacity, and pushes the stock over
the edge.
Much of overfishing occurs as a result of increasing fishing pressure exerted by highly

populated coastal communities of artisanal or small-scale fishermen targeting inshore
demersal and small pelagic resources. In the absence of actions to prevent further
increases in fishing effort, many fisheries that are currently in the growth overfishing
stage which may enter into recruitment overfishing and collapse. Given the
transboundary nature of most BoB fish stocks; however, bilateral or multilateral
collaboration will be required to solve most of the region’s overfishing problems.
42
Fisheries resources and species composition
Marine fisheries resources include 475 species of fin-fishes (including 70 species of

sharks, skates and rays), 36 species of shrimps, 15 species of crabs (among them, mud
crab- Scylla serrata and swimming crab Portunus spp. are important), 02 species of
horse-shoe crabs, 5 species of lobsters (Panulirus sp.), 03 species of starfish, 03 species
of cephalopods (Sepia officinalis, Loligo spp. and Octopus spp.), 02 species of cuttle fish,
02 species of squids, 04 species of sea snakes, 06 species of Costura, 400 species of
mussels, oyster and snails, 01 species of crocodile, 33 species of jellyfish, 11 species of
whales/dolphins, 5 species of sea turtles, 13 species of corals, 3 species of sponges and 11
species of mammals. But about 200 fish species are very common in commercial catches.
Besides, there are hundreds of other invertebrates (Khan 2005). Commercially important
fin-fishes are Hilsa shad (Tenualosa ilisha), Wolf herring (Chirocentrus dorab), Bombay-
duck (Harpodon nehereus), Conger eel (Congresox telabonoides), Flathead mullet
(Mugil cephalus), Fourfinger threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylum), Giant-seabass
(Lates calcarifer), Lady fish (Sillago sihama), Bluefin trevally (Caranx melampygus),
Mackerel scad (Scomberoides commersonnianus), Triple-tail (Lobotes surinamensis),
long jewfish (Otolithoides pama), Panna croaker (Panna microdon), Indian mackerel
(Rastrelliger kanagurta), King mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson), Indian salmon
(Polynemus indicus), Pomfret (Pampus argenteus), Whipfin mojarra (Gerres
filamentosus), Red grunter (Pomadasys argenteus), etc. Most exploited fish and shrimp
species, un-exploited/under-exploited species and non-conventional marine fisheries
resources are summarized in Table 15.
Table 15. Most exploited fish and shrimp species, un-exploited/under-exploited species and
non conventional marine fisheries resources of Bangladesh
Most exploited fish Most exploited Un-exploited and Non-conventional

species shrimp species under-exploited resources
species
Pampus argenteus Penaeus monodon Euthynnus affinis Sepia affinalis
P. chinensis P. semisulcatus Katsuwonus pelamis Loligo spp.
Pomadasys hasta P. japonicus Thunnus maccoyii Octopus spp.
Lutjanus johni P. indicus T. obesus Sphyrna blochii
43
Mene maculata P. merguiensis T. tonggol Stegostoma fasciatum
Polynemus indicus Metapenaeus Auxis rochei Chiloscyllium indicum
monoceros
Lepturacanthus savala M. brevicornis A. thazard Scoliodon walbeehmii
Arius spp. M. spinulatus Scomberomorus S. sorrakowah
guttatus
Johnius belangerii Parapenaeopsis S. commerson Carcharhinus menisorrah
sculptilis
Otolithoides argenteus P. stylifera Rastrelliger kanagurta Pristis cuspidatus
Namipterus japonicus R. brachysoma P. zijsron
Upeneus sulphureus Rhynchobatus djeddensis
Saurida tumbil Rhinobatos granulatus
Ilisha filigera Dasyatis uarnak
Sphyraena barracuda
Muranesox
telabonoides
Source: Rahman (2001)
Catch composition of industrial trawlers
Trawler catches were recorded in nine sorted groups of which, cat fish, jew fish, Bombay
duck, pomfret, shrimps and other fishes (unsorted) were the dominant ones. Comparative
catch of 2005-06 to 2010-11 revealed that during these period catch of cat fish decreased
from 10% to 2%, catch of jew fish decreased from 10% to 3%, catch of shrimps
decreased from 10% to 7%. While catch of Bombay duck and pomfret remained
unchanged. Catch of unsorted other fishes increased from 68% to 86% during these six
years. As the statistics show total industrial catch gradually increased form 34,084 t in
2005-06 to 41,665 t in 2010-11, it seems that decreased percentages of cat fish, jew fish
and shrimps during these six years are simply due to statistical changes of unsorted other
fishes (Fig. 5). This obviously reflects problems in identification of small-sized fishes (as
more and more juvenile, immature fishes are being harvested), hence clumped into
unsorted other fishes. When the total catches (t) of industrial trawlers were plotted year-
wise against group-wise for these six years it confirmed the skewed impact of unsorted
other fishes on the catch composition (Fig. 6). Bulk harvesting of juveniles and immature
fishes also reflect overfishing condition.
44
Fig. 5. Mean trawler catch composition (%) in 2005-06 and 2010-11 periods
in the marine waters of Bangladesh (FSYB 2005-06 and 2010-11).
Fig. 6. Mean trawler catch composition (t) during 2005-06 to 2010-11

periods in the marine waters of Bangladesh (FSYB 2010-11).
45
Catch composition of artisanal fisheries
An artisanal small-scale fishery is a complex multi-species and multi-gear scenario which

include various kinds of gill nets, set-bag-nets (behundi nets), seine nets, push nets, long
lines, trammel nets, etc. Similarly artisanal catches were recorded in nine sorted groups of
hilsa, cat fish, Indian salmon, jew fish, Bombay duck, pomfret, elasmobranchs, shrimps
and other fishes (unsorted). Statistics show total artisanal catch gradually increased form
445,726 t in 2005-06 to 504,668 t in 2010-11, about 13.22% increment in these period
(Table 18). During these six years catch percentages of hilsa remained roughly
unchanged withing 41-44%, jew and cat fishes and shrimps remained unchanged within
7%, 3-4% and 10-11% respectively. Catch percentages of Bombay duck increased
significantly from 7-8% to 11-12%, pomfret also increased significantly from 2.6% to
around 8-10% and Indian salmon from 0.2% to 1%. While catch percentages of unsorted
other fishes decreased from 23% to 13% and that of elasmobranchs from 1% to 0.8%
during these six years. The result (Fig. 7) obviously reflects good condition of artisanal
fishery but only overexploitation of sharks (elasmobranchs).
Fig. 14. Mean catch composition (%) of artisanal fisheries during 2005-06
and 2010-11 periods in the marine waters of Bangladesh (FSYB 2010-11).
46
Excerpt of previous reports reveals the most abundant groups are croakers (Sciaenidae)
12.8%, cat fishes (Ariidae) 11.6%, threadfin breams (Nemipteridae) 4.4%, jacks and
scads (Carangidae) 3.2%, goat fishes (Mullidae) 3%, lizard fishes (Synodontidae) 2.9%,
hairtail/ribbon fishes (Trichiuridae) 2.5%, pony fishes (Leiognathidae) 2.5%, grunters
(Pomadasyidae) 2.1%, sardines and shads (Clupeidae) 1.9% and mackerels and tunas
(Scombridae) 1.1%, etc. (Table 18). Commercially important fin-fishes are jew
fishes/croakers (Johnius sp., Otolithus sp.), Pomphrets (Pampus sp.), Mackerels
(Scomberomorus sp., Rastrelliger sp.), tunas (Euthynnus affinis), cat fish (Ariidae), scads,
trevally (Carangidae), sardines (Clupeidae), anchovies (Engraulidae), sharks, skates and
rays (elasmobranchs) and shrimps.
Table 16. Relative abundance of family/groups of marine fishes of Bangladesh
Family/group Common name Relative abundance (%)

Seciaenidae Croakers 12.8
Ariidae Catfishes 11.6
Nemipteridae Threadfin breams 4.4
Carangidae Jacks, scads 3.2
Mullidae Goatfishes 3.0
Synodontidae Lizardfishes 2.9
Trichiuridae Hairtail/ribbonfishes 2.5
Leiognathidae Ponyfishes 2.5
Pomadasyidae Grunters 2.1
Clupeidae Sardines, shads 1.9
Scombridae Mackerels, tunas 1.1
Priacanthidae Bullseyes 0.9
Stromateidae Pomphrets 0.8
Cephalopods Squids, cuttlefishes 0.8
Engraulidae Anchovies 0.7
Gerridae Silver bidddies 0.6
Harpondontidae Bombay duck 0.5
Lutjanidae Snappers 0.2
Rajidae Skates and rays 4.2
Others 43.3
Source: Hussain and Rahman (2010)
Fish species that are presently being exploited consists of mainly demersal fishes of
shallow water and mid water. These include around 100 commercial species of which 15
species are highly commercial contributing around 75% of the total demersal harvest
47
(Table 17). Important fish families with their depth strata are shown in Table 18. About
20 important fish families in each depth stratum showed that 10 fish families contributed
about 56-75% of the biomass in each depth stratum and 20 fish families contributed about
82-87%. The three most important families were Ariidae (cat fishes) 11.99%, Sciaenidae
(jew fishes) 1.37% and Nemipteridae (threadfin breams) 9.00%. Average contribution
(industrial and artisanal combined) of major fish species to total marine fish production
during 2000-01 to 2010-11 are shown in Fig. 15.
Table 17. Important species of fin-fishes that contribute about 75% of

the demersal catch in the marine water of Bangladesh (Lamboeuf 1987)
Scientific Name English/common name Local/Bangla name

Pampus argentius Silver pomfret Foli chanda
P. chinensis Chinese pomfret Rup chanda
Pomadasys hasta White grunter Datina
Lutjanus johni Red snapper Ranga koi
Polynemus indicus Indian salmon Lakkha
Lepturacanthus savala Ribbon fish/hair tail Churi
Arius spp. Cat fish Aeir/Kata mach
Johnius belangerii Croaker Rupali poa
Otolithoides argentius Croaker Poa
Namipterus japonicus Japanese threadfin bream Rupban
Upenus sulphurus Goat fish Sonali bata
Saurida tumbil Lizard fish Choukkha, Barochoukkha
Ilisha filigera Big eye ilisha Choukkha phasa
Sphyraena barracuda Great barracuda Darkuta
Muraenesox telabonoides Indian pike conger Kamila
Table 18. Distribution of fin-fish and shell-fish (%) in different depth strata
of the Bay of Bengal of Bangladesh (Lamboeuf (1987)
Family English/common name Depth strata (m)

10-20 20-50 50-80 80-100 All
Ariidae Cat fishes 18.53 12.32 12.01 6.22 11.99
Sciaenidae Jew fishes 21.28 12.26 4.54 3.31 10.37
Nemipteridae Threadfin breams 0.03 1.17 8.68 27.89 9.0
Trichiuridae Hairtail fishes 3.24 8.76 6.81 4.35 6.19
Carangidae Jacks. Scads 3.32 4.53 8.46 7.48 5.77
Scombridae Mackerels 0.85 0.92 5.82 15.11 5.36
Mullidea Goat fishes 0.44 6.31 10.01 3.11 5.05
48
Leiognathidae Pony fishes 3.09 10.07 2.30 0.75 4.88
Synodontidae Lizard fishes 1.16 3.09 5.62 6.41 4.01
Clupeidae Sardines 4.47 5.33 3.53 0.31 3.57
Rajidae Rays 9.91 3.0 1.5 0.12 3.38
Pomadasyidae Grunters 5.92 2.76 0.94 0.43 2.47
Gerreidae Silver biddies 0.09 3.44 4.01 0.75 2.21
Stromataeidae Pomfrets 2.05 2.05 3.19 0.26 1.82
Priacanthidae Bullseyes 0 0.12 0.95 5.61 1.62
Penaeidae Shrimps 1.87 1.66 1.71 1.10 1.57
Engrailidae Anchovies 1.25 2.43 1.95 0.22 1.55
Cephalopodae Squids/cuttle fishes 0.53 0.50 2.24 2.79 1.41
Harpondontidae Bombay duck 3.54 1.60 0 0.01 1.29
Lutjanidae Snappers 0.44 1.41 0.8 1.3 1.07
Top 10 families 56.41 64.76 67.78 74.94 66.19
Top 20 families 82.01 83.73 85.07 87.53 84.58
Marine fish catches are recorded under 9 major commercially important groups by the
Fisheries Resources Survey System of the DoF, shrimp and pomphrets are the most
targeted because of their export value. Statistics reveal that major pelagic species are
ribbon fish/hairtail, sardines, horse mackerel and whitebaits while the principal demersal
species are sciaenids, catfishes and pomphrets. Catch data of Indian salmon (P. indicus)
is declining rapidly (Rahman 2001 and Rahman 2007). Detailed species catch
composition is not available. Huntington et al. (2008) also reported that landing data of
LMDs targeting Indian salmon, long jew fish and sharks are showing declining trend in
catch/boat/day. However, sizes of fishes being caught indicate that this fishery still
appeared to be profitable.
Catch rates of bombay duck and hairtail is showing increasing trend in MSBN displacing
penaeid shrimps and anchovies. Penaeid shrimps constuted 2% of the catch during 1985,
increased to 7% in 1987 and again decreased to 5% in 2002-04; anchovies comprised
47% of the total MSBN catch in 1985 but decreased to only 1% during 2002-04 and
catfish’s catch also showed decreasing trend between 1985-2004. There was no change in
size ranges that were caught during the period of shift in species composition.
Shark fishery, including skates and rays contributes only a minor portion, around 1.0-
0.70% of the total marine fish landing. A recent study revealed that a total of about 71
species of elasmobranch fishes (31 species of sharks, 40 species of skates and rays) are
available in Bangladesh waters but no chemaerids (Haroon 2011). National catch
statistics show that total yearly landing since 2000-01 up to 2009-10 varied around 4,000-
49
6,000 t. Commercially important species of elasmobranchs incuded Black-finned shark
(Carcharhinus melanopterus), Hammer headed shark (Eusphyra blochii), Blue-spotted
sting ray (Dasyatis kuhlii), Sawfish (Pristis microdon) and Devil ray (Mobula diabolus).
Catch records also reflect that catches are declining and bulk of the catch is small sized
ones. Though detailed catch information is lacking, yet recent catch statistics reflect shifts
in species composition and rays are the major catch (about 70%). Huntington et al.
(2008) reported occurrence of clear over exploitation. Fish Act has no restriction on
harvesting of sharks, while Forestry Act restricts it in and around the Sundarbans. At
present there is no National Plan of Action (NPOA-shark) and management measures (as
needed as per FOAs manadate) in place to protect the shark fishery.
Time-series data of group-wise marine fish harvest for the last 11 years are shown in
Table 19. Fish production showed an increasing trend since 2000.
Table 19. Sub-sector wise marine fish catch of commercially important groups/species
Sector/Year Hilsa Bombay Indian salmon Pomfret (t) Jew fish (t) Cat fish (t) Sharks (t) Others Shrimp (t) Total
(t) duck (t) (t) (t) (t)
Year: 2010-11
Industrial trawl 23 267 0 32 1,340 977 0 35,911 2,785 41,665
Artisanal 182,152 8,933 4,016 16,726 21,232 10,206 1,328 12,306 0 256,899
mechanized
Artisanal non- 43,150 0 0 819 4,506 0 338 15,402 0 64,215
mechanized
Set bag nets 0 50,640 0 21,659 918 313 609 28,205 46,374 148,718
Long-lines 0 0 505 0 5,176 4,155 1,841 3,251 0 14,928
Trammels 0 0 0 632 2,652 904 89 937 5,742 10,956
Other gears 0 910 0 280 815 638 0 4,221 2,088 8,952
Total = 225,325 60,750 4,521 40,478 36,639 17,193 4,205 100,233 56,989 546,333
% 41.24 11.12 0.83 7.41 6.71 3.15 0.77 18.35 10.43 100
Year: 2009-10
Industrial trawl - 890 0 334 365 589 0 29,508 2,496 34,182
Artisanal 158,860 7,911 7,733 19,027 21,113 9,925 0 11,838 - 236,407
mechanized
Artisanal non- 39,714 - - 1,217 4,903 - - 13,159 - 58,993
mechanized
Set bag nets - 49,727 - 27,394 865 270 1,863 28,045 46,000 154,164
Long-lines - - - - 5,628 4,373 2,021 5,563 - 17,585
Trammels - - - 984 2,267 833 149 3,771 2,987 10,991
Other gears - 846 - 1,289 170 731 - 815 1,109 4,960
Total = 198,574 59,374 7,733 50,245 35,311 16,721 4,033 92,699 52,592 517,282
% 38.39 11.48 1.49 9.71 6.83 3.23 0.78 17.92 10.17 100
Year: 2008-09
Industrial trawl - 1,389 - 313 2,671 1,916 - 26,208 2,932 35,429
Artisanal 177,471 6,901 7,733 17,027 21,913 8,992 - 11,838 - 251,875
50
mechanized
Artisanal non- 25,480 - - 1,217 4,903 - - 13,159 - 44,759
mechanized
Set bag nets - 49,727 - 27,394 865 270 1,863 28,045 46,000 154,164
Long-lines - - - - 5,625 4,373 1,921 4,805 - 16,724
Trammels - - - 484 2,267 833 149 3,771 2,176 9,680
Other gears - 246 - 208 170 131 - 149 1,109 2,013
Total = 202,951 58,263 7,733 46,643 38,414 16,515 3,933 87,975 52,217 514,644
% 39.44 11.32 1.50 9.06 7.46 3.21 0.76 17.09 10.15
Year: 2007-08
Industrial trawl - 440 - 607 2,895 2,674 - 24,923 2,620 34,159
Artisanal 177,828 - 855 1,710 19,020 12,134 1,852 24,054 - 237,453
mechanized
Artisanal non- 22,272 1,186 185 2,032 3,856 - 686 6,856 - 37,073
mechanized
Set bag nets - 34,804 - 11,424 608 410 232 65,880 45,685 1,59,043
Long-lines - - - - 4,351 3,781 1,634 4,090 - 13,856
Trammels - - - 609 2,847 1,336 363 4,291 3,020 12,466
Other gears - 550 - 346 226 199 - 321 1,881 3,523
Total = 200,100 36,980 1,040 16,728 33,803 20,534 4,767 130,415 53,206 497,573
% 40.22 7.43 0.21 3.36 6.79 4.13 0.96 26.21 10.69
Year: 2006-07
Artisanal 172,852 - 772 1,612 20,191 9,311 1,726 20,644 - 227,108
mechanized
Artisanal non- 23,892 1,234 197 2,155 3,625 - 713 6,744 - 38,560
mechanized
Set bag nets - 34,170 - 8,006 616 358 258 66,788 44,540 154,736
Long-lines - - - - 4,881 4,133 1,810 4,501 - 15,325
Trammels - - - 567 2,834 1,289 283 4,553 3,357 12,883
Other gears - 481 - 344 240 206 - 367 1,797 3,435
Total = 196,744 36,009 969 13,061 35,214 18,131 4,790 130,651 51,869 487,438
% 40.36 7.39 0.20 2.68 7.22 3.72 0.98 26.80 10.64
Year: 2005-06
Artisanal 170,945 - 766 1,532 17,289 8,754 1,641 17,924 - 218,851
mechanized
Artisanal non- 27,905 1,922 252 2,541 4,349 - 801 8,006 - 45,776
mechanized
Set bag nets - 36,545 - 6,970 269 269 211 68,622 40,801 153,687
Long-lines - - - - 5,379 4,505 1,706 4,634 - 16,224
Trammels - - - 251 1,702 814 89 2,689 1,854 7,399
Other gears - 493 - 341 303 265 - 367 2,020 3,789
Total = 198,850 39,331 1,018 12,023 32,538 18,151 4,448 125,332 48,119 479,810
% 41.44 8.20 0.21 2.51 6.78 3.78 0.93 26.12 10.03
Year: 2004-05
Industrial trawl - - - 282 2,443 2,484 - 25,594 3,311 34,114
Artisanal 170,756 - 775 1,772 17,716 11,072 1,439 17,915 - 221,445
mechanized
Artisanal non- 27,607 1,980 299 2,601 4,374 - 806 8,375 - 46,042
51
mechanized
Set bag nets - 35,488 - 6,803 227 227 178 66,826 35,158 146,906
Long-lines - - - - 4,925 4,164 1,570 4,251 - 14,910
Trammels - - - 261 1,764 844 92 2,788 1,922 7,671
Other gears - 456 - 316 281 246 - 340 1,870 3,509
Total = 198,363 37,924 1,074 12,035 31,730 19,037 4,085 126,088 44,261 474,597
% 41.80 7.99 0.23 2.54 6.69 4.01 0.86 26.57 9.33
Year: 2003-04
Industrial trawl - - - 91 681 1,187 - 27,572 3,075 32,606
Artisanal 157,570 - 713 1,629 16,286 10,179 1,323 15,879 - 203,579
mechanized
Artisanal non- 27,268 1,843 279 2,422 4,072 - 750 6,230 - 42,864
mechanized
Set bag nets - 34,423 - 6,286 223 223 175 64,989 30,577 136,896
Long-lines - - - - 7,832 7,104 2,601 7,391 - 24,928
Trammels - - - 275 1,863 891 97 3,666 1,310 8,102
Other gears - 1,433 - 686 997 872 - 718 1,526 6,232
Total = 184,838 37,699 992 11,389 31,954 20,456 4,946 126,445 36,488 455,207
% 40.61 8.28 0.22 2.50 7.02 4.49 1.09 27.78 8.02
Year: 2002-03
Artisanal 114,274 - 667 1,524 15,237 9,523 1,238 47,994 - 190,457
mechanized
Artisanal non- 21,814 1,737 263 2,282 3,838 - 707 9,755 - 40,396
mechanized
Set bag nets - 32,922 - 4,444 759 582 291 66,556 27,751 133,305
Long-lines - - - - 8,200 7,451 2,725 7,686 - 26,062
Trammels - - - 288 1,951 933 102 4,306 903 8,483
Other gears - 1,208 - 578 998 735 - 941 791 5,251
Total = 136,088 35,867 930 9,466 32,384 20,900 5,063 159,279 31,931 431,908
% 31.51 8.30 0.22 2.19 7.50 4.84 1.17 36.88 7.39
Year: 2001-02
Artisanal 131,619 - 387 968 11,613 5,807 1,548 41,616 - 193,558
mechanized
Artisanal non- 20,724 1,141 246 1,053 2,108 - 703 9,150 - 35,125
mechanized
Set bag nets - 31,820 - 1,112 608 930 364 59,370 27,047 121,251
Long-lines - - - - 6,637 6,341 3,533 7,330 - 23,841
Trammels - - - 182 1,921 768 86 5,785 863 9,605
Other gears - 1,238 - 894 1,031 1,375 - 1,439 898 6,875
Total = 152,343 34,199 633 4,385 25,251 17,361 6,234 143,038 31,976 415,420
% 36.67 8.23 0.15 1.06 6.08 4.18 1.50 34.43 7.70
Year: 2000-01
Artisanal 131,254 - 350 875 3,500 5,250 1,400 32,376 - 175,005
mechanized
Artisanal non- 23,400 1,086 234 1,003 1,337 - 669 5,700 - 33,429
mechanized
Set bag nets - 29,747 - 1,064 546 836 327 55,212 26,231 113,963
52
Long-lines - - - - 5,006 4,752 2,638 5,378 - 17,819
Trammels - - - 175 1,837 735 83 5,532 825 9,187
Other gears - 1,115 - 805 929 1,239 - 1,296 809 6,193
Total = 154,654 31,948 584 4,064 14,435 14,719 5,162 122,894 31,037 379,497
% 40.75 8.42 0.15 1.07 3.80 3.88 1.36 32.38 8.18
Source: Fisheries Resources Survey System of the DoF; Fisheries Statistical Year book, DoF
Fig. 15. Average contribution (industrial and artisanal combined)

of major fish species to total marine fish production during 2000-01 to 2010-11.
53
Stock Estimates
In the absence of an updated stock survey, a simple criterion was used after Mohamed et
al. (2010) to assess the present status of the major groups of fishery by classifying them
in to 5 groups viz. abundant, less abundant, declining, depleted and collapse (Table 20).
Table 20. Criteria used for fish stock classification
Stock classification Recent average catches in historical maximum (%)

Abundant >70
Less abundant 50-69
Declining 11-49
Depleted 6-10
Collapsed <5
Source: Mohamed et al. (2010)
The maximum landing of hilsa (T. ilisha) 232,037 t was recorded in 2011-12 and
the average landing during the last two years (2010-11 and 2011-12) was 228,681
t which is 98.55% of the maximum landings. Hence hilsa can be included under
the class ‘abundant’ with respect to its present status of exploitation. Percentage
growth was 35.82% during 2003-04, 13.47% during 2010-11 and 2.98% during
2011-12 (Table 21).
The maximum landing of Bombay duck (Harpondon nehereus) 62,817 t was

recorded in 2011-12 and the average landing during the last two years (2010-11
and 2011-12) was 61,784 t which is 98.35% of the maximum landings. Hence
Bombay ducks can be included under the class ‘abundant’ with respect to its
present status of exploitation. Its percentage growth was 57.55% during 2008-09
and 3.4% during 2011-12 (Table 21).
54
Table 21. Landing, % of maximum landing, % growth and present estimated status of
hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) and Bombay duck (Harpondon nehereus) in the
Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh during 2000 through 2012.
Hilsa Bombay duck

Year Landing Avg. % of % of % Status Landing Avg. % of % of max. % Status
(t) landing marine max. Growth (t) landing of marine landing Growth
of 2 yrs landing landing 2 yrs landing
2000-01 154,654 40.75 66.15 Less 31,948 8.42 52.65 Less
153,499 33,074
2001-02 152,343 36.67 -1.49 abundant 34,199 8.23 7.04 abundant
2002-03 136,088 31.51 69.15 -11.94 Less 35,867 8.3 58.55 4.88 Less
160,463 36,783
2003-04 184,838 40.61 35.82 abundant 37,699 8.28 5.11 abundant
2004-05 198,363 41.8 85.59 7.46 Abundant 37,924 7.99 61.49 0.59 Less
198,607 38,628
2005-06 198,850 41.44 0.2 39,331 8.2 3.71 abundant
2006-07 196,744 40.36 85.51 -1.06 Abundant 36,009 7.39 58.09 -8.44 Less
198,422 36,495
2007-08 200,100 40.22 1.7 36,980 7.43 2.69 abundant
2008-09 202,951 39.44 85.52 1.42 Abundant 58,263 11.32 93.60 57.55 Abundant
200,763 58,799
2009-10 198,574 38.39 -2.15 59,334 11.48 1.84
228,681 61,784
2011-12 232,037 40.1 2.98 62,817 10.86 3.4
The maximum landing of Indian salmon (Polynemus indicus) 7,733 t was recorded in
2008-09 and 2009-10 and the average landing during the last two years (2010-11 and
2011-12) was 3,776 t which is 48.83% of the maximum landings. Hence Indian salmon
can be included under the class ‘declining’ with respect to its present status of
exploitation. Its percentage growth was 46.92% during 2002-03, 643.55% during 2008-
09 and -32.98% during 2011-12 (Table 22).
The maximum landing of Pomfret (Pampus chinensis and P. argenteus) 50,245 t was
recorded in 2009-10 and the average landing during the last two years (2010-11 and
2011-12) was 40,007.5 t which is 79.62% of the maximum landings. Hence Indian
salmon can be included under the class ‘abundnt’ with respect to its present status of
exploitation. Its percentage growth was 115.87% during 2002-03, 178.83% during 2008-
09 and -2.32% during 2011-12 (Table 22).
55
Indian salmon (Polynemus indicus) and Pomfret (Pampus chinensis and P. argenteus)
in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh during 2000 through 2012
Indian salmon Pomfret

(t) landing marine max. Growth (t) landing of marine landing Growth
of 2 yrs landing landing 2 yrs landing
2000-01 584 0.15 7.87 Depleted 4,064 1.07 8.45 Depleted
608.5 4,224.5
2001-02 633 0.15 8.39 4,385 1.06 7.89
2002-03 930 0.22 12.43 46.92 Declining 9,466 2.19 20.75 115.87 Declining
961 10,427.5
2003-04 992 0.22 6.66 11,389 2.50 20.31
2004-05 1,074 0.23 13.52 8.27 Declining 12,035 2.54 23.94 5.67 Declining
1,046 12,029
2005-06 1,018 0.21 - 5.2 12,023 2.51 - 0.09
2006-07 969 0.20 12.99 - 4.81 Declining 13,061 2.68 29.64 8.63 Declining
1,004.5 14,894.5
2007-08 1,040 0.21 7.33 16,728 3.36 28.07
7,733 48,444
2009-10 7,733 1.49 0 50,245 9.71 7.72
2010-11 4,521 0.83 48.82 - 41.53 Declining 40,478 7.41 79.62 - 19.44 Abubdant
3,775.5 40,007.5
2011-12 3,030 0.52 - 32.98 39,537 6.83 - 2.32
The maximum landing of Jew fish (Otolithoides pama and related species) 7,733 t was
recorded in 2008-09 and 2009-10 and the average landing during the last two years
(2010-11 and 2011-12) was 37,284 t which is 98.30% of the maximum landings. Hence
Jew fish can be included under the class ‘abundant’ with respect to its present status of
exploitation. Its percentage growth was 28.25% during 2002-03, 13.64% during 2008-09
and 3.52% during 2011-12 (Table 23).
The maximum landing of catfish (Arius maculates, A. thallasinus & related species)
20,900 t was recorded in 2002-03 and the average landing during the last two years
(2010-11 and 2011-12) was 18,446.5 t which is 88.26% of the maximum landings. Hence
Catfish can be included under the class ‘abundnt’ with respect to its present status of
exploitation. Its percentage growth was 20.38% during 2002-03, -19.57% during 2008-09
and 14.85% during 2011-12 (Table 23).
56
Table 23. Landing, % of maximum landing, % growth and present estimated status of Jew fish
(Otolithoides pama and related species) and catfish (Arius maculates, A. thallasinus & related
species) in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh during 2000 through 2012
Jew fish Catfish

(t) landing of marine max. Growth (t) landing of marine landing Growth
2 yrs landing landing 2 yrs landing
2000-01 14,435 3.8 52.31 Less 14,719 3.88 76.74 Abundant
19,843 16,040
2001-02 25,251 6.08 74.3 abundant 17,361 4.18 17.95
32,169 20,678
2003-04 31,954 7.02 -1.33 20,456 4.49 -2.12
2004-05 31,730 6.69 84.72 -0.70 Abundant 19,037 4.01 88.96 -6.93 Abundant
32,134 18,594
2005-06 32,538 6.78 2.54 18,151 3.78 -4.65
2006-07 35,214 7.22 90.98 8.22 Abundant 18,131 3.72 92.45 -0.11 Abundant
34,508.5 19,332.5
2007-08 33,803 6.79 -4.00 20,534 4.13 13.25
2008-09 38,414 7.46 97.19 13.64 Abundant 16,515 3.21 79.51 -19.57 Abundant
36,862.5 16,618
2009-10 35,311 6.83 -8.08 16,721 3.23 1.25
37,284 18,446.5
2011-12 37,929 6.56 3.52 19,700 3.40 14.85
The maximum landing of sharks (sharks, skates and rays) 6,234 t was recorded in 2001-
02 and the average landing during the last two years (2010-11 and 2011-12) was 4,035 t
which is 64.72% of the maximum landings. Hence sharks can be included under the class
‘less abundant’ with respect to its present status of exploitation. Its percentage growth
was -18.78% during 2002-03, -17.49% during 2008-09 and -8.08% during 2011-12
(Table 24).
The maximum landing of shrimps (all marine shrimp species combined) 65,989 t was
recorded in 2010-11 and the average landing during the last two years (2010-11 and
2011-12) was 61,824.5 t which is 93.69% of the maximum landings. Hence shrimps can
be included under the class ‘abundnt’ with respect to its present status of exploitation. Its
percentage growth was -0.14% during 2002-03, -1.86% during 2008-09 and 1.18%
during 2011-12 (Table 24).
57
Sharks (sharks, skates and rays) and shrimps (all marine shrimp species combined)
in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh during 2000 through 2012
Sharks Shrimps
(t) landing of marine max. Growth (t) landing of marine landing Growth
2 yrs landing landing 2 yrs landing
2000-01 5,162 1.36 91.40 Abundant 31,037 8.18 47.74 Declining
5,698 31,506.5
2001-02 6,234 1.50 20.76 31,976 7.7 3.02
2002-03 5,063 1.17 80.28 -18.78 Abundant 31,931 7.39 51.84 -0.14 Less
5,004.5 34,209.5
2003-04 4,946 1.09 -2.31 36,488 8.02 14.27 abundant
2004-05 4,085 0.86 68.44 -17.41 Less 44,261 9.33 70.0 21.30 Abundant
4,266.5 46,190
2005-06 4,448 0.93 8.88 abundant 48,119 10.03 8.71
4,778.5 52,537.5
2007-08 4,767 0.96 -0.48 53,206 10.69 2.58
2008-09 3,933 0.76 63.89 -17.49 Less 52,217 10.15 79.41 -1.86 Abundant
3,983 52,404.5
2009-10 4,033 0.78 2.54 abundant 52,592 10.17 0.72
2010-11 4,205 0.77 64.72 4.26 Less 65,989 10.43 93.69 8.36 Abundant
4,035 61,824.5
2011-12 3,865 0.67 -8.08 abundant 57,660 9.97 1.18
other species (all unidentified species clumped together) in the
Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh during 2000 through 2012
Other species (all unidentified species clumped together)

Year Landing (t) Avg. landing % of marine % of max. % Status
of 2 yrs landing landing Growth
2000-01 122,894 32.38 83.48 Abundant
132,966
2001-02 143,038 34.43 16.39
2002-03 159,279 36.88 89.69 11.35 Abundant
142,862
2003-04 126,445 27.78 -20.84
2004-05 126,088 26.57 78.92 -0.28 Abundant
125,710
2005-06 125,332 26.12 -0.60
2006-07 130,651 26.80 81.95 4.24 Abundant
130,533
2007-08 130,415 26.21 -0.18
2008-09 87,975 17.09 56.72 -32.54 Less
90,337
2009-10 92,699 17.92 5.37 abundant
2010-11 100,233 18.35 63.44 8.13 Less
101,045.5
2011-12 101,858 17.70 1.62 abundant
58
The maximum landing of other miscellaneous species of fin-fishes (all unidentified
speces clumped together) 159,279 t was recorded in 2002-03 and the average landing
during the last two years (2010-11 and 2011-12) was 101,045.5 t which is 63.44% of the
maximum landings. Hence other species can be included under the class ‘less abundant’
with respect to its present status of exploitation. Its percentage growth was -11.35%
during 2002-03, -32.54% during 2008-09 and -1.62% during 2011-12 (Table 24). This
may be due to the fact that, more and more species are now estimated and quantified
separately.
Like Indian marine fishery resources (Sathinandan et al. 2011), Bangladesh’s marine
fisheries resources are optimistic at present but future is challenging.
Shrimps
About 36 species of shrimps have been recorded from the marine waters of Bangladesh.
Among the penaeid shrimps P. monodon, P. semisulcatus, P. japonicus, P. indicus, P.
merguensis, M. monoceros, M. brevicornis, M. spinulatus, Parapenaeopsis stylifera,
Parapenaeopsis sculptilis and Solenocera indica are the major contributors. Brown
shrimp, M. monoceros alone contributes about 56% of the total shrimp catch (Hussain
and Rahman 2010). While, the Tiger shrimp, P. monodon is the main commercial
important species because of its export value and price. Total shrimp harvest (capture
fishery) from the coastal and marine sector in 2000-01 was 31,037 t, of which only 10%
was contributed by the industrial trawlers and the rest was contributed by thye small-
scale artisanal fishery. Shrimp harvest steadily increased every year and reached to
56,989 t in 2010-11, of which about 5% was contributed by the industrial trawls and the
rest 95% was contributed by the artisanal fishery (Table 19). The increase in total shrimp
harvest during these 11 years is around 83.6%. Mean contribution (industrial and
artisanal combined) of all shrimps to total marine fish production during 2000-01 to
2010-11 was around 9.0% (Fig. 15).
Other shell-fish species
About five species of lobster (Panulirus sp.) are available near the St. Martin's Island.
Those lobsters are very large and colorful and have high economic importance. Three
species of cephalopods (Sepia officinalis, Loligo spp. and Octopus sp.) have been
recorded from the Bay. These species are caught as a by-catch of trawling and set bag net
fishing. Different species of crabs are also available in marine waters of Bangladesh.
59
Among them, mud crab (Scylla serrata) and swimming crab (Portunus spp.) are
abundantly available. Besides, many commercially important shell-fish including
mussels, oyster, etc. are present in the marine water of Bangladesh.
Sea snakes
Following sea snakes are recorded from Bangladesh waters: Yellow-and-black sea snake,
Atretium schistosum; Hook-nosed sea snake, Enhydrina schistosa; Blue sea snake,
Hydrophis caerulescens; Annulated sea snake, H. cyanocinctus; Banded sea snake, H.
fasciatus; Black-banded sea snake, H. nigrocinctus; Estuarine sea snake, H. obscurus;
Cochin banded sea snake, H. ornatus; Slender-necked sea snake, H. melanocephalus;
Short sea snake, Lapemis curtus; Annulated sea snake, Leioselasma cyanocincta; Slender
narrow-headed sea snake, Microcephalophis gracilis; Yellow-bellied sea snake, Pelamis
platurus (personal communication Dr. S.M.A. Rashid, Center for Advanced Research in
Natural Resources and Management, Dhaka).
Dolphins and whales
Six species of dolphins and a single species of porpoise are receorded from Bangladesh
watrs: Common dolphin, Delphinus delphis; Ganges river dolphin, Platanista gangetica
gangetica; Irrawaddy dolphin, Orcaella brevirostris; Melon-headed dolphin,
Peponocephala electra; Spotted/Spinner dolphin, Stenella longirostris; Humpback
dolphin, Sousa chinensis and Finless Porpoise, Neophocaena phocaenoides (Fahrni and
Monsur 2012). Bangladesh is now recognized as the global hotspot for globally
endangered Ganges river dolphins, P. gangetica gangetica and Irrawaddy dolphins, O.
brevirostris and in response to that Government has now declared three sanctuaries for
the dolphins in the off-shore areas south to the Sunderbans. Strong measures are now
being taken by the Forest Department and DoF to conserve the sanctuaries as it meant
for. Similar BOBLME initiatives form the Myanmar side persuaded the Myanmar
government to establish the Irrawaddy dolphin (O. brevirostris) protected area and
approve its management plan along the entire range of the Irrawaddy or Ayeyawady
river.
Besides, following whale species are recorded from Bangladesh maritime zone: Short-
finned pilot whale, Globicephala macrorhynchus; Blue whale, Balaenoptera musculus;
Fin whale, B. physalus; Bryde’s whale, B. Brydei and Humpback whale, Megaptera
novaeangliae (personal communication Dr. S.M.A. Rashid, CARNRM).
60
Sea weeds
A total of 441 spp. under 207 genera of algae have been recorded from the coastal and
marine habitats (Aziz 2010). Of which 186 species are commercially important seaweeds
belonging to green, brown and red (Islam 1973, Aziz 2010). The common ones are
Caulerpa racimosa, Ulva lactuca, Laminaria spp., Fucus spp., Halimeda opuntia,
Acetabularia calyculus, Codium extricatum; Galaxaura fastigiata, Gelidium pusillum,
Gigartina intermedia, Halymenia floresia, Callophylis rangiferinus, Callymenia rosea,
Liagora ferinosa, Chrysymenia enteromorpha, Ceramium fastigiatum, Lithothamnium
spp., Sargassum pilluliferum, Colpomenia sinuosa, Hydroclathrus clathratus, Dictyota
atomaria, Dictyopteris australis, Padina australis, Rosenvingia intricate, etc. Among
them, the Hypnea, Ulva, Laminaria and Fucus spp. are most abundant. Every year
hundreds of tons of dry Hypnea spp. are collected from the St. Martin's Island and
smuggled to neighboring country (SHED 2002). There is possibility of culture of
different species of seaweeds due to its commercial importance (producing agar agar and
various food additives).
61
Catch per unit effort (CPUE)
Shrimp trawlers: Historical catch per unit of effort (kg/day/shrimp trawler) data of
shrimp trawler reveals that in early 1980s CPUE was around 450 kg, later increased to
about 700 kg in mid 1980s, gradually decreased to around 550 kg in 1987-88, increased
to little over 700 kg in 1988-89 again decreased to around 600 kg in 1989-90 and again
increased to around 750 kg in 1990-91. Since then it decreased continuously and reached
to around 300 kg in 2003-04 and showed little increase up to little over 400 kg in 2005-
06 (Huntington et al. 2008). On an average shrimp trawls CPUE has decreased by 50% at
recent time and total catch rate of shrimps by shrimp trawls dropped down by about 30%
from the level of 2001 and stabilize after that (Khan 2010). Shrimp trawl fisheries have
shown shifts in species composition over the last decade. Data of 1996-2006 revealed that
tiger shrimp (P. monodon) have reduced until 2005 and a little increase after that. Brown
shrimps (M. monocerus) increased between 1996 and 1999 but decreased again and later
increased in 2006. White shrimps (P. indicus) were more or less steady. Miscellaneous
shrimp species decreased between 1998 and 2005 but increased later. High levels of
discarded fin-fish were reported, reaching up to 35,000 t, approximately 70% of the fish
by-catch (Khan and Latif 1997, Lamboeuf 1987). This has subsequently reduced to
approximately 35% of the total catch. This decrease can also be explained by the
restrictions imposed regarding the retention of fin-fish by-catch and more particularly due
to the reduced catches of shrimp. Total catch rate of shrimps in the shrimp trawlers
dropped down by about 30% from the level of 2001, after which they stabilized.
There have been shifts in species composition of shrimp trawlers as well over the last 10
years. Logged data of shrimp trawlers between 1996 and 2006 reveals that catch of tiger
shrimp have gradually reduced until 2005, after which there was a small increase. Catch
of brown shrimp increased between 1996 and 1999 but decreased in the following year,
again showing a small increase in 2006. Catch of white shrimp was more or less steady
and catch of miscellaneous shrimp decreased between 1998 and 2005 but increased in
2007 (Huntington et al. 2008). Other reports reveal that in 1992 fishing efforts of shrimp
trawlers were 7,065 fishing days, which increased to 11,160 fishing days in 2000-01 and
this is higher than maximum sustainable fishing effort of 9,383 days. Data of 2001
reveals that, MSY of trawl shrimp was 3,441 t, which was about 54% less than previous
report during 1989 (MSY = 7,000-8,000 t).
The shrimp and finfish catches have declined in both absolute terms as well as in terms of
their overall contribution to catch, less than 4% of national shrimp production in 2005
62
compared to 20% in 2002. The bottom trawls are damaging benthic habitats and shrimp
grounds and has very high discard rates of around 70-80% of the total shrimp trawler
catch– this amounts to approximately 30,000-35,000 t fin-fish discarded per annum
(Huntington et al. 2008). Decrease in shrimp harvest by industrial trawls ought to be due
to destruction of shrimp grounds during bottom trawling.
Fin-fish trawlers: Fishing efforts of fin-fish trawlers has almost doubled as compared to
1990s (Huntington et al. 2008). This also includes the trawlers fishing without a license
but with a court verdict. Data of 1984-86 and 2005-06 revealed that catch rates of
croakers, pomfret and Bombay ducks are dominating; cat fish and other miscellaneous
species however showed an increasing trend. Overall fisn-fish catch seems to be steady
but there has been a shift in commercial species. There have been shifts in species
composition of fin-fish trawlers as well over the last 20 years. White grunters, croakers,
catfish, breams, snappers and hairtails were the major commercial species during 1984-
86. But in 2005-06 the major commercial species were replaced by low-valued crab
juveniles and Bombay ducks (Khan 2010).
Artisanal: Declining CPUE (catch/boat/day) of commercial mechanized boats in the

Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar regions using SMD, LMD, MSBN and ESBN targeting
grunter, hilsa, Bombay duck, jewfish, mullet, mackerel, skipjack tuna, mackerel, shrimp,
crabs, etc. are also in alarming situation for the last 5 years (Khan 2010). CPUE
decreased from about 650 kg in 2001-02 to less than 100 kg in 2005-06. These boats are
now reported to adopting new fishing gears, like rocket net– which is a modified mullet
gill net, using monofilament with a mesh of <50 mm. Adoption of new gears and extreme
measures reflect that fishers are desperate to make their efforts profitable from a
overexploited depleting resource base.
One target species of the large mesh gillnet– the Indian salmon (P. indicus)– is also
reduced significantly. Whilst these nets are reasonably selective, the number of fishers
has expanded enormously from 6,389 in the late 1980s to 26,169 in 2000, yet the annual
catch per boat dropped from 41 t to 7 t over the same period (Banks 2003). Detailed
species-specific catch composition data of LMD, targeting Indian salmon, long jew fish
and sharks, is not recorded but shows declining trend.
The catch rate from MSBNs have also decreased from 85 kg/haul in 1985 to 24 kg/haul
over 2002–2004, about 50% reduction (Khan 2010). Efforts are continuously increasing,
there were a total of 3,086 MSBN in 1985, 5,400 in 1987-88, 3,852 in 1991 and about
21,000 in 2001-02 (Huntington et al. 2008). Recent statistics is lacking but it is quite
63
usual that the numbers have further increased by 2010. ESBN fishery is reported to have
shown major shift from commercial to non-commercial species. In 1993, 15 penaeid
shrimps, 3 non-penaeids, freshwater prawn, 3 crabs, 3 molluscs, 90 pelagics and 62
demarsal fisn-fishes species were recorded (Islam et al. 1993). In 2000, species numbers
at specific sites had declined to 54 species of which about 20 were nearing extinction
(Kamal 2000). Huntington et al. (2008) reported that production increased during 2001-
02 through 2005-06 due to increased effort but CPUE has drastically declined creating a
non-remunerative situation for the fishers to survive. This fishery is still thriving as
nothing is discarded, part of the catch are used for human consumption both fresh and dry
while remaining parts are dried for poultry/fish feed.
During 1987 trammel nets used to catch five species of penaeid shrimps and 30
species/groups of fin-fishes. During 1989, catch composition comprised more
species/groups of shell-fishes and fin-fishes including croakers, catfish and Bombay
duck, which contributed about 70% of the overall catch. During 1990 catfish showed
sharp decreased numbers, while Bombay ducks increased and at present most catches are
quality shrimp and fish and there are no discard except for crabs which fishers throw.
Catch rate (kg/boat/day) showed increasing trend during 1989-90 with annual production
around 1,754 t. However, despite higher effort trammel net fishery is reported to be
decreasing in the Cox’s Bazar coast.This fishery is reported to be declining due to non-
availability of nets in the local markets and inability of the poor fisher for mechanization
of their boats and consequent fishing in deeper waters (Huntington et al. 2008). Based on
the major catch for this gear-type in the neighboring countries (Islam and Khan 1993),
trammel net was recommended for operation in the Patuakhali coast, an area with the
highest P. monodon population.
Use of highly non-selective artisanal fishing gears such as, ESBNs, push nets, beach
seines and bag nets have extremely high catches of juvenile, immature fin-fish and
crustaceans. The number of ESBNs numbers have expanded from 11,674 in 1989 to
51,522 in 2011 whilst CPUE have dropped from 18 kg/haul in 1987 to under 10 kg/haul
in 2007 (Huntington et al. 2008). About 2,082 crafts and 30,643 gears are involved in
other fisheries including beach seine, cast nets, traps and harpoons. These fisheries are
mainly of subsistence level, although few fishers do serve for part-time fishing. These
fisheries produce 3,789 t of fish/shrimp and their catch rates and production have reduced
by about 50% over the last five years (DoF 2006). In terms of impact, beach seine is as
destructive as the ESBNs.
Marine stocks as per 1979-80-85 and 1987-2000 surveys are: Shrimp: 2,000-5,000 t,
Demersal: 1,50,000-1,60,000 t and Pelagic: 60,000-1,20,000 t. Maximum Sustainable
64
Yield (MSY) estimates from surplus production model of Schaefer showed that the
optimum yield for shrimps in industrial fishery in Bangladesh is around 3,441.73 t and
the optimum effort for producing the amount is 9,383 standard days. Declining trend of
shrimps’ CPUE is also evident with an average of 4.5 kg/hr until 1984 and 3.7 kg/hr
thereafter– approximately 17% decline between 1980-81 and 1990-91 period (Mustafa
and Khan 1992). Increase of shrimp harvest by artisanal gears, except for the set bag nets
catching juveniles and immature ones, reflect that these gears are more shrimp and eco-
friendly.
The exploitation level (E) of trawl and ESBN fishery and the stock status of the marine
fisheries of Bangladesh need to be reviewed for taking necessary steps for management
option of the overexploited stocks. Catch rate (kg/boat/day) of trammel net showed an
increasing trend, with annual production estimated at 1,754 t from 400 units during 1989-
90. However, despite higher effort its catch rate decreased in recent times. Catch rate
(kg/haul) of MSBN decreased by 50% between 1985 and 2002-04 (Khan 2010).
Sharks’ landings at the Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar coast have shown a sharp and serious
decline, from approximately 2,300 t in 2001-02 to only 500 t in 2005-06. The increase in
effort in shark fishery has been met by a steady decrease in the length and size of the
sharks that are being caught and their catch rates. There is a clear indication that
overexploitation is occurring. There is also a lack of detailed catch information but
fishers reveal that species composition has shifted in recent times and rays are the main
species (70%) caught (Khan 2010). There is no legislation and management measures in
place to protect the shark fishery (Ahmed 2007). There is no detailed data regarding
sharks CPUE, but statistics reveal that catch ahs dropped to around 0.7% in 2010-11 from
1.5% in 2000-01 of the total marine fish catch.
65
Economically important, iconic, endangered and
threatened species
Five marine fish species are found to be threatened, among them one is endangered
(Silonia silondia), and four are vulnerable (Anguilla bengalensis, Plotosus canius,
Carcharhinus limbatus and C. melanopterus). Marine reptiles in Bangladesh such as
snakes and turtles are found in St. Martin’s Island, Sundarbans and the Bay of Bengal.
Among 17 marine reptile species one is critically endangered (Hawksbill turtle-
Eretmochelys imbricate) and four are endangered (Loggerhead turtle- Caretta caretta,
Green tutrtle- Chelonia mydas, Olivegreen turtle- Lepidochelys olivacea and Leatherback
turtle- Dermochelys coriacea). Three types of marine mammals are found in the BoB,
Bangladesh waters. Of these two are endangered (Blue whale- Balaenoptera musculus
and Fin whale- B. physalus) and one is vulnerable (Humpback whale- Megaptera
novaeangliae) (IUCN 2000 and 2007).
Hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha)
In 2010-11, hilsa (T. ilisha), as a single species contributed 2,25,325 t from the marine
out of total 3,39,845 t (1,14,520 t from the inland sector) which is about 11.09% of the
total annual fish production of the country. Since 2000-01 up to 2010-11 hilsa’s
contribution alone to total marine fish production ranged between 31% and 41% and the
mean was 39.31%. Contribution of other major species to total marine fish production
during these 11 years ranged as: Bombay duck 7.13% and 11.48% (mean 8.92%), Indian
salmon 0.15% and 1.5% (mean 0.49%), Pomfret 1.06% and 9.71% (mean 4.0%), Jew fish
3.8% and 7.5% (mean 6.6%), Cat fish 3.15% and 4.84% (mean 3.87%), Sharks 0.76%
and 1.5% (mean 1.01%), other mixed species 17.09% and 36.88% (mean 26.41%), and
shrimps 7.39% and 10.69% (mean 9.34%) (Fig. 15).
The hilsa shad is a highly productive migratory species found mainly along the coasts of
India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. Hilsa is also the national fish of Bangladesh. It migrates
into freshwater rivers to spawn and is heavily fished over the marine, brackish and
freshwater phases of its life. Hilsa generates employment and income for millions of
people in Bangladesh, India and Myanmar and the fishery is worth over US$ 2 billion.
Despite this, hilsa remains a subsistence food item for many poor coastal communities.
Time-series hilsa landing data of Bangladesh shows continuous increase from marine
66
while decrease in inland sector (Fig. 16). At present 50-60% of global hilsa catch is from
Bangladesh, 20-25% from Myanmar, 15-20% from India and the remaining 5-10% from
other countries including Pakistan, Iran, Kuwait, Iraq, etc. (Hussain and Rahman 2010).
Total regional (Bangladesh, India and Myanmar) catches showing increasing trend and
approaching 400,000 t, while catch rates are declining in both Bangladesh and India for
the non-motorized fisheries, both in the inland and coastal areas. Recent assessments
using surplus production models indicate a decline in overall abundance of hilsa to below
50% of virgin biomass, indicating that overfishing is occurring (Fig. 17). While hilsa is a
very productive species (high fecund fish) and this may protect it somewhat from
overfishing, yet pollution and loss or degradation of habitat are affecting both the
distribution and the productivity of the stock. There are signs from
Productivity‐Susceptibility Analysis (PSA) that overall productivity of hilsa is dropping,
possibly due to the declining volume and quality of water in its main watersheds. As yet
no biomass‐based reference points have been utilized for management of hilsa stocks in
the BoB and stock reference points need to be agreed in order to base regional harvest
control rules. While catch trends show an increase over time, the average size of fish
seems to have declined. Indications are that the exploitation levels have not dropped over
the period, as initially thought. Widespread use of small-mesh gill nets is leading to a
juveniles being caught, especially in riverine areas, and this is reducing the parent
population for the next generation and contributing to the population decline. The larger
mesh gears used in the estuarine and marine areas are less of a concern.
Fig. 16. Time-series hilsa (Tenualosa ilisha) landing data (metric tons)
67
from inland and marine sectors.
Fig. 17. Yield curve and stock status of hilsa estimated from Bangladesh data (2008-09). The
biomass for MSY is estimated at 1,25,000 t. Current estimated biomass is shown in yellow.
Bangladesh’s Hilsa Fishery Management Action Plan (HFMAP) being implemented

since 2003 proves that science and stakeholder‐based management regimes are effective
for sustainable management. Among the different attempts, harvesting of berried hilsa
catches for 11 days during the peak breeding season and juvenile hilsa (jatka, up to 23.0
cm size) catch, transportation, marketing, selling and possessing have been banned
between 01 November and 31 May every year. Incentives provided by the Govt. in the
form of social safety net and financial support to reduce the need of hilsa fishers during
spawnners and jatka fishing ban in sensitive locations proved quite effective as well.
Another dimension of the program is awareness raising among the stakeholders on
importance of brood hilsa and jatka conservation. BFRI scientists believe that the
spawnners and jatka protection are the primary reasons for the continuous increase in
catch and the continuing persistence of stocks in Bangladesh waters.
Except for Bangladesh there are neither closed seasons for protecting spawning success
nor jatka sanctuary and hilsa fishers’ safety-net food support (during hilsa ban season) in
India and Myanmar. Performance in Bangladesh is particularly encouraging for hilsa, and
many lessons can be learned from Bangladesh for wider applicability within the BoB
68
region. Bangladesh’s’ hilsa scientists have now gained the expertise to technically help
Myanmar and India for hilsa fisheries conservation management.
At present there is no coordinated regional management approach for the hilsa stock. The
FAO led regional BOBLME Project is supporting countries to implement an ecosystem
approach to fisheries management of shared fish stocks (transboundary) in the BoB. With
BOBLME initiatives long felt tri-nation (Bangladesh, India and Myanmar) hilsa stock
assessment working group was formed and both scientist and extension workers are now
working on the stock assessment of hilsa in a harmonized protocol. The outcome of the
working group consultations revealed that, hilsa shad (T. ilisha) is being over‐exploited
throughout the BoB (Bangladesh, Myanmar and India), especially during their juvenile
phase. Hilsa fishery is suffering from serious recruitment over-fishing (indiscriminate
catching of jatka, i.e. juvenile hilsa); there is also growth over-fishing (indiscriminate
killing of mature female hilsa) and the fishing mortality has increased due to fishing
pressure with decrease in size at first capture. Short-term area closures and the
establishment of nursery areas for jatka, as part of the Govt.’s HFMAP, seem to be
benefiting the fish population. The government has also made a significant effort to
provide alternative livelihoods and food safety net coverage for fishers during the closure
period.
From the regional hilsa consultation it became evident that there is a dire need for a
‘Regional (Bangladesh-India-Myanmar) Hilsa Fisheries Management Plans (RHFMP)’
with a series of supporting activities to improve gear selectivity, habitat protection and
increase the knowledge of the impact of hilsa fisheries on the wider BoB ecosystem. The
RHFMP is to be accompanied by activities that provide an ecosystem‐based approach.
Non‐fisheries specific activities to support hilsa fisheries sustenance would be: i. proper
policy development, ii. information support, iii. fisheries control and iv. human capacity
development. Without a regional management strategy and plan hilsa fishery may not be
sustainable in the long run.
Major recommendations for Bangladesh, India and Myanmar are:
• Control fishing targeting hilsa to increase stock numbers.

• Protect spawnners, at least for a month (just prior to 11 days spawnner protection
ban), in the sea during gravid hilsas’ upstream migration to the coastal spawning
locations. At present all measures are concentrated only in the inland, marine is
just ignored.
69
• Include social safety net and alternate income generating activities programme
for the marine hilsa fishers during the above mentioned period.
• Protect spawning and nursery areas in wider scale to rebuild the stock by
introducing seasonal closures and sanctuaries.
• Harvesting of hilsa juvenile (jatka) need to be reduced to almost zero and
simultaneously spawning success need to be increased in the coastal waters with
similar regional collaborative hilsa fisheries management action plan both in
Myanmar and India.
• Protect spawning and nursery areas to rebuild the stock by introducing seasonal
closures and hilsa sanctuaries.
• Reduce the catches of juvenile hilsa (jatka) by introducing regulations to make
110 mm mesh nets the legal minimum mesh size to be used by hilsa fishers.
• Increase compliance with hilsa fishery regulations through awareness
programmes and strengthen monitoring and enforcement capacity.
• Establish dialogue and collaboration with the water management and land use
authorities to create a better understanding of fisheries requirements and increase
the amount of riverine habitat, water flow and improve water quality. At present
linkages between the main agencies that need to be involved in hilsa management
(fisheries, environment water management and land use authorities) are weak.
• Establish in-country multi-agency committees to monitor the implementation of
the national hilsa management plans.
Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta)
Three main species of mackerels were recorded in Bangladesh marine waters:

Rastrelliger kanagurta, Scomberomorous guttatus, and S. commerson. The Indian
mackerel (R. kanagurta), locally called as champa/boyra is a productive small pelagic
shoaling, migratory and neritic species (inhabiting the ocean waters between the low tide
mark and a depth of 200 m) and occurs in areas where surface water temperatures are at
least 17°C. Adults occur in coastal bays, harbors and deep lagoons, usually in some
turbid plankton‐rich waters. This species is found throughout the BoB region. It is
reproductively active at size of 18 cm for males and 19 cm for females and average
maximum size is 35 cm. Longevity is believed to be at least 4 years. Small pelagics such
as Indian mackerel are a relatively low cost protein source for consumers hence serves an
important socio-economic role in terms of food security.
In Bangladesh, Indian mackerel is not a significant fishery. It is caught round the year as
a by-catch of hilsa fishery. Exact catch volume is not known, but thought to be
70
somewhere of couple of hundred metric tons. Often mackerel and tunas are harvested as
the target species, especially when hilsa catch is very low. It is also over‐fished
throughout much of the BoB region. A Productivity‐ Susceptibility Analysis (PSA)
suggests that it is particularly vulnerable to purse seines and bottom otter trawls, and is
extensively caught by coastal gill net fisheries in Sri Lanka, India and Indonesia. There is
no reference points used in management of this species and as a result, harvest rules and
controls are weak.
The minimum total catch estimate of R. kanagurta in the BoB is around 174,570 t in
2009 (India 58,097 t, Myanmar14,207 t, Thailand 23,337 t, Indonesia 20,000 t, Sri Lanka
400 t and Malaysia 56,520). The actual size of Indian mackerel stocks are not known in
Bangladesh and Maldives. Total combined catch of S. guttatus, S. commerson and R.
kanagurta at Cox’s Bazar and Chittagong was 1,178.5 t during 2003-04 (Rahman and
Zaher 2006). In addition, there are unestimated landings at Khepupara, the Dubla Island
and Patharghata. Roughly about 1.1% of total marine catch comes from mackerel and
tunas (Hussain and Rahman 2010).
R. kanagurata catch figures of Bangladesh for 2003-2004 indicate that 57.4 t were caught
of which 31.8 t from Cox’s Bazar and 25.6 t from Chittagong where fisheries where
mainly concentrated at the 40-100 m depth range. The trawl survey of R. kanagurta
standing biomass accounted for 1,826 (±42) t indicated that 10.5% was caught in 10-20
m, 10.8% was caught in 20-50 m, 21.6% in 50-80 m and 57.2% in 80-100 m (Lamboeuf
1987). R. kanagurta is mainly caught in drift gill nets (95%), long lines (4%), and set bag
nets (1%). DGNs are of 75-200 mm mesh, MSBNs are of 12-30 mm mesh while fin-fish
trawler use nets of 40-60 mm mesh at cod-end (Hussain and Rahman 2010). Industrial
trawlers also catch some amount of mackerel.
Caught round the year as a by-catch of hilsa (T. ilisha) fishery. Often mackerel and tunas
are harvested as the target species, especially when hilsa catch is very low. Poor landings
were observed during January-February while peak landings occurred in November-July
(Rahman and Zaher 2006). Adults live in coastal bays, harbors and deep lagoons, usually
in turbid plankton-rich waters. They form schools, and feed on phytoplankton (diatoms)
and small zooplankton. Adults feed on macro-plankton such as larval shrimps and fish.
The Indian mackerel eggs and larvae are pelagic. Spawning typically starts around April-
May and continues until September. Recruitment occurs during two pulses one in March-
May and another in September-October. Preliminary assessment of the CPUE data from
India indicates that the stock is healthy in India; while FISAT based techniques indicate
that the stocks may be overexploited in Malaysia and Thailand. Without knowing the
71
underlying stock structure, it is difficult to understand the overall status of the stock in the
BoB Region.
The main issue with these fisheries is the poor stock status of other retained species
landed together with Indian mackerel, especially in trawl and purse seine fisheries.
However very little is discarded and with the exception of bottom trawlers, they have
limited impact on habitats. Other issues raised included interactions with sea turtles in
bottom trawls and larger‐mesh gill nets, and sharks in large purse seines. There is also
some concern over the trophic effects of such a large fishery. Legal and institutional
structures are mainly in place for its management. Weaknesses are lack of
fisheries‐specific objectives, decision‐making process, research plans, MCS strategies
and performance evaluation generally applicable to management of small pelagic species
and continued use of subsidies that always serve to increase fishing effort. Plans are in
way for knowing the race (through genetic marker studies), stocks, and status of the
harvestable stocks in the BoB.
Regional BOBLME project (financial assistance) in cooperation with the SEAFDEC

(technical assistance) is studying the race (through genetic marker studies), stock
structure, and status of the harvestable Indian mackerel stocks in the BoB, Bangladesh
part. The Support to BOBLME Project, BFRI has completed tissue sampling of Indian
mackerels from Chittagong and Cox’s Bazar region and sent the preserved tissue samples
to SEAFDEC, Malaysia for genetic analysis. Report (including 08 countries status) is
expected to be available in December 2013.
Sharks (elasmobranchs)
Sharks are predominantly marine, oceanic and are widely distributed in the tropical,
subtropical and temperate waters of the seas around the world. But a few species enter in
the brackishwater and even in the freshwater rivers beyond the tidal range, like the
Ganges, the Tigris and the Zambezi (Migdalsky et al. 1989). Sharks, skates and rays of
the oceans are subject to high and often unrestricted levels of mortality from by-catch and
targeted fisheries for their meat and valuable fins. They are especially vulnerable to
overfishing because they mature and reproduce slowly. Fishing spans all over oceans and
the impact on these top predators is largely unknown. Lack of data and complicated
transboundary jurisdictional issues pose challenges for assessing and conserving high
seas biodiversity (Dulvy et al. 2008). As top predators, their depletion also has risks for
the health of the entire ocean ecosystems.
72
Sharks skin, meat, fin, teeth, bones etc. are processed and sold as shark products. Iced
and slated dry flesh, sun-dried hide, bones, fins, tails, teeth and shark liver oil is traded in
Bangladesh. Sharks and rays skin is used for rasping and polishing. A special feature of
sharks and rays is the surface of the skin known as ‘shagreen’ which is a kind of rough
leather with dermal denticles embedded in the skin, used for rasping and polishing. A rare
and expensive product known as ‘boroso leather’ can be obtained by polishing the
denticles to a high gloss. The hide can also be converted into fancy leather by removing
the dermal denticles. This leather can be used for shoes and other value-added products
such as wallets, dress belts, handbags and purses. Sharks and rays dried fins and fin rays
are used for making soups. High-value, squalene-rich shark liver oil is used in the tanning
and textile industries, as a lubricant and also as a rich source of vitamin-A having a high
medicinal value. The livers weigh 10-25% of the shark’s body weight and contain 60-
70% oil. The species much sought after for extraction of medicinal oil are those with high
vitamin-A content (Bal and Rao 1990) in terms of International units (IUs) per gram
weight of oil, such as Carcharhinus gangeticus (97,000 units), C. melanopterus (45,450
units), Sphyrna zygaena (22,752 units), Scoliodon sorrakowah (up to 8,853 units), and
Pristis microdon (6,618 units).
In Bangladesh, sharks are mainly caught by artisanal fishery with drift gill nets, used for
catching hilsa and Indian salmon, set bag nets, long lines and trammel nets within 10-80
m depth ranges. Mostly small sized sharks and rays are caught because of gear
limitations. Shark catching prime grounds in the south-west region are Kuakata, Sonar
char (island), Ruper char, Fatrar char, Char Gongmoti and Dublar char in Patuakhali
district and Asar Char, Patharghata areas of Barguna district and coastal areas of the
Sunderbans. In the south-east catching grounds are Sandwip, Kutubdia, Moheshkhali,
Cox’s Bazar and Teknaf coasts. Besides, sharks are also harvested from the four
identified fishing grounds such as, South patches, south of south patches, middle ground
and swath of no ground. Though Fishery Statistical Year Book does not reflect any catch
of sharks by industrial fishing trawlers but Fishery officials of the Marine Fishery Wing
of the Department of Fisheries and representatives of Shark Fishery Traders Welfare
Association of Cox’s Bazar claims that some portion of the catch comes from it. Major
landing centers of sharks are Cox’s Bazar, Teknaf, Chittagong, Khulna, Bagerhat, Dublar
char, Kuakata, Patharghata, Barisal and some small markets along the coasts (Haroon
2011).
In Cox’s Bazar-Chittagong area sharks are caught at greater depths than the rest of the
areas and bulk of the catch comes from Cox’s Bazar area (Table 25). This is mainly due
to their habitat preference that most elasmobrnchs are marine.
73
Table 25. Location-wise harvesting depth, catch percentages of sharks, skates and rays.
Location Depth (m) Catch % Gears used

Cox’s Bazar 10-50 35.0 Estuarine and marine set bag nets,
gill nets, shark net, hooks and lines
and trammel net.
Chittagong 10-50 21 Estuarine and marine set bag nets,
gill nets, shark net, hooks and lines
and trammel net.
Patharghata, Kuakata 5-30 15.0 Mostly caught with hilsa net
Barisal, Pirojpur, Bhola 5-30 12.0 Mostly caught with hilsa net
Dublar char, Bagerhat 10-30 16.0 Mostly caught with hilsa net
Sharks are being harvested and traded in Bangladesh since time immemorial.
Unfortunately there is no comprehensive study or any report on the status of the shark
fishery in Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, it is not a targeted fishery, rather a by-catch of
hilsa and Indian salmon fishery. Mostly small sized sharks and rays are caught because of
gear limitations. Seasonal abundance reveals that shark harvesting gains momentum in
October-December period and peaks during January-March, while catch gradually falls
after that (April-June) with lowest catches during July-September. Percentage of size
abundance revealed that sharks are mostly caught at small sizes (>30 cm) while skates
and rays were caught at bigger (>50 cm) sizes.
A total of 30 species of sharks, two species of skates and 38 species of rays are available
in Bangladesh waters but no chimaerids (Haroon 2011, Hoq et al. 2012). In the early
2000s catches were around 5,000-6,000 t/yr (about 1-1.5% of the total marine catch), in
mid-2000s catches were little over 4,000 t/yr (0.8-0.9% of the total marine catch) and it
declined to 3,900-4,200 t/yr during 2009-11 (only 0.77% of the total marine catch).
National catch statistics show that total yearly landing since 2000-01 up to 2010-11
varied around 4,000-6,000 t. The contribution of sharks to the total annual marine fish
landings in Bangladesh declined from 2.2% in 1985 to 0.77% in 2011 (Table 26).
74
Table 26. Gear- and year-wise catch records (in metric tons) of sharks and rays in respect to total
marine catch, Bangladesh. Figures in the parenthesis are percentages of marine harvest
Year/Fishery Total marine catch (t)* Sharks and rays (t)

2010-11
Gill nets 1,666
Set Bag Nets 5,46,333 609
Long Lines 1,841
Trammel Nets 89
Total = 4,205 (0.77)
2009-10
Gill nets -
Set Bag Nets 517,282 1,863
Long Lines 2,021
Trammel Nets 149
Total = 4,033 (0.78)
2008-09
Gill nets -
Set Bag Nets 514,644 1,863
Long Lines 1,921
Trammel Nets 149
Total = 3,933 (0.76)
2007-08
Gill nets 2,538
Set Bag Nets 497,573 232
Long Lines 1,634
Trammel Nets 363
Total = 4,767 (0.96)
2006-07
Gill nets 2,439
Long Lines 1,810
Trammel Nets 283
Total = 4,790 (0.98)
2005-06
Gill nets 2,442
Long Lines 1,706
Trammel Nets 89
Total = 4,448 (0.93)
75
2004-05
Gill nets 2,245
Long Lines 1,570
Trammel Nets 92
Total = 4,085 (0.86)
2003-04
Gill nets 2,073
Long Lines 2,601
Trammel Nets 97
Total = 4,946 (1.09)
2002-03
Gill nets 1,945
Long Lines 2,725
Trammel Nets 102
Total = 5,063 (1.17)
2001-02
Gill nets 2,251
Long Lines 3,533
Trammel Nets 86
Total = 6,234 (1.50)
2000-01
Gill nets 2,069
Long Lines 2,683
Trammel Nets 83
Total = 5,162 (1.36)
* Not only limited to set bag nets, long lines and trammel nets; total catch from industrial and artisanal fishery.
Source: Fishery Statistical Year Book of Bangladesh, Department of Fisheries, Dhaka
Catch records clearly reflects declining trend and bulk of the catch is small sized ones.
The contribution of sharks to the total annual marine fish landings in Bangladesh
declined from 2.2% in 1985 to 0.77% in 2011. In the absence of any legislation
(regulations or catch limitations in the Fish Act), except for Forest Act and any
management plan, the sharks are overexploited indiscriminately. As a result the catch
volumes are gradually falling and smaller sizes are caught mostly. In recent days, only
rays are harvested as a targeted fishery by special nets and long lines. This indicates that
76
excess removal of non-target species can alter the biodiversity by removing the top
predators and prey species at unsustainable level. Removal of sharks may drive an
increase in prey abundance, which can cause a cascade of indirect effects, including
changes to the abundance of other organisms (Myers et al. 2007). By-catch raises
ecological concern, as some by-catch species are sensitive to increased mortality above
natural level because of their life history traits.
In Cox’s Bazar-Chittagong most catch came from long lines and hooks, estuarine set bag
nets (ESBN) and marine set bag nets (MSBN), shark nets and gill nets. In Barisal region
most catch came from the gill nets and ESBN/MSBN. Trammel net also catches a small
percentage. Mean seasonal abundance (only of 01 year) of sharks, skates and rays are
shown in Table 27.
Table 27. Seasonal abundance of sharks, skates and rays during July 2011 through June 2012
Group July-September (%) October-December (%) January-March (%) April-June (%)

Sharks 10.4 26.5 37.2 25.9
Skates 12.8 24.3 34.8 28.1
Rays 14.3 23.6 36.7 25.4
The survey of the BoB by the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and
Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC), the Department of Fisheries and Southeast Asian
Fisheries Development Centre (SEAFDEC), Thailand during 25 October through 21
December 2007 reported harvesting of Iago garricki, Carcharhinus falciformis and
Pteroplatytrygon violacea by pelagic longline and drift gill net in the Bangladesh part of
the BoB (Krajangdara et al. 2008).
The BoB region is one of the most heavily fished regions in the world’s ocean for sharks.
Indonesia and India rank highest in FAO statistics for shark landings bordering the BoB.
Five of the top 14 sharks fishing nations are the BOBLME countries (Sattar and
Anderson 2011). Top shark fishing countries are Indonesia, India, Taiwan, China, Spain,
and Mexico together, they account for 42% of the global landings in 2007 (Camhi et al.
2009). Indonesia has the highest reported annual landings of sharks and rays worldwide,
with an estimated annual catch of over 109,000 t during 2000 to 2008 (13% of the world
total), and their export value of shark was US$13 million. During 1985-2010, the annual
average shark landings in India were 33,280 t. Like Bangladesh, Malaysia’s shark
landing is not more than 1% of the total of marine fish landings. A study in 1992
demonstrated that a live reef shark was worth much more than a dead shark in Maldives,
77
with shark watching by tourist divers generating US$ 2.3 million in 1992, versus the US$
0.7 million generated from shark product exports in the same year. The ban on all shark
fishing within Maldivian waters was implemented on 15 March 2010. Sri Lanka
contributed 3.1% of the global catch of sharks during 1990-2004, being 10th in shark
fishery world rankings. In Thailand sharks catch from 1985 to 2007 showed an increase
compared to 2003, when it reached a peak of approximately 14,400 t. After this there was
a steep decline, with shark catches in 2008 reported to be approximately only 4,000 t.
Information on shark landings from the Bay of Bengal Programme-Intergovernmental
Organization (BOBP-IGO) member countries (Bangladesh, India, Maldives and Sri
Lanka) are also showing decreasing trend since 2005 (Haldar 2010).
Up to 73 million of these animals are killed each year to support the global fin trade,
while 30% of all sharks are threatened or near threatened with extinction. Some
populations, such as the scalloped hammer head, have declined by up to 98%. But many
governments are recognizing that sharks are more valuable alive and can be a key
economic driver as a tourist attraction. Most of the oceanic sharks have slow growth rate,
delayed maturation, low fecundity and long life span. The FAO Code of Conduct for
Responsible Fisheries provides that States are required to minimize waste discards by
adopting suitable measures.
As per IUCNs global red list 3 true shark species, Carcharhinus falciformis, C. limbatus
and Galeocerdo cuvier which are categorized as near threatened; of the hammer head
sharks 3 species, Sphyrna lewini, S. mokarran are categorized as endangered and S.
zygaena is categorized as vulnerable and 1 species of devil ray, Aetobatus narinari which
is categorized as near threatened, are still available in Bangladesh waters. Unless timely
conservation measures are taken these species may no longer be found in our waters.
Besides, the whale-shark (Rhincodon typus) is very important which traverse geographic
and political boundaries during their life history and interbreed with animals from distant
populations and show only low levels of genetic differentiation between geographically
distinct populations. This species is considered as a ‘flagship’ or ‘iconic’ species
indicating healthy conditions of oceans and seas. Hence conservation efforts must
therefore target international protection for this species. The whale-shark (R. typus) is
already protected in 4 of the 8 BOBLME countries (Maldives, India, Thailand and
Malaysia) and needs to be declared as to be protected by Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,
Myanmar and Indonesia. This management measure appears to have been quite effective
in those 4 countries. In order to harmonize the management of this iconic migratory
species, it is important that this species be conserved in all countries of the region.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) are regarded as an effective tool for coastal/marine
78
fisheries management and shark conservation as well, provide appropriate development,
monitoring and enforcement and sufficient operational resources are made available.
Many exploited shark species are transboundary, and are being exploited by several
BOBLME countries. Hence, the need for appropriate management of the shark fishery
resources in the BOBLME is urgent. Regional BOBLME project did validation of
available information on shark fisheries of member countries, prepare work plans and
proposals to develop and implement National Plan of Action (NPOAs-shark), including
identification of targeted research/ studies and identification of support required, plus
recommendations towards the formulation of a Regional Plan of Action (RPOA-shark)
through formation of working groups and several working group meetings/workshops.
BFRI as a partner of BOBLME in Bangladesh has advanced a step ahead through first
round of consultation in November 2010 for the published Report on Shark Fisheries in
the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh: Status & Potentialities and identified the status,
potentialities, available data, statistics and data gaps (Hoq et al. 2011 and 2012) and is
working on the shark fisheries with BOBLME Project funding and hopes to formulate a
draft NOPA-shark within December 2013 for submission to the Govt. for
implementation. Besides, BFRI would publish an illustrated taxonomy book for easy
identification of sharks which would include its fishery, historical data, ecological and
economic importance, biodiversity and expert advice for their future conservation and
management.The BOBLME has taken the lead in assisting and capacity building of the
member countries to address the remaining gaps and issues, raise awareness and improve
compliance, implement measures to improve knowledge on shark taxonomy, initiate
work towards regional synthesis of NPOAs (a framework for RPOA).
In 1999, FAO adopted the International Plan of Action (IPOA-sharks) for the
conservation and management of sharks and has mandated for all the states that catch
sharks and voluntarily prepare NPOA-sharks and Shark Assessment Report (SAR) for the
conservation and management of sharks. Through the Committee on Fisheries (COFI) of
the FAO, all member countries agreed to better manage shark populations in their EEZs
by endorsing the IPOA-sharks. Although the deadline for submission of NPOA-sharks
was in 2001, as of June 2010 only 12 of some 37 shark-fishing countries had submitted
NPOA-sharks. BOBLME is also committed to formulate a RPOA-shark for the
BOBLME region integrating the 8 NPOAs-shark. Of the 8 member countries, 2
(Indonesia and Malaysia) have already published (but not fully implemented) their
NPOA-sharks, 3 (Maldives, Myanmar and Thailand) have drafted NPOA-sharks and
these need to be finalized, endorsed and adopted, and 3 (Bangladesh, India and Sri
79
Lanka) have still to formulate their NPOA-sharks, although some preparatory work was
done during 2009-12 period (Sattar and Anderson 2011). Key constraints on the
development and implementation of NPOA-sharks included lack of funding and human
resource capacity. This also applied to management-oriented research on sharks as well
as enforcement of shark fishery management and conservation measures.
With the present knowledge base on shark fisheries the SBOBLME project, BFRI is
providing awareness and capacity building trainings to coastal/marine fishers and fish
traders on the conservation and management of coastal/marine fisheries resources
including sharks.
• Prepare a National Plan of Action (NPOA) on sharks and devise a regional

fishery management plan for sharks for input to Transboundary Diagnostic
Analysis (TDA) which would help in introducing and promoting collaborative
fisheries management approaches in the BOBLME.
• Review present stock assessments, studies, stock status of sharks;
• Needs proper recording of species-wise catch data of sharks, skates and rays;
• Develop a BOB Regional management plan for sharks [device harmonization
plan for data collection, standardization, designing and implementation of a sub-
regional (Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Thailand)
common fishery data/information system in the BOBLME];
• Prepare and publish a good pictorial taxonomic book for easy identification of
elasmobranches species of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh;
Sea turtles
Sea turtles population is threatened in Bangladesh due to incidental capture in coastal

fisheries, egg collection, and predation by predators when they come for nesting in the
Bangladesh coastal areas and overall habitat degradation. Although five species of marine
turtles occur in the territorial waters of Bangladesh, only three species have been
confirmed to nest in Bangladesh. Among them, olive ridleys (L. olivacea) and green
turtles (C. mydas) are common, while hawksbills (E. imbricata) are rare. There was an
unconfirmed nesting record of a loggerhead (C. caretta) based on a specimen collected
by the staff of the Marine Fisheries & Technology Station (MFTS), BFRI in Cox's Bazar.
Leatherback turtles (D. coriacea) are seldom encountered and with no known records of
nesting, in Bangladesh; although, one crawl mark recorded in Ceeradia dweep, St.
Martin's Island was suspected to be from a leatherback turtle. A total of 19 nesting sites
have been identified in Bangladesh. Those are Dubla Island (Dublar char), Egg Island
80
(Dimer char), Hiron point, Katka beach; Bordail, Cox's Bazar-Teknaf Peninsula,
Kocchopia, Kutubdia Island, Mandarbaria, Moheskhali Island, Monkhali, Najirertek,
Nijhum dweep, Sandweep Island, Shahporir dweep, Sonadia Island, Inani beach, Teknaf
and St. Martins Island (Rashid 1997).
Olive ridleys nest on sandy beaches all along the mainland coast and islands stretching
from the Sunderbans mangrove forests in the southwest (Dimer char of Sunderbans West
Sanctuary and Dublar char of the Sunderbans, Bagerhat), to Dolghata of Moheshkhaili,
Cox’s Bazar and Bordail area of Cox’s Bazar-Teknaf and St. Martin's Island in the
southeast. Subsequent comprehensive studies have shown that the estimated numbers of
ridleys nesting annually at St. Martin's Island may be <200 individuals. A total of 639
olive ridleys were recorded to nest on St. Martin's Island from October 1996 to February
2003, with the highest numbers recorded during the 2000-01 season. Centre for Natural
Resource Studies (CNRS) recorded 650 nesting individuals (green turtles 129, olive
ridleys 521) from 2002 to 2007 during a study funded by CAIRNS-Bangladesh. CWBMP
recorded 30 olive ridleys and one green turtle from October 2007 to May 2008. Green
turtles are less widespread than olive ridleys; they nest along the mainland coast as well
as on island beaches. They have been reported to nest on south-central island beaches,
mainland beaches in the southeast (from Cox's Bazar to Teknaf) and also on some coastal
islands (e.g. St. Martin's, Sonadia, Kutubdia, Hatiya and Sandweep Islands). Nesting
records for this species are either rare or absent for the coastal beaches of the Sunderbans.
Green turtles nest year-round but the frequency of nesting increases from October to
February, with the peak during November to January. They nest on the same beaches as
olive ridleys, though there may be differences in nest site selection. Nesting hawksbill
turtles are rare visitors to the beaches of Bangladesh. There are a few unconfirmed
reports of nesting of hawksbill turtles on St. Martin's Island, the most recent being in
1992. Reports from the local people of the island indicate that it used to nest here
regularly in the 1950s. Little information is available on the loggerhead species in
Bangladesh. The nearest sites where nesting of loggerheads has been reported are the
islands off Myanmar, which lie east of St. Martin's Island; a few may nest in Bangladesh.
Leatherback turtles have not been recorded nesting in Bangladesh. A search of the
literature found no historic evidence of leatherback nesting in Bangladesh. However, on
11 April 1997 a dead adult leatherback turtle was washed ashore on St. Martin's Island.
During the 2000-01 breeding season, a crawl mark suspected to be that of a leatherback
was observed at the southern tip of the southern-most of the three Ceeradia dweep. In
2006 two leatherbacks washed ashore and in 2007 a live young leatherback was brought
to the Bakkhali river fish landing center, Cox's Bazar after it got trapped in fishing nets.
The turtle later died of exhaustion and heat.
81
Harvesting marine turtles is illegal under the proposed Bangladesh Wildlife Preservation
Act 2008, and also under the Environment Conservation Act 1995. Use of Turtle excluder
devices (TEDs) is limited at present. However, initiatives to enhance their use are being
taken by the GoB through CWBMP and DoF and NGOs. The use of TEDs in marine
trawls to minimize incidental mortality of turtles in the national waters and on the high
seas is on the table for discussion and implementation but initiatives are yet to be taken.
Amendment of Bangladesh Wildlife Preservation Act 1974 is under consideration for
inclusion of marine turtles in the list of protected animals. However the GoB has given a
blanket protection to all wildlife including marine turtles. The Environment Conservation
Act 1995 has restricted any killing or capturing of the marine turtles. Marine turtles have
been included in the list of protected animals in the revised Bangladesh Wildlife
Preservation Act 2008. It is currently in a draft form, yet to be approved by the
Parliament.
To save these global flagship species it is essential to discover the migratory routes they
follow in order to breed and lay eggs on our long sandy beaches each winter, the coastal
habitat they use during nesting season, and the pathways they take during long distance
migrations in the post-nesting period. To understand this critical information global sea
turtle tracking project begun to fix satellite transmitters on olive ridley and green turtles,
using recognized scientific methods and protocols developed by pioneering sea turtle
scientists throughout the world. This satellite tracking of sea turtles has started for the
first time in Bangladesh. It would reveal the migratory routes of our sea turtles, details
about the depth they dive, as well as data on the temperature, nesting intervals and
foraging habitat they use. These discoveries will tremendously help in national sea turtle
conservation efforts. The results will be used to promote the national importance of
conserving sea turtles as well as other marine megafauna. The first olive ridley turtle
tracked from Bangladesh in 2010, named “URMEE”, travelled more than 12,000 km by
23 March 2011. She was tracked for 357 days after deployment. Transmission stopped
while she was in the middle of the BoB. At that point, she was 806 km southwest of the
Sonadia Island release site, 780 km east of India’s Chennai coast, 977 km northeast of the
Sri Lankan coast, and 662 km west of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The second olive
ridley turtle presently being tracked is named “Basanti”, her name being derived from the
current Bangla season. She was fitted with a SPOT5 Platform Terminal Transmitter
(PTT) on her carapace on 22 February 2013. Rukshana Sultana, a herpetologist from the
FD, took part in the attachment of the transmitter. Also the local Marinelife Alliance
conservation activists, volunteers, locals, media personnel and a huge number of
community people participated in the event (Islam 2006).
82
In the context of sustainable development, conservation and management of marine
turtles are a transboundary concern, within the Indian Ocean and BOBLME regions. At
the same time, marine turtles have both intrinsic and ecological values as important
components of marine ecosystems. Major threats to marine turtles include unsustainable
exploitation, destruction of nesting and feeding habitats and incidental mortality in
fishing operations. The Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian (IOSEA) region Marine Turtle
Memorandum of Understanding is an intergovernmental agreement that provides a
framework through which states of the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asian region, in
partnership with other relevant actors and organizations, can work together to conserve
and replenish depleted marine turtle populations for which they share responsibility.
Prerequisite to setting priorities for conserving and managing the marine turtle resource
of the BOBLME region is a solid foundation of up-to-date information on population
status, threats, legislative frameworks and ongoing conservation activities.
83
Marine Fishery Management Approachs
In the case of finite marine fisheries resources, it is normal to limit the fishing effort or
landings from different metiers. For key stocks this can include the setting of harvest
rules that limits the annual catch within sustainable limits, with a quota that is shared
between the different metiers fishing for the species. At present there are no such limits
for marine species such as the penaeid tiger shrimp, hilsa, Indian salmon, croakers or
pomfrets. Fish harvest is controlled by limiting the number of vessels to catch any
specific species like shrimp and it is applicable only for industrial trawlers, but not for
artisanal fishing boats. Licensing of new industrial shrimp trawlers was stopped because
of heavy fishing pressure on the shrimp, however recently (June 2013), Govt. has
permitted about 00 trawlers for fishing in BoB. But licensing for industrial fish trawlers is
not capped but kept open for deeper regions. Govt. has decided to encourage industrial
fishing fleet to fish outside 500 m isobaths within EEZ in order to reduce fishing pressure
in the coastal area and tapping virgin resources within the EEZ. However, no catch limit
is applied to any vessel. There are some restrictions about species composition, discard
proportion and area of fishing. In future, after proper assessment of the stock status,
allocation of annual catch for important species like shrimp, hilsa, pomfrets, Bombay
duck, croakers, threadfins, Indian salmon, jew fishes, grunters, anchovies, cat fishes,
jacks/scads, elasmobranchs, etc. might be applied in terms of TAC (total allowable catch)
for sustainable management of their stocks.
The DoF is primarily responsible for managing marine fisheries resources. Marine
fisheries management is based around the ‘Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983’. This is
implemented by the Director, Marine Fisheries Wing (MFW) of the DoF, empowering
MFW to make rules covering licensing, catch reporting and declaration of marine
reserves. This is supported by a series of rules (Marine Fisheries Rules, 1983) and
supplemented periodically, may cover anything from changes in licensing fees to new
technical instruments such as minimum gear specifications or change of fishing practices,
by further legal rulings that are published in the Bangladesh Gazette. However, a few
management rules, such as Hilsa nursery ground and spawning ground protection is
regulated by the Fish Protection Conservation Rules amended in 2011.
85
They generally issue fishing licenses to those boats/trawlers having registration
certificates from the Mercantile Marine Department (MMD). In terms of managing the
coastal fishing fleet, a further complication is that the capacity of the MMD is poor– this
has hindered the registration of fishing vessels and their subsequent licensing for fisheries
purposes. At present, only half the commercial fleet and under ten percent of the entire
fishing fleet is registered and licensed. Again a recent proposal to provide a 'one stop
service' where prospective applicants can both register vessels and obtain fishing licenses
at a single point at district level has yet to start. Without the ability to understand the
nature and capacity of the different fishing elements, it will be impossible to strategize,
target and control fishing efforts. The ‘Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983’ defines depth
zones, mesh sizes of nets, fish sizes to be harvested, fishing seasons and areas for
different fisheries. However, there are limited interventions on industrial trawler
operations and to some extent on the hilsa fisheries. This could have been at least a
proper management, in the absence of updated stock status, if followed logically.
Besides, enforcement of monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) operations are very
poor as well. MCS in the coastal fisheries is concentrated only in the surveillance of the
industrial trawler fishery which contributes only about 6.88% of the catch and the
artisanal fishery that contributes 93.12% are still beyond the MCS management. It is also
impractical, given the size of the fleet, to contemplate extending resources to a dedicated
MCS unit. The industrial trawler fleets appear to be quite individualistic and highly
nomadic. A more practical approach would be to deploy more limited MCS units in the
coastal ports, but to rely heavily on the stakeholders’ management. In ideal situation
MCS should focus on a combination of control scenarios– licensing by the authority and
monitoring of gears and landings at designated ports. The village community structure
should theoretically provide the basis for this in respect to artisanal fishing fleets. The
prospects of cooperative/stakeholder policing in this sector are perceived to be poor, but
given the practicalities, there are no alternative strategies which might be considered.
The ‘Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983’ is applied between the baseline (10 fathoms or
18.29 m) and 40 m depth contour for artisanal fishery and beyond the 40 m depth contour
for industrial fisheries. All artisanal gears ought to operate <40 m depth and industrial
trawlers must operate beyond the 40 m depth contour. In practical situation both
industrial and artisanal fisheries are competing and indiscriminately over-exploiting
coastal and marine fishes, only from a limited area of within 0-80 m depths leaving the
deeper area of the open sea, without any level of management for regeneration and
maintenance of balance to the biological cycle of the marine population. This is mainly
due to lack of updated recent data on stock status, severe competition within shallow
water regions, inexperience of fishing practices in deeper zones and of the pelagic stocks.
86
However, Habib (1999) argues that certain activities by artisanal fishermen inside 18 m
depth are covered by the ‘Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983’, as are prohibitions covered
in the ‘Maritime Zones Act 1974’ and the ‘Coast Guard Act 1994’. The distinction is that
any specific provisions, which are contained within the ‘Marine Fisheries Ordinance
1983’ but are also required inside 18.29 m depth, have to be specified through the
issuance of notification.
The freezer trawlers are permitted to fish for 30 days, while non-freezer trawlers are
permitted to sail for up to 15 days. Shrimp trawlers must have at least 30% fin-fish in the
total catch. This measure was enforced in order to limit the discard of by-catch. Govt. has
imposed restriction on throwing any catch of fish or aquatic resources, except sea turtles,
in the sea.
Cod end mesh of shrimp trawl nets are mandatory to be 45 mm and cod end mesh of fin-
fish trawl nets are mandatory to be 60 mm to facilitate escape of small-sized fish, shrimp
and juveniles of larger fishes. Since 2003, high profile drive by Coast Gurds is ongoing in
the coastal areas during February-May of every year against catching of jatka by fine-
meshed monofilament nets (Current jals). Mesh size of large meshed gill nets should be
200 mm and that of small meshed gill nets should be 100 mm. Cod end mesh of set bag
nets are mandataory to be 30 mm.
Four sites in the coastal areas have been established as hilsa spawning grounds, where
fishing is banned for 11 days (5 days before full-monn, the day of full-moon and 5 days
after full-moon) every year during peak hilsa spawning (Aswin-Kartik months of Bangla
month) period.
Coastal waters (together with inland waters) are as well covered by the ‘Protection and
Conservation of Fish Rules 1985 (including amendments of 2011)’. This regulation refers
to methods of fishing, fish species that can not be caught during a particular
period/season, mesh size of fishing nets, prohibition of landing and carrying of fish of a
certain body size. Unfortunately ‘Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983’ has no jurisdiction
(is not applicable) in and around the Sunderbans and its 20 km off-shore area. Though the
Aquatic Resources Division of the Forest Department implements some of the rules of
the ‘Protection and Conservation of Fish Rules 1985 (including amendments of 2011)’
within and around the Sunderbans.
With the exception of the trawl fishery, there are few input controls in terms of
vessels/boats and gear numbers– essentially they are open access fisheries that can
87
expand unrestricted. The practical situation is unfortunately poor and the management of
marine and coastal fisheries has virtually gone uncontrolled. This has led to an
uncontrolled expansion of the fishing efforts, particularly in the artisanal fisheries sector
which has resulted in the crisis the sector is facing at present.
However, the ability of the coastal districts to manage marine fisheries is extremely
limited, both in terms of numbers, skills and logistics. As part of the decentralization
process, the coastal District Fisheries Officers (DFOs) have been empowered for
managing the law enforcement and surveillance of the mechanized artisanal sector.
Marine Fisheries Resource Survey Unit of DoF based at Chittagong records and monitors
marine fish catch, especially the trawl catch. At the moment, the catch is estimated
mainly as group/species, e.g. hilsa, Bombay duck, pomfrets, Indian salmon, jew fishes,
cat fishes, shrimps, elasmobranchs, others, etc. While Fisheries Resource Survey System
(FRSS) of the DoF records and monitor coastal and inland fisheries catch throughout the
country. The FRSS produces Fisheries Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh (FSYB)
annually based on the annual catch monitoring. However, FRSS sometimes take
estimates from the marine fisheries resource survey unit and publish it through the FRSS
within the FSYB. Hence, species-wise catch monitoring with more stratification is
necessary for proper management. Considering the importance of the species-wise catch
monitoring for stock assessment purposes, Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Capacity
Building Project (BMFCB) of the DoF is conducting a comprehensive land-based survey
program for catch monitoring as well as to collect other related information that will be
used for stock assessment purposes.
Under the present level of exploitation, it is felt that small-meshed ESBN, MSBN, trawl
nets are detrimental for the growth, regeneration and maintenance of balance of the
biological cycle and leading to decreased CPUE of unsustainable overexploitation year
after year. While there are some broad technical instruments governing mesh sizes and
minimum size restrictions, the absence of fishing capacity controls, harvest limits (e.g.
total allowable catch, TAC) and by-catch controls have contributed to the difficulty in
managing our coastal/marine fisheries and controlling the evident slide into the
overfishing of key stocks. It is urgently needed that after proper stock survey of the
marine fishes the extent of fishing pressure and level of exploitation both by artisanal and
industrial fisheries be adjusted for achieving MSY. This has been clearly spelled out in
the ‘National Fisheries Policy 1998’. In the light of the ‘National Fisheries Policy 1998’,
a pathway to achieve the objectives of the policy, several strategies for every sub-sector
were formulated in 2006 by the DoF. It just needs proper action and implementation,
sooner the better.
88
For conservation and sustainable exploitation of marine fishery scientific management,
based on ecosystem approach, is essential. But in most developing countries scientific
management and sustainable utilization of the fishery resources is hindered due to lack of
data and information about the ecosystem components. Lack of comprehensive and
reliable scientific data, especially for marine fisheries is a serious handicap for future
development and sustainable management of Bangladesh’s marine fishery. Among large
number of marine species, species-wise catch and effort statistics are roughly available
only for hilsa. For other species, gross catch statistics are available for different groups
(croakers, pomphrets, mackerels, herrings, shrimps, sharks, etc.). Data collection and
acquisition system is also unreliable and most data are not suited for use in scientific
management purposes. Therefore, more reliable, more stratified data collection need to be
ensured for each of the commercially important species.
One major weakness of the marine fisheries management system and its potential
evolution is the lack of proper academic institutional support. There are no recognized
gear technologists and the existing status of the fish/shrimp stocks are very rudimentary
(lacking definitive conclusions). Most of the historic recommendations for restrictions
show a distinct lack of awareness of the ability to alter means of application of fishing
techniques (Khan 2010).
In the absence of any sort of control over fishing zones for industrial and artisanal
fishing, mesh size, minimum size of target species, fishing capacity, harvest limits of
target species and by-catch controls; Bangladesh’s marine fishery is predominantly an
open access fisheries that can expand unrestricted in terms of trawler, non- and
mechanized boat numbers and gear types and numbers operating. Fish harvest is
increasing every year at the expense of over exploitation of stocks from a very limited
area of the open sea due to ever increasing industrial and artisanal efforts, as a result
CPUE is declining, species biodiversity is threatening and fishery becoming non-
remunerative both for industrial and artisanal. While unfortunately vast area of the open
sea under Bangladesh’s maritime is remaining unexploited, a situation no country can
think of spoiling her valuable resources at the present time. In summary, while there are
some broad technical instruments governing mesh sizes and minimum size restrictions,
the absence of fishing capacity controls, harvest limits and by-catch controls have
contributed to the difficulty in managing marine fisheries and controlling the evident
slide into the overfishing of key stocks.
89
In spite of the presence of strong legislative tools, implementations of the rules and
regulations to control and manage coastal and marine fisheries are very limited. This has
lead to an uncontrolled expansion of the fishing effort, particularly in the artisanal
fisheries sector. Besides, lack of knowledge about the recent stock status of commercially
important species/groups has resulted in the crisis the sector is facing at present. Periodic
comprehensive baseline stock assessment, monitoring of fishing efforts, strong
implementation of MCS and FAOs CCRF and regular evaluation of management impact
and tailoring of the management actions are essential.
There is a single marine surveillance check post at Patenga, Chittagong, from where
MCS activities are implemented. The Marine Fisheries Wing of the DoF has taken a plan
to increase coastal/marine surveillance check posts. Besides, the BMFCB project of DoF
is going to procure VTMS (vessel tracking monitoring system) for effective MCS
implementation.
Despite the slowness of the rate of implementation of the rules and regulation to manage
the artisanal fishery, some important management tools are in practice such as, mesh size
control, control of monofilament net (current jal), reduction of juvenile hilsa (jatka)
catch, control of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, etc. In the absence of
fishing capacity controls, harvest limits and limited by-catch controls it has become
extremely difficulty in managing marine capture fisheries and controlling the evident
slide into the overfishing of key stocks. Coastal/marine fisheries management is a top-
down approach in Bangladesh. Policy and management decision are taken at the top level
without or poor involvement of the resource users and these policy decisions are sent to
the field level for implementation, which proved unsuccessful. Rather a community-
based approach of policy and management decision based on the FAOs CCRF of 1995
and ecosystem approach to fisheries (Reykjavik declaration of 2001) with the
involvement of all resource users should bring expected success, viz. implementation of
hilsa fisheries management plan and fish sanctuaries plan in the inland waters.
Since the initiatives of the BFDC in the 1970s and the Bay of Bengal Program (BOBP) in
the 1980s, the marine fisheries sector has received little or poor attention and this has
been also reflected in the Marine Fisheries Sector Sub-strategy. The capacity of the DoF
in coastal/marine fisheries conservation-management needs to be immediately
strengthened with the integration of the coastal communities through co-management
initiatives. As advocated in the National Fisheries Strategy, a separate ‘Marine Fisheries
Directorate’ is to be established and empowered with the responsibility to implement the
Marine Fisheries Sector Sub-strategy. Officers of the Marine Fisheries Directorate be
90
trained and empowered to initiate and participate in appropriate co-management and/or
community-based fisheries management initiatives. The nature and responsibilities of this
new Directorate should be reflected in an updated marine fisheries ordinance. As
advocated by the Marine Fisheries Sector Sub-strategy, posts of Marine Fisheries
Officers need to be created and posted to each coastal Upazila, with development of
district level marine capture fisheries management skills.
91
Legislation and Policy Implecations
The DoF aims to attain fish production of 3.65 million tons by 2014-15 and 4.55
million tons by 2020-21 and generate employment, higher incomes, improve the socio-
economic conditions of the fishers, increase the per capita availability and consumption
of fish from the current 18.94 kg/person/anum to 20.44 kg/person/anum; and conserve the
aquatic resources and generic diversity (DoF 2012). Overall conservation and
management of Bangladeshs’ fisheries is guided by the The Protection and Conservation
of Fish Act, 1950 (East Bengal Act 18 of 1950) and its subsequent amendments of 1963,
1970, 1982, 1985, 1987, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2011.
The Government of Bangladesh has promulgated the ‘Marine Fisheries Ordinance 1983’
for conservation, management and development of marine fisheries resources. Marine
Fisheries Ordinance, 1983 is applied through the rules and regulations, which were
enacted in the same year as Marine Fisheries Rules, 1983 and further amended in 1993,
2000, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2010 [prevention of illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing (IUU), considering the international (European Union) regulations].
Some of the important provisions in the Marine Fishery Ordnance 1983 and Rules thereof
and in the subsequent amendments of the ordinance and rules are discussed below:
• Licence for trawling: All trawlers should have license for fishing in the territory
of Bangladesh and should possess valid required certificate and display
nationality sign through flag and suitable markings on the visible part of the
vessel. Every fishing vessel should obtain pre-sailing permission for fishing from
the Marine Fisheries Office.
• Limiting the fishing days: The shrimp trawlers and modern trawlers are
permitted to fish for 30 days and ice trawler for 15 days limit in a cruise.
• Discard of by-catch is banned: The shrimp trawlers must have at least 30% fin-
fish in the total catch for each trip. This measure was enforced in order to limit
the discard of by-catch.
• Control of mesh size: Mandatory to use 45 mm and 60 mm mesh size at the cod
end for the shrimp and fish trawl nets, respectively to facilitate the escape of
small sized fish, shrimp and the juveniles of larger fish species. The use of a
prescribed mesh size is also being ensured by random inspection of the industrial
92
trawlers before and after every fishing trip. Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guards
are deployed to enforce the ban and provisions of the law routinely.
• Depth zone restriction of 40 m: There are provisions for restricting the shrimp
and fish trawlers for trawling within a 40 m depth zone to protect the nursery
grounds of marine fish and shrimp and preserve the interest of artisanal fishers.
• Formulation of marine fish exploration guidance: Guidelines for the industrial
fishing fleet have been formulated and published to ensure proper exploitation of
the fishery resources.
• Restrictions on industrial trawler license: Government has restricted the issue
of fresh new license for any industrial trawler till proper survey of the EEZ is
carried out.
• Prohibited methods of fishing: Fishing with any gear having mesh size smaller
than the mesh size specified (above); fishing with any kind of explosives, poison
and other noxious substances/chemicals and fishing with electrocuting the marine
species of any type are entirely prohibited.
• Compulsory use of TED: Use of turtle excluder device (TED) in shrimp
trawlers is mandatory.
• Declaration of marine reserves: To protect the marine habitat and the natural
breeding grounds of marine resources Bangladesh government has declared a
marine reserve in the Bay of Bengal on 29 October 2000. The area of the marine
reserve is 698 sq. km, surrounded by the two fishing grounds namely middling
and south patches.
• Ban on shrimp trawlers: Shrimp trawler is banned for operation during 15
January through 15 February considering the breeding period of shrimps.
• Restriction on post-larvae (PL) collection: Government has restricted PL
collection in coastal areas in the year 2000, which was later reinforced in 2002.
• Ban on throwing any fish into the sea: Government has imposed restriction on
throwing any catch of fish or aquatic resources except turtle in the sea.
In addition to the Marine Fisheries Ordinance, 1983, the other important ordinances/rules
those relate to coastal and marine fisheries are: The Fish and Fish Products (inspection
and quality control) Ordinance, 1983; The Fish and Fish Products (inspection and quality
control) Rules, 1989; The Fish Hatchery Act, 2010 (mainly to register fish/shrimp
hatcheries and quality fish/shrimp seed production); The Fish Hatchery Rules, 2011
(broader explanation of the Act, mainly to register fish/shrimp hatcheries and for quality
fish/shrimp seed production including the inbreeding control).
93
The DoF in collaboration with the MoFL developed a comprehensive fisheries policy,
‘National Fishery Policy 1998’ (MoFL 1998), through intensive processes of consultation
with various stakeholders at different levels, and the policy is being adopted by the
government. The policy states ‘poverty alleviation through creating self-employment and
improvement of socio-economic conditions of the fishers’ and includes a ‘marine
fisheries resource development, exploitation and management policy’ subset. There are
several encouraging elements in the process adopted as well as the content of the policy;
however some inconsistencies still remain in those policy objectives, specifically conflict
between the need to increase fish production, the recognition that marine stocks are
already being overfished, lack of dependable data base to establish the status of target and
non-target stocks and the need to increase employment opportunities in a region with few
livelihood options. Beside, no mention of FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible
Fisheries, CCRF (FAO 1996) was made, although Bangladesh is a signatory to that. All
these needs to be sorted out before it can realistically contribute to more sustainable
fisheries. The policy emphasises ‘gradually moving’ from producing greater quantities of
fish to concepts such as ‘responsible fishing’ and ‘sustainable management’ of inland,
brackishwater and marine environment, infrastructure, post-harvest and market support,
socio-economic aspects of fishers and related issues, ‘wealth and revenue generation’ and
their appropriate distribution.
Bangladesh Government (the DoF) has prepared ‘National Fisheries Strategy’ in January
2006 forecasting the ways in which the ‘National Fisheries Policy’ can be implemented
and support can be offered to guide the sector. The strategy encompasses eight other sub-
strategies (Aquaculture sub-strategy, Aquaculture Extension sub-strategy, Inland Capture
Fisheries sub-strategy, Marine Sector Sub-strategy, Shrimp Sub-strategy, Monitoring and
Evaluation Sub-strategy, Quality Control sub-strategy and Human Resource
Development Sub-strategy), to give specific directions to the specific sub-sectors. It
prioritizess more support for capture fisheries, both marine and inland, to reverse the
current decline and prevent further biodiversity and habitat losses encourageing more
ownership and management by the fishers through community or co-management. The
DoF undertook review of the marine fisheries sub-sector while producing a ‘Marine
Fisheries Sector sub-strategy (DoF 2006) as part of a wider ‘National Fisheries Strategy
and Action Plan’. In the sub-strategy, the need for major changes in the institutional setup
was incorporated in future action plans. The Marine sub-strategy signifies sustainable
management of the marine sector through allocation of fishing rights and its management
by communities and relevant fishing groups through govt. regulatory framework for its
management. Those include: resistration of fishermen to ensure that fishers get fair
allocation rights of the resources, identification and priority allocation of resources to the
94
poorer sector, formulation of management plans for sustainable management of the
resources, get coordination from local institutions to support the management plan and
grant access rights to registered fishers for enabling control on fishing efforts.
In 2004 the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) prepared a National

Programme of Action for Protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment from Land-
Based Activities (MoEF 2004). Seven broad strategies have been identified to protect the
coastal and marine environment and resources from land and land based activities.
Other major policies, legislations which are sustentative to coastal and marine fisheries
management and conservation are as follows:
a. The Forest Act, 1927 (Amendment 1990, 2000) - The act empowers the
Government to declare any area of forest as Reserved and by doing that it may
take measures for in situ conservation of biodiversity.
b. The Wildlife (Preservation) Order, 1973 and Wildlife Preservation
(Amendment) Act 1973 – The wildlife laws provides for the protection of
wildlife as well as their habitats.
c. The Territorial waters and Maritime Zones Act, 1974 and The Territorial
Waters and Maritime Zone Rules, 1977– various maritime zones like, internal
waters, territorial sea, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf were
defined; regulates the activities of foreign ships in territorial waters and the EEZ.
d. Water Prevention and Control of Pollution Act, 1974– this Act aim at
prevention and control of water pollution as well as restoration of water quality,
through the establishment of Pollution Control Boards.
e. The Bangladesh Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1983– details requirements of
registration and trawler/boat certification; certifies skippers and drivers.
f. Environmental Conservation Act, 1995 (amendment 2000, 2002)– It is a
powerful law for ensuring conservation and sustainable use of the biological
resources of the country and protection of its environment.
g. Environmental Conservation Rules, 1997– Under the provisions of the ECR
1997, it is mandatory for industries to carry out and EIA (Environmental Impact
Assessment), ETP (Effluents Treatment Plant) confirm to the environmental
quality standards, report accidents or unfortunate unforeseen discharges of
pollutants and take remedial measures, as warranted.
h. National Policy for Safe Water Supply and Sanitation (1998)– It is formulated
to ensure the safe water and ensure the proper sanitation among the peoples.
95
i. National Water Policy (NWP), 1999– It works for the development and safety
of water resources.
j. Environmental Court Act, 2000 (Amendment 2002)– The act provides for the
establishment of one or more Environmental Courts, initially in every division of
the country, with specific terms of reference to deal with environmental offences.
k. National Water Management Plan (NWMP), 2001– View of NWMP was to
ensure, clean water, protection of water ecosystems (Environment and Aquatic
Resources).
l. Coastal Zone Policy and Strategy, 2005– The aims are: Economic growth;
basic needs and opportunities for livelihoods; reduction of vulnerabilities;
sustainable management of coastal natural resources; equitable distribution;
empowerment of communities; women’s development and gender equity; and
conservation and enhancement of critical ecosystems; while acknowledging the
CCRF as a key goal, otherwise refers to the ‘National Fisheries Policy 1998’ for
matters related to coastal and marine fisheries.
m. Biosafety Guidelines of Bangladesh, 2007– To save the country’s biological
base from the possible negative impact of biotechnology highly advanced over
the past decade, biodiversity guidelines entitled “Biosafety Guidelines of
Bangladesh” has been formulated by the Ministry of Science and Technology in
1999 and update by Ministry of Forest and Environment in 2007 in line with the
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety- 2000.
n. National Biodiversity Framework, 2007– Bangladesh developed “National
Biodiversity Framework” in 2007 to institutionalize the Biosafety regulations and
strengthen infrastructural facilities for risk assessment and management of
GMOs.
o. Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan, 2008– Produced by
the MoEF, to combat problems associated with the climate change. This includes
the development of adaptation strategies in the fisheries sector.
Other Ordinance, Rules and Guidelines those are in the pipe-line, and pertinent to
fisheries and aquatic resources management, are as follows:
a. Solid Waste Management Ordinance, 2010

b. Ship Breaking and Hazardous Waste Management Rule, 2010
c. Biosafety Ordinance, 2010
d. Ecologically Critical Area (ECA) Management Ordinance, 2010
e. Durable Development and Tourism Policy of St. Martin Island 2010
f. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Guidelines for others Sectors
96
g. Guidelines on Environmental Management, Waste treatment and Workers
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) for Ship Breaking Yards in Bangladesh,
2010.
Conflicts
Like other sectors, there exists activity conflict largely between the industrial and
artisanal fishery. While ther exists intra-conflict among shrimp and fin-fish trawlers and
among various artisanal gears as well. Similarly from management aspects greater
emphasis, institutional support and surveillance is exerted for industrial fisheries which at
present contribute only 18% of the harvestable amount. But the sector– the artisanal
fishery, contributing >90% of the harvestable amount are given lesser emphasis, no
institutional support and under no or very poor surveillance.
Fishing zone conflicts: A serious intra-boundary issue is conflict between different

prospective users of the same resource; in particular often industrial trawlers operate in
inshore waters defying operations in beyond 40 m depths in competition with artisanal
fishers which are restricted with 40 m depth zones. This is a particular problem in
Bangladesh and the BoB states of India, where sometimes conflicts and legal actions
have resulted. These kinds of user conflicts are generally seen to represent a failure of
regulatory approaches to fisheries management. Conflicts between different prospective
users of the same resource, in particular where industrial trawlers operate in inshore
waters are in competition with artisanal fishers. This is a particular problem in
Bangladesh and the BoB states of India, where sometimes bloody conflicts and deaths
have resulted.
As per ‘Marine Fishery Ordinance 1983’, only mechanized and non-mechanized artisanal
fishing boats are allowed to fish within 40 m depth (during high tide) from the coast line.
While the industrial trawlers fleets are allowed to fish beyond 40 m depths (during high
tide). In practice, in the absence of required logistics for proper monitoring and tracking
of fishing vessels, the artisanal fishing boats go beyond 40 m depths for fishing. On the
other hand, the trawler fleets fish within 40 m depths, in some instances particularly
during the winter months, the trawler fleets even fish within 10 m depth regions. As their
gear is non-selective, they too harvest sizes of fish and shrimp, which fall under the post-
juvenile and pre-adult categories, thereby restricting adult recruitment of a part of the
population. Fishing zone conflict is principally caused by the zoning disagreement by the
industrial trawling fleets claiming that GoBs knowledge diffusion process is weak and
questionable as well. As a result in addition to severe conflicts among resource users and
97
regular huge casualties of artisanal fishers during simple natural calamities the finite
resource is being exploited from a particular zone leaving the open and deeper part of the
sea unexploited. Assessment of 40 m depth contour during high tide reflects that the
distance from the nearest coast line of BoB, Bangladesh (Raimangal river to Elephant
point, Chart 859) is in between 27 and 96 km (average 70 km).
Examples of fishing zones demarcation of south-east Asian countries: Small-scale

fishery is the predominant in most of the south-east Asian countries. In Indonesia and the
Philippines small-scale fisheries is more predominant than in Thailand. In Thailand
industrial fisheries is increasing very rapidly and contributing more to the forex earnings
while small-scale fisheries is mainly meeting the internal demand. For example, in
Thailand, coastal communities have taken the step of constructing ‘artificial reefs’ as a
deliberate obstacle to the operation of trawlers in shallow inshore zones. The following
south-east Asian countries have updated their marine fisheries management by
incorporating international laws and conventions relating to marine fisheries for
regulating overfishing and sustainable development. The following Tables 28 and 29
show the fishing zones demarcation and categorizations of small-scale and large-scale
fisheries of the south-east Asian countries.
Table 28. Fishing zones demarcations of south-east Asian countries
Country Fishing zone-1 Fishing zone-2 Fishing zone-3 Fishing zone-4

Cambodia From the beach up to From 20 m - -
20 nautical miles depths up to the
limits of the
EEZ
Indonesia From the beach up to From the outer From the outer From the beach
03 nautical miles limits of limits of Fishing up to 12
Fishing zone-1 zone-2 up to 05 nautical miles
up to 04 nautical miles
nautical miles
Malaysia From the beach up to 05-12 nautical 12-30 nautical From 30
05 nautical miles miles miles nautical miles
up to the limits
of the EEZ
Myanmar North zone: From the From the outer - -
beach up to 05 nautical limits of
miles Fishing zone-1
South zone: From the up to the limits
beach up to 10 nautical of the EEZ
98
miles
Philippines From the beach up to From 15 km up - -
15 kilo meters to the limits of
the EEZ
Thailand From the beach up to From 12 - -
12 nautical miles nautical miles
up to the limits
of the EEZ
Vietnam North and south zones: - - -
From the beach up to 30
m depths
Central zone: From
the beach up to 50 m
depths
Source: SICD Project (2010) and Hoque (2010).
Table 29. Categories and jurisdiction of operations of small-scale and

large-scale fisheries of south-east Asian countries
Country Categories and jurisdiction of operations

A. Small-scale fishery
Cambodia Coastal fisheries: In Zone-1 only mechanized with 05-50 HP engines and non-
mechanized fishing boats are allowed to fish.
Indonesia Small-scale fisheries:
• Zone-1: Fishing boats of up to 05 t gross weights or having <10 HP out
board engines are allowed to fish; trawl, purse seine and gill nets are
prohibited except for purse seine nets having <120 m head rope.
• Zone-2: Fishing boats of up to 25 t gross weights or having <50 HP
inboard engines are allowed to fish; trawl and purse seine nets are
prohibited except for purse seine nets having <300 m head rope.
Malaysia Traditional fisheries: Fishing boats of <10 t gross weights having traditional
fishing gears (i.e. other than trawls and purse seines) are allowed in all zones
but mostly active in Zone-1.
Myanmar Coastal fisheries: In Zone-1 harvesting is allowed with fishing boats of <30
feet long or having <12 HP engines.
Philippines Municipal fisheries: Boats of <03 t gross weights are allowed to operate in
Zone-1 and Zone-2.
Thailand Small-scale fisheries: In Zone-1 harvesting is allowed with fishing boats of
<05 t gross weights.
Vietnam Small-scale fisheries: Harvesting is allowed in only Zone-1 by both non-
mechanized and mechanized boats having <40 HP engines.
99
B. Large-scale fishery
Cambodia Commercial fisheries: In Zone-2 fishing vessels of <50 HP engines are
allowed.
Indonesia Industrial fisheries:
In Zone-3 fishing vessels having <200 HP inboard engines or up to 100 t gross
weights inboard engines are allowed; purse seines having >600 m head rope
are prohibited.
Malaysia Commercial fisheries:
In Zone-2 fishing boats of <40 t gross weights, in Zone-3 fishing boats of 40-
70 t gross weights and in Zone-4 fishing boats of <70 t gross weights are
allowed to operate with trawls and purse seine nets.
Myanmar Industrial fisheries: In Zone-2 fishing boats of >30 feet long or having >12 HP
engines are allowed.
Philippines • Small-scale commercial fisheries: In Zone-2 fishing boats of 3.1-20 t
gross weights are allowed, can also operate within 10.1-15 km area
(within Zone-1) with permission from the concerned local government
unit.
• Medium-scale commercial fisheries: In Zone-2 fishing boats of 20.1-150 t
gross weights are allowed can also operate within 10.1-15 km area (within
Zone-1) with permission from the concerned local government unit.
• Large-scale commercial fisheries: Fishing boats having >150 t gross
weights can operate in Zone-2.
Thailand Large-scale fisheries: In Zone-2 fishing boats >05 t gross weights are allowed
to fish.
Vietnam Large-scale fisheries: Fishing vessels of >40 HP engines are allowed to fish.
Source: SICD Project (2010) and Hoque (2010).
License and fishing control
• All fishing vessels (non-mechanized and mechanized boats) must have

registration, fitness certificate, fishing license and insurance coverage, radio, life
buoys for the crews.
• All artisanal fishing boats will only be allowed to go for fishing within the 40 m
depths (at distances as great as 96 km from the beach) if they are equipped with
enough potable water, life buoys, life jackets, first aid box, fire extinguisher,
magnetic compass, SSB Radio, VHF and GPS to take precautionary measures
and avoid casualties.
• All industrial trawler fleets must fish at depths greater than 40 m, in no case they
would be allowed to fish within 40 m depths, be it for harvesting mother-shrimp
100
or any other cause. They should be strongly encouraged to go even beyond 100-
200 m depths.
• Mother-shrimp harvesting be allowed only with the trammel nets, as these nets
are quite species-specific and more eco-friendly.
• To protect the nursing and feeding grounds of all marine resources, as ensured by
Thailand, the area of 0-5 km from the beach coast line can be declared as a
complete no-fishing zone or ‘no-take’ zone throughout the year; no fishing of any
sort, even with cast nets, beach seines, drag/push nets, current nets, mosquito nets
etc. would be allowed.
• Ensure strong monitoring of fishing ban period of 15 January to 15 February for
protecting shrimp mothers and ensure their natural spawning in the open sea.
• Introduce fin-fish fishing ban period for certain period of time depending on the
spawning season of commercially important species (viz. hilsa, pomfrets,
Bombay ducks, threadfins, croakers).
• Because of inexperience long-liner, purse seiner and squid jigger fishing is not
practiced in Bangladesh territorial waters, though these are widely used in other
country’s marine fisheries. Without proper assessment of the present pelagic
stocks no further license (so far 15 licenses issued but only a single squid jigger
imported, later changed its fishing gears and converted to normal fishing trawler)
should be issued for long-liner, purse seiner and squid jigger fishing.
• Strong vessel tracking and monitoring system (VTMS) should be introduced so
that after importation of long-liner, purse seiner and squid jigger their fishing
gears are not changed and converted to traditional fishing trawlers.
Mesh size conflicts: The Marine Fisheries Rules was circulated on 12 September 1983 as
per Section 55, Part XI of ‘The Marine Fisheries Ordinance, 1983’. Section 14(B) of the
Marine Fisheries Rules spells out that the cod end mesh size of all trawl nets should not
be less than 60 mm.
Association of the trawler fleets always argues against this limitation of mesh size. Their
opinion is that, rather frontal (mouth part of the net) mesh size is more important than cod
end mesh size. If the mesh size of the bottom trawl nets are either 300 mm or bigger at
the entrance part and gradually lowered downed to 25-45 mm in the cod ends then small
fishes would get easy chances to escape. Most fishes die out once they reach up to the
cod end, increasing the mesh size of the cod end would simply mean dumping of dead
fish in the sea. They cite the examples of neighboring south-east Asian countries where
most trawl nets are of 20-40 mm mesh at the cod end but the mesh size is bigger, around
300 mm, at the entrance of the trawl nets.
101
Association of the trawler fleets are of opinion that, mesh size restriction of 60 mm at cod
end should be restricted only for the gill nets, set bag nets and purse seiner as small fishes
can easily get out live through the gill nets, set bag nets and purse seiner.
Unauthorized/illegal incursions: In many cases commercial or industrial vessels from

distant-water fishing nations encroach into other country’s EEZs. In others, the problem
is that of encroachment by artisanal or commercial fishermen from one BoB country into
the waters of another. These problems are attributed to inadequate systems of monitoring,
control and surveillance (MCS), and a general inability by national and local
governments to enforce fishery laws and regulations.
Post-harvest preservation conflicts: All the shrimp trawlers are reported to have modern
processing and Contact Plate Freezer preserving facilities. Among the fish trawlers only
about 25% have got Air Blast Freezer preserving facilities, while rest of the fish trawlers
use ice blocks/cubes for preserving their catch. Except for contact plate and air blast
freezer other fishes preserved only with ice loose their quality within 3-4 days. As a result
these fish and shrimp products never meet the export quality requirements and are mainly
sold in local market as raw, salted or dry. On the other hand all the non- and mechanized
boats use only ice onboard by building ice holds in the craft to preserve their harvested
catch. Though some boats return to landing station with daily catch, they also use only
ice blocks. Here also, these fishes and shrimps never meet the export quality
requirements and are mainly sold in local market as raw, salted or dry.
Existing non- and mechanized fishing boats must be converted to modern freezing boats
if they wish to fish for existing 14 days permission. On the other hand, if they still run
with portable ice blocks/cubes they should be given permission to return to the specific
landing station within only 4 days of sailing to ensure their life safety and quality of the
harvested fish.
Institutional management conflicts: Mercantile Marine Department (MMD), Ministry of

Shipping, with limited operational bases in Chittagong and Khulna, has the sole mandate
to register and provide fitness certificates to fishing boats. As a result they are unable to
register vast majority of fishing boats that operates all over the coast from south-east to
south-west and in open sea. Hence the DoF is no capacity to bring all the boats under
licensing and fitness systems for allocation and administering sustainable harvest limits
of the resources.
102
There are no set rules for practical linkage and coordination between the DoF and the
Bangladesh Coast Guard (BCG) for the use of manpower and logistics for enforcing
various regulatory measures in the coastal waters and the sea.
The Forest Department (FD) exercises sole authority to manage the fisheries of
Sundarbans and Chakoria mangrove forest. Their prime aim is to collect revenue by
providing permits for resources exploitation without any idea of resource stocks of fish,
shrimps and the magnitude of values of protecting the spawning and nursing grounds.
The DoF is no capacity in controlling or monitoring fishing activities to manage and
develop the ecosystem.
Bangladesh is a signatory to the FAO’s Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

(CCRF) framed out in 1995. But it is yet to implement its national CCRF with robust
legal and institutional frameworks. This reflects that the line agencies (DoF and MoFL)
have not been much persuasive in this regard and the development partners have shown
no interest for cooperating in the field of coastal and marine fisheries.
Although Bangladesh is a signatory to the FAO-CCRF, virtually no significant efforts

have been made to date to comprehend and elaborate the provisions of the Code within
the context of Bangladesh. General awareness on the existence and significance of the
FAO Code of Conduct, its scope, and purpose are yet to be increased for persons and
institutions involved in shrimp aquaculture, coastal and marine fishing.
In open or non-enclosed waters where ‘enforcement’ by customary owners is more

difficult, coastal dwellers have seen their traditional user rights progressively eroding in
the face of commercial fisheries development, coupled with central government fishery
management policies that, overtly or tacitly, give recognition to the principles of open
access and the right of ‘outsiders’ to fish in areas that were previously the domain of local
residents.
In most BoB countries, declining resources and user conflicts coupled with the failure of
centrally-based fishery management arrangements to cope with a wide range of problems,
from destructive fishing to illegal entry by foreign fishing vessels. This has led to a
renewed interest in locally-based fisheries management, sometimes referred to as
community-based management (CBM) or co-management, in which the government
advises and assists stakeholders to develop acceptable management arrangements which
they will themselves enforce. To be effective, co-management requires the devolution of
power and authority from higher levels of government down to locally-constituted
103
bodies, which may range from local authorities or communities, to committees made up
of a representative selection of stakeholders in the fishery. This in turn requires enabling
legislation at the national or state level, coupled with appropriate local by-laws that give
effect to the co-management arrangements in question. This will represent a reversal of
the trend towards open access fisheries, in favor of placing control of fishery resources
back in the hands of those who have the most to gain from using them sustainably over
the longer term.
104
Potential for development of un-exploited resources and new
interventions in marine fisheries
A number of fish species have virtually remained unexploited or under-exploited, mainly

because of the lack of knowledge and information on the availability of the sizes of
different fish stocks and partly due to lack of technological developments for harvesting
the untapped resources. Presently only one-third of the EEZ is covered by these fishing
vessels. The extended fishing operation beyond the EEZ is needed and it is also possible
to extend fishing operation beyond the EEZ, i.e. in the international waters.
Entrepreneurship development initiatives are needed to get access to these development
processes. To pursue the sustainable economic yield (SEY) it is required to make a
comprehensive survey of the total fishery resources in the BoB.
In the coastal parts of Bangladesh there are potentials to introduce mariculture and
brackishwater aquaculture as well. Introduction of new commercial species like sea
cucumber, sea bass, grouper, milk fish etc. is needed for consideration in coastal
aquaculture. Cage culture might be an option for further development of the marine
fisheries aquaculture in Bangladesh. For proper management of marine resources the
following programs/activities need to be undertaken:
• Survey on demersal, pelagic and shrimp stocks

• Tuna fishery resource study in the EEZ and International sea as well
• Catch and effort statistics research
• Marine habitat protection and restoration
• Spawning and nursery ground identification
• Community based coastal resource management.
Survey on Tuna fishery resources and its exploitation
The last part of the EEZ of Bangladesh and adjacent international water is the migratory
route of highly migratory fish like Tuna, Marlings etc. At present Bangladesh is in the
pipeline for the membership for Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC). But we do not
have sufficient information and are not in a position to exploit this resource though there
is enough potential.
105
Strengthening fisheries management in the coastal areas
Monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) is an essential and integral component of

fisheries management. The latest compliance method for surveillance is the Vessel
Monitoring System (VMS) and Vessel Tracking and Monitoring System (VTMS) which
needs to be introduced and established in the fishing vessels of the country. It is
expensive as it needs help of satellite technology. This system is used as an effective
management tool because of its capability to manage and control the activities of the
intended vessels.
International cooperation
A number of international agreements signed by the Bangladesh Government for proper

management of marine resources– such as the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
(CCRF) 1995, the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the Ramsar
Convention of 1971 for Wetlands Conservation, the UN's Millennium Development
Goals, MDG (presented in 2002, with a 2015 deadline), the Rio Declaration and Agenda
21 of 1992, the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Bangladesh is the
active member of BIMSTEC, BOBP-IGO and BOBLME.
Priority policy issues for immediate considerations
Bangladesh should immediately make a new comprehensive survey of the marine

fisheries resources in various categories of depth zones of 0-10 m, 11-50 m, 51-100 m,
101-150 m, 151-200 m and beyond 500 m isobaths for assessing stocks of demersal,
pelagic, and identifying present fishing grounds, mother shrimp grounds, etc. As this sort
of survey is extremely expensive hence Bangladesh should take help and cooperation of
R.V. SEAFDEC or R.V. Fridtjof Nansen or any other research vessel with joint
collaboration of India, Myanmar and Thailand for such in-depth survey within the
Bangladesh’s maritime jurisdiction.
For sustainable management of the marine species, proper species-wise resource

assessment and regular updating is necessary. Digital Marine Fisheries Resource
Mapping (DMFRM) is now considered as an essential tool for sustainable harvesting and
conservation-management of the marine fisheries resources. However, in all SAARC
countries this is either absent or not in a state of the art position. If a common DMFRM
can be developed for the SAARC countries, which will be very useful for all the
countries (Rahman 2012).
106
Formulate national action plan particularly for exploiting pelagic stocks with proper
fishing gears at depths >100 m and beyond >500 m. Due to lack of updated and reliable
information (lack of skilled manpower, sufficient fund and research vessels) on the
standing stock of pelagic resources and sustainable harvest development of biological
resources, a proper management policy has become impossible.
Fishing pressure is very high in shallower regions and very low in deeper region. Deeper
regions should be explored more. Juveniles of hilsa and many other important
commercial species are harvested indiscriminately from the shallower regions. Determine
allowable harvests of various stocks with categorization of depth zones for artisanal and
industrial fishing and determine numbers of trawlers (fish, shrimp), mechanized and non-
mechanized fishing boats to be employed in what depth zones for sustainable harvest,
conservation and management of this finite marine fish resources.
Stock assessment information is often a minor factor in the fishery management decision-
making process in this region, and often ignored completely. Other factors that usually
overshadow stock assessment considerations are short-term needs taking priority over
longer-term perspectives, political trade-offs, the power exercised by particularly
influential, self-interested stakeholders, the personal ambitions of fishery decision-
makers, corruption, or simply lack of understanding. It would be little point in focusing
on improving stock assessment capacity unless stock assessment results can be more
effectively used to inform and steer the fishery management process.
Management decisions are ultimately made or approved by political decision-makers,

whether these are elected national or state politicians, or appointed senior officials. The
scientists who undertake stock assessment work are usually civil servants who are not
expected to – and dare not – challenge those in authority. The decision-makers, who are
often motivated by an entirely different set of factors than those which influence the
scientists, may not act on stock assessment findings for the simple reason that the results
have not been communicated to them, or at least not in a form or language that they can
understand.
One possible way to do this is to replace the discretionary decision-making powers of

influential individuals with formalized, legally binding fishery management plans which
establish pre-determined rules for responses to stock assessment results (before those
results are known), and whose implementation is monitored by a representative group of
stakeholders. An example which can be used is the rolling total allowable catch (TAC)
107
system that has been applied in some developed-country prawn-trawl fisheries. Under the
rolling TAC system, next year’s TAC may be set at, say, the average of the three best
year’s catches from the previous five. Thus, if catches show an up-trend, the TAC may
progressively be increased according to a pre-determined set of rules: if catches show a
down-trend, the TAC can be reduced. As long as the system is codified into law, and the
plan is monitored by an appropriately-constituted group of fishery stakeholders, then
there is much less room for discretionary or political decision-making, and stock
assessment results are actually translated into management action.
Many good quality data collection and biological investigations have been carried out in
the past, many at times when fishery research was given a higher priority in government
budgets than it is now. Much of this information is buried in the archives and filing
cabinets of fishery research and management agencies, and is forgotten or difficult to
access. There would therefore be considerable value in a programme to actively search
out and computerize historical research information, not only as a means of possibly
avoiding to repeat research that has already been carried out, but also as a way of
obtaining historical data that no amount of new research can replicate.
There is an urgent requirement for standardization and harmonization of data collection

methods, forms and terminology, training of enumerators and data analysts, data
verification and quality control, and production of regional-level data summaries or
interpretations for effective management of our coastal/marine fisheries.
There is also a strong need to improve the uptake mechanism and transformation of stock
assessment results into the management process. Improved communications between
scientists and decision-makers, and the development of formal fishery management plans.
There is also a need to ensure that the results of earlier research and findings are fully
utilized and not progressively lost to the scientific knowledge base as time goes by.
Strongly implement CCRF and MCS in the coastal/marine fisheries. Given the limited
capacity to mount sea-borne inspection, it is recommended that efforts should focus on
land-based inspection with more surveillance check posts in important coastal areas.
Possible mechanisms for consideration might include:
The designations of specific ports for landings from the larger vessels (trawlers and larger
commercial gillnetters) for facilitating catch and gear inspections. Extend the current
trawler logbooks scheme to (i) include detailed by-catch and discard data and (ii) to the
larger commercial gillnetters landing at designated ports. Develop a fisheries observer
108
program for sampling onboard the industrial and commercial fleets If gear and spatial
conflicts continue to occur between larger-scale vessels, as well as infringements of
either no fishing areas or those zones restricted for particular fleets, and then a satellite-
based vessel tracking monitoring system (VTMS) should be in place to monitor the
activities and locations of high risk fleets.
The artisanal fleet is widely dispersed around an often inaccessible coastline and
notoriously difficult to monitor and control. It is recommended that the limited district-
based DoF inspection capacity is improved through community-level policing, possibly
through co-management structures. Here capacity-building will be important, together
with developing awareness and understanding, consensus and promoting peer-pressure
mechanisms.
Formulate and adopt locally-based fisheries management, sometimes referred to as

community-based management (CBM) or co-management, in which the government
advises and assists stakeholders to develop acceptable management arrangements which
they will themselves enforce. Hand over power and authority from higher levels of
government down to locally-constituted bodies for such co-management and change in
legislation at the national or state level, coupled with appropriate local by-laws that give
effect to the co-management arrangements in question.
A primary concern for the region’s fisheries is that many shared resources are being
fished by two or more countries with little or no knowledge of the ability of the stock to
support such fisheries. In other parts of the world fisheries that have been exploited in
this way have collapsed, and there is strong evidence that some BoB resources, such as
hilsa, have undergone serious declines, or are likely to do so in future. There is thus a
strong argument for the establishment of joint management arrangements for a number of
stocks, resources or fisheries. Adopt bi-nation (Bangladesh-India) and tri-nation
(Bangladesh-India-Myanmar) or four-nation (Bangladesh-India-Sri Lanka-Myanmar)
fishery management plans for certain commercially important transboundary species such
as hilsa, jacks and scads, pomfrets, catfishes, Indian pellona, Spanish mackerel,
sardinella, Indian salmon, Bombay ducks, sharks and P. monodon. P. semisulcatus, M.
monoceros, etc.
All fishing crafts (be it steel trawlers, wooden trawlers, mechanized or non-mechanized
boats) must be registered (having a registration plate like terrestrial vehicles) and the DoF
and MoFL need to have a pin-pointed weekly or monthly statistics about the engaged
fishing efforts. Only this can ensure monitoring of allowable harvest, adjustment/fine-
109
tuning of the fishing efforts and adopt proper rescue operations in case of lost/drift in the
sea or others’ territorial waters.
Bangladesh may opt for complete ban on fishing within 0-5 m shallow depths,
earmarking this are as zone-1, for conserving larvae and juveniles of marine fish and
shrimps, which ultimately will add up to the fishing efforts with incremental growth after
being adult (harvestable size). Need to introduce open and ban periods for commercially
important species as per their life-cycle and migration patterns.
Abundance of gravid tiger shrimps (P. monodon), especially the mother-shrimps used as
broodstocks in shrimp hatcheries have declined in terms of CPUE (50% reduction since
1987) and size (22% reduction over the past few years) (Huntington et al. 2008). As a
result the major mother-shrimp supplier –the shrimp trawlers very often encroaches into
inshore waters (i.e. from >40 m depth zones to as shallow as 10 m) to maintain catches.
Therefore, it is essential to fix harvest limitation and control strategy to control mother-
shrimp harvest and use by the shrimp hatcheries rationally. Assessment of the yearly
exact requirement of the P. monodon PL for the culture sector and the mother-shrimp
needed thereof is of utmost importance. In order to limit indiscriminate harvesting, save
and conserve the mother-shrimps, a sort of total allowable catch (TAC) for each shrimp
trawler and total allowable mother-shrimps to be used by each shrimp hatchery (as per
respective hatchery’s PL production capacity) need to be urgently fixed. In addition a
fresh assessment of mother-shrimp grounds are very essential.
Minimum mesh size of SBNs should be at least 2.5 inches (6 cm) so that larvae,
juveniles, sub-adults of various fin-fishes and shell-fishes can escape unhurt. All fishing
gears must use Turtle Excluder Devise (TED) to escape inadvertent catch of sea turtles
and save their population.
Wooden boats (iced trawlers) are permitted for fishing for 14 days in the sea but their
harvested catch becomes non-exportable because of poor fish quality due to poor freezing
only by ice. Entire catch of these kinds of trawlers are sun-dried and sold as dry-fish in
the local markets. These kinds of wooden boats need to be modernized with modern
freezing system, unless be permitted only for 4 days to ensure the quality of the harvest.
Safety at sea protocol must be strongly monitored, especially no mechanized- and non-
mechanized boats be allowed to go for fishing without life jackets for every crews,
magnetic compass and radio receivers and must not go beyond its allowable limits
(depths or nautical miles from the shore). This type of strong monitoring, as done in
Orrissa state of India, could greatly reduce yearly casualty at sea.
110
Confiscated foreign trawlers, mostly wooden body iced trawlers are auctioned and local
entrepreneurs buy them with a condition not to be engaged in fishing with those. But later
they engage those wooden body iced trawlers for fishing with trial permission from the
honorable court. This practice should immediately be stopped to save resource spoilage.
Sometimes fishing gears of the imported trawler is changed with honorable court’s order.
This poses unwarranted fishing pressure and threats to the existing approved categories
(shrimp or fish) of trawler fleets.
Bangladesh should immediately venture for making skilled man power/crews on long-
liner, purse seiner and squid jigger and be a member of the Indian Ocean Tuna
Association (IOTA), which is a mandatory for harvesting and marketing tunas, for fishing
in the deep seas and international waters. Without the membership of IOTA neither tuna
could be harvested nor sold in the international markets. About 335 Thailand’s fishing
trawlers are reported to be engaged in fishing in the international waters of India,
Indonesia, Myanmar, Cambodia, Yemen, Oman, Somalia and Mauritius and taking
further procedural initiatives for fishing in the international waters of Australia, Iran and
Saudi Arabia (Hoque 2010). Again, in the territorial waters of the Maldives some Super
pure Seiner and Long-liners are engaged in skipjack tuna harvesting. Bangladesh can
easily follow Thai and Maldives for harvesting tuna within her EEZ and in international
waters. Targeted tuna species are yellowfin, Bigeye and skipjacks. Japan is the biggest
tuna consumer country in the world. Quality tuna may fetch around US $ 4,000-5,000/t in
Japanese markets.
111
Poverty Status and Socico-economic Condition
An important characteristic of coastal fisheries is the existence of a diverse range of

ecosystems– beaches, lagoons, estuaries– along the coast, which gave rise to a wide
variety of adaptations in terms of fishing and post-harvest practices, allowing
opportunities for a number of people to have sustained access to livelihoods. In coastal
rural areas agriculture laborers comprise the largest livelihood group in terms of number
and at least one in every three rural households live on agriculture. Among the non-
farmers (whose principal occupation is not agriculture), fishers are the single largest
group (Khan 2010). In coastal urban areas, the majority of people serves as laborers in
both formal and informal sectors or is engaged in a wide range of self-employment
activitie.
Fishing is a seasonal activity and the catching periods also vary according to the type of
fishing and weather conditions. For example, hilsa catching is the longest (5-6 months)
and shrimp PL catching is the shortest (2-3 months). Off-shore fisheries stop their fishing
activities for 4-5 months during June-October due rough sea conditions.
Coastal/marine fisheries are a multi-gear and multi-species complex fishery. Any single
type of gear in any fishing area catches a number of species of various sizes and ages.
Over all fishery sector enjoys the open access. Any body can access the resources
following the rules and regulation. Often any body can go and fish without the proper
boat registration and consequent fishing licenses. The common property/open access
nature of the coastal resources acts as an attractant for the poor people in the interior
areas to move to the coast in search of employment and the fisheries sector is often the
most readily available source of work for them, but this also means that they remain
largely invisible from a development perspective. Inaccessibility of coastal villages
reduces the people’s access to basic services such as healthcare, education, subsidised
food grains, and increases their vulnerability to natural disasters such as cyclones. This is
further aggravated by the fact that several people in marine fishing are poorly integrated
into the mainstream on account of the low status of fishing as an occupation and also, as
discussed, because of their geographical origins, which set them apart culturally,
linguistically, socially and as a consequence of all the above– economically.
112
In open or non-enclosed waters where ‘enforcement’ by customary owners is more
difficult, coastal dwellers have seen their traditional user rights progressively eroded in
the face of Commercial/industrial fisheries development, coupled with governments’
fishery management policies that, overtly or tacitly, give recognition to the principles of
open access and the right of ‘outsiders’ to fish in areas that were previously the domain of
local residents. There are some areas within the BoB where the traditional rights of
coastal resource users remain in place, or are being re-established through community-
based management arrangements. However in many more areas traditional use rights
have been replaced by essentially open access fisheries where local dwellers have no
more rights than those from elsewhere. This has led to many examples of user conflict,
especially where commercial/industrial fishermen from afar come to exploit the same
resources that local artisanal fishermen traditionally used.
At present 186 trawlers are operating with about 12-15 persons/vessel, about 21,016
mechanized boats are operating with 8-10 persons/boat, about 22,120 non-mechanized
boats are operating with 3-4 persons/boat, about 43,136 traditional fishing boats with 1-2
persons (DoF 2012). This reflects that about 510,000 people are fully and directly
dependent on the coastal and marine fisheries and its allied activities. Huntington et al.
(2008) reported that a total of 907,268 fishers are active in the entire coastal and marine
area. The greatest concentrations of these were in Cox’s Bazar area (356,601 fishers) and
Bhola area (188,018 fishers). Traditionally this sector was dominated by low caste Hindu
fishers (viz. koybarta, jalodas, das, rajbangshi, sutrodhar, malo, barman, majhi, etc.).
But in recent times more and more landless and unemployed Muslims’ have taken up
fishing as an occupation. Males are the principal work force in this sector, be it fishing,
gear and craft mending or transporting, icing, selling, etc. Females are engaged in sorting,
de-heading shrimps and in the processing plants.
Trawler fleets are owned and managed by urban-based moneyed man outside of fishing
community from Chittagong, Dhaka or elsewhere who hire skippers and crew on
contractual basis. The total trawler fleets is a capital-intensive commercial industry.
While most artisanal boats are owned as well by local money lenders from non-fishing
community. Thus, it is the traders, providing the boat, the gear, and advances for buying
fuel-oil for the boat, food for the voyage and ice for preserving the catch, who became the
patriarchs and became the primary locus of social organisation within the communities.
The export processing and supply chains however are mostly controlled by people of
non-fisheries background have got access to institutional credits and subsidies.
113
In the south-west the major problem is the conflict of brackishwater shrimp farming with
rice farming. Brackishwater shrimp farming in good rice lands is augmenting salinity
intrusions and in the process marginal farmers are becoming land-less. In the south-east
the major problem at the moment is with the Rohiynga refugees/settlers from
neighbouring Myanmar, who are competing with poor coastal people for employment in
fishing, salt production and agriculture. About 2.5 million tons of raw salt is produced
from traditional salt beds of the south-east region and about 0.04 million workers are
engaged in salt production (Ahammad 2010).
The traditional agrarian economy of the country– largely subsistence oriented– did not
receive adequate policy attention at the national level. This resulted in poor investments
in crucial sectors like infrastructure and social support, and the coastal area lags behind
the national averages with respect to key indicators of economic growth (infrastructure,
transport and communication facilities, and industrialisation). In terms of social
infrastructure (housing, drinking water, electricity, toilets, primary schools, medical
facility and taps), coastal area is at the bottom of the list.
114
Reference
Ahammed, S.U. 2010. Towards a collective action to meet the growing challange of resource
management and livelihoods of small scale fisheries in the Bay of Bengal. pp. 91-105. In:
Hussain, M.G. and Hoq, M.E. (eds.), Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resources of the
Bay of Bengal. Support to BOBLME Project. SBOBLME Pub./Rep. 2. Bangladesh Fisheries
Research Institute, Mymensingh, Bangladesh. 122 p.
Ahmed, Z. 2007. Shark fishery of Bangladesh. Marine Fisheries Management Unit, Department of
Fisheries, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Unpublished official report, 16 p.
As-Salek and T. Yasuda 1995. Comparative study of storm surge models proposed for
Bangladesh: last development and research need. J. Wind Engin. Indust. Aerodynamics.
Elsevier 54/55, 99. 545-610.
Aziz, M.A. 2010. Coastal and marine plant resources of Bangladesh: management and
exploitation. Keynote speech presented in the Annual Botanical Conference 2009. University
of Chittagong, Chittagong, 09 January 2010. 17 p.
Banks, R. 2003. Bangladesh coastal capture fisheries. Report of the Fisheries Sector Review and
Future Development. Unpublished Internal Report 42 p.
BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical & Economic Cooperation)
2008. The ecosystem-based fishery management in the Bay of Bengal. BIMSTEC and
Department of Fisheries & SEAFDEC, Thailand. 250 p.
Blaber, S.J.M., D.A. Milton, D.T. Brewer and J.P. Salini 2001. Biology, fisheries and status of
tropical shads (Tenualosa) in Southeast Asia. In: SHAD 2001: A conference on the status and
conservation of shads worldwide. 20-23 May 2001, National Aquarium in Baltimore, USA.
Bal, D.V. and K.V. Rao 1990. Marine fisheries of India. First revised edition. Tata McGraw-Hill
Publishing Company Ltd., New Delhi, 472 p.
Boonyapiwat, S., M.N. Sada, J.K. Mandal and M.K. Sinha 2008. Species composition, abundance
and distribution of phytoplankton in the Bay of Bengal. p. 53-64. In: The Ecosystem-based
Fishery Management in the Bay of Bengal. BIMSTEC, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of
Fisheries and Cooperatives and SEAFDEC, Thailand. 250 p.
Camhi, M.D., S.V. Valenti, S.V. Fordham, S.I. Fowler and C. Gibson. 2009. The conservation
status of pelagic sharks and rays: Report of the IUCN shark specialist group pelagic shark red
list workshop. IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group, Newbury, UK,
78 p.
Chakma, P. 2004. The status of small-scale fishery of south Salimpur – a coastal village of
Chittagong, Bangladesh. Unpublished M. Sc. Thesis, Institute of Marine Sciences, University
of Chittagong. 80 p.
Das, S.C. 1978. Oceanographic characteristics of the water of the Bay of Bengal. Ph.D. Thesis,
Moscow State University, Moscow, USSR.
DoF (Department of Fisheries). 2012. Special supplement on “National Fish Week 2012”.
Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock, Govt. of Bangladesh, Dhaka. 144
p.
115
DoF (Department of Fisheries). 2006. Marine fisheries sector sub-strategy. In: National Fisheries
Strategy and Action Plan for the Implementation of the National Fisheries strategy.
Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries & Livestock, Govt. of Bangladesh, Dhaka. 77-
91 p.
Dulvy, N. K., J. K. Baum, S. Clarke, L.J.V. Compagno, E. Corte’s, A. Domingo, S. Fordham, S.
Fowler, M.P. Francis, C. Gibson, J. Martine’z, J.A. Musick, A. Soldo, J.D. Stevens and S.
Valenti. 2008. You can swim but you can’t hide: the global status and conservation of oceanic
pelagic sharks and rays. Aquatic Conserv: Mar. Freshw. Ecosyst. 18: 459-482.
Dutta, D.K., S.K. Saha and M.S. Rahman. 2008. Chemical flux to the coast of Bangladesh– a
review. Ind. J. Mar. Sci. 37(2): 214-219.
Fahrni, M.E. and R.M. Mansur. 2012. Conserving cetacean diversity and abundance in the Bay of
Bengal’s northern estuarine, coastal and deep-sea cnyon waters of Bnagladesh. p. 28-39. In:
M.E. Hoq and A.K. Yousuf Haroon (eds.) Sundarbans fisheries of Bangladesh: Current status
and potentialities. SBOBLME Pub./Rep. 6. Support to Sustainable Management of the Bay of
Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME) Project, Bangladesh Fisheries Research
Institute. 56 p.
GA (Geoscience Australia). 2012. Maritime Boundary. Web resource of the Government of
Australia updated in June 2012. ttp://www.ga.gov.au/marine/jurisdiction/maritime-boundary-
definitions.html.
Habib, E. 1999. Management of fisheries, coastal resources and the coastal environment in
Bangladesh: Legal and institutional perspectives. Policy Research and Impact Assessment
Programme, ICLARM, Metro Manila, the Philippines.
Haider, S.M.B. 1992. A survey on coast of the Saint Martin’s Islands, Bangladesh. M.Sc. Thesis,
Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Chittagong, Bangladesh.
Haldar, G.C. 2010. National plan of action for shark fisheries in Bangladesh. p. 75-89. In: M.G.
Hussain and M.E. Hoq (eds.) Sustainable management of fisheries resources of the Bay of
Bengal. Support to Sustainable Management of the BOBLME (SBOBLME) Project.
SBOBLME Pub./Rep. 2, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh. 122 p.
Haroon, A.K. Yousuf. 2011. Shark fisher in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. p. 11-32. In: M. E.
Hoq, A. K. Yousuf Haroon and M.G. Hussain (eds.) 2011. Shark fisheries in the Bay of
Bengal, Bangladesh: Status and potentialities. SBOBLME Pub./Rep. 4. Support to sustainable
management of the BOBLME Project, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Bangladesh.
76 p.
Hoq, M.E. and A. K. Yousuf Haroon. 2012. Shark fisheries status and management approach in
the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Biannual Report of Bangladesh Fisheries Research Forum
(BFRF) Research Fair 2012.
Hoq, M.E., A.K. Yousuf Haroon and M.G. Hussain (eds.) 2011. Shark fisheries in the Bay of
Bengal, Bangladesh: Status and potentialities. SBOBLME Pub./Rep. 4. Support to BOBLME
Project. Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute. 76 p.
Hoque, M. 2010. Bangopshagorer motshy shampod o babosthapona (Fisheries resources and
management in the Bay of Bengal Bangladesh). Paper presented in the Seminar on “Marine
116
Fisheries Resources Management of the Bay of Bengal” organized by the Faculty of
Fisheries, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh on 17 April, 2010. (in Bangla).
Hossain, M. M. M. 2004. National Report of BOBLME- Bangladesh on Sustainable Management
of the Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME). Final Report to Regional Office
of FAO/BOBLME, Chennai, India. January 2004 (GCP/RAS/179/WBG) (FAO), 152 p.
Hossain, M.M.M. 2003. National Report of Bangladsh on the Sustainable Management of the Bay
of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem. BOBLME, FAO GCP/ RAS/ 179/ WBG, Chennai, India.
Huntington, T., M.G. Khan, S. Islam, M. van Brakel and A. Miller 2008. Towards sustainable
coastal and marine fisheries in Bangladesh: Initiating a precautionary approach. Report
submitted by the WorldFish Center-Bangladesh Office to the Ministry of Fisheries and
Livestock, Government of Bangladesh. WorldFish Center-Bangladesh Office, Dhaka,
Bangladesh. 86 p.
Hussain, M.M. 1971. The commercial fishes of the Bay of Bengal. Survey for the development of
fisheries in East Pakistan. Chittagong, UNDP Project PAK 22, Project Publication No. 1: 60
p.
Hussain, M.M. 1969. Marine and estuarine fishes of the north-east part of Bay of Bengal.
Scientific Researches, East regional Laboratories, Pakistan, Vol. VII (1): 26-55.
Hussain, M. G. and M. J. Rahman 2010. Marine fisheries resources of Bangladesh: Stock status
and management issues. p. 37-51. In: M. G. Hussain and M.E. Hoq (eds.) Sustainable
management of fisheries resources of the Bay of Bengal. Support to BOBLME project.
SBOBLME Pub./Rep. 2. Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Bangladesh. 122 p.
ITLOS (International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea). 2012. Dispute concerning delimitation of
the maritime boundary between Bangladesh and Myanmar in the Bay of Bengal. Joint
Declaration of Judges Ad Hoc Mensah and Oxman.
Islam, M. Z. 2006. Status of leatherback turtles in Bangladesh. Indian Ocean– South-East Asian
Leatherback Turtle Assessment. IOSEA Marine Turtle MoU-2006. 24-29.
Islam, A.K.M.N. 1976. Contribution to the study of benthic marine algae of Bangladesh.
Bibliotheca Phycologia, 19: 1-253.
Islam, M. S. and M.G. Khan 1993. The trammel net fishery. p. 79-88. In: Studies of interactive
marine fisheries of Bangladesh. BOBP/WP/89. Bay of Bengal Programme, Madras, India.
117 p.
Islam, M.S., M.G. Khan, S.A. Quayum, M.N. Sada and Z.A. Chowdhury. 1993. The estuarine set
bag net fishery. p. 19-50. In: Studies of interactive marine fisheries of Bangladesh. Bay of
Bengal Programme. BOBP/WP/89. p. 117.
IUCN (The World Conservation Union). 2007. The IUCN Red list of threatened animals of
Bangladesh. IUCN Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
IUCN (The World Conservation Union). 2000. Red list of threatened animals of Bangladesh.
IUCN Bangladesh Country Office, Dhaka, Bangladesh, 54 p.
Jitlang, I., S. Pattarajinda, R. Mishra and L. Wongrat. 2008. Composition, abundance and
distribution of zooplankton in the Bay of Bengal. p. 65-92. In: The Ecosystem-based fishery
management in the Bay of Bengal. BIMSTEC, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries
and Cooperatives and SEAFDEC, Thailand. 250 p.
117
Kabir, D.S., S.B. Muzaffar, R.K. Devnath and M.M. Haque 2004. The state of biodiversity in the
eastern coast of Bangladesh. In: Proc. coastal wetlands in Bangladesh: Nature, livelihoods and
participation. Organized by POUSH at Cox’s Bazar on 14 February, 2004. 7-9.
Kamal, M. M. 2000. Temporat and spatial variation of fish species in the Karnafully River
Estuary. Unpublished M.Sc. Thesis, Institute of Marine Sciences, University of Chittagong,
Bangladesh.
Khan, M.G. 2010. Bangladesh coastal and marine fisheries and environment. p. 1-35. In: M.G.
Hussain and Hoq, M. E. (eds.), Sustainable management of fisheries resources of the Bay of
Bengal. Support to BOBLME Project, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh,
Bangladesh. SBOBLME Pub./Rep. 2. 122 p.
Khan, U.S.A. 2005. Importance of marine fisheries resources in economic development of
Bangladesh. p. 22-23. In: Special issue of National Fish Fortnight 2005. Department of
Fisheries, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 132 p. (In Bangla)
Khan, M.A.A. 2000. Report on status of the demersal fishery resources of Bangladesh. Paper
presented at the National consultative workshop on sustainable management of coastal fish
stocks (ADB-Reta Project), held at Dhaka during 3-5 October, 2000. Department of Fisheries,
Dhaka and ICLARM-Bangladesh. 56 p.
Khan, M.G. 1986. Tuna and tuna like fisheries in Bangladesh. Paper presented at Bangladesh
Zoological Conference, 1986. Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Khan. M.G. 1985. Offshore marine fisheries resources of Bangladesh, it’s potentially and status of
exploitation. Paper presented at the National Seminar on Marine Fisheries Department.
Dhaka. 7 p.
Khan, M.G. and M.A. Latif 1997. Potentials, constraints and strategies for conservation and
management of open brackishwater and marine fishery resources. Proc. FAO/BOBP/ODA
Nat. Workshop on Fishery Resources Development and Management in Bangladesh, ministry
of Fisheries and Livestock, Dhaka. 55-57.
Khan, M.G., M. Alamgir and M.N. Sada 1997. The coatal fisheries of Bangladesh. pp.26-37. In:
G. Silvestre and D. Pauly (eds.) Status and management of tropical coastal fisheries in Asia.
ICLARM Conf. Proc. 53, 208 p.
Khan, M.G., M.S. Islam, M.G. Mustafa, M.N. Sada and Z.A. Chowdhury. 1994. Bioeconomic
assessment of the effect of the estuarine set bag net on the marine fisheries of Bangladesh.
BOBO/WP/94. 28 p.
Khan, M. G., M. Humayun, M. G. Mustafa, B. Mansura, S.C. Paul and M. N.U. Sada 1983.
Results from the 15th cruise (December 1983) of the R.V. Anushandhani to the demersal
fishing grounds of the northern Bay of Bengal (Bangladesh). 8 p. (mimeo.).
Krajangdara, T., R. Sujittosakul and M.J. Rahman 2008. Elasmobranches found in the Bay of
Bengal from pelagic longline and drift gill net fishing. p. 190-194. In: The Ecosystem-based
fishery management in the Bay of Bengal. BIMSTEC, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of
Fisheries and Cooperatives and SEAFDEC, Thailand. 250 p.
Laongmanee, P., S. Sornkrut, P. Naimee, M.J. Rahman, M.N. Sada, K.S.D. Chinthaka and M.
K.Sinha. 2008. Oceanographic condition of the Bay of Bengal during November-December
2007. p. 1-16. In: The Ecosystem-based fishery management in the Bay of Bengal.
118
BIMSTEC, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries and Cooperatives and SEAFDEC,
Thailand. 250 p.
Lamboeuf, M. 1987. Bangladesh demersal fish resources of the continental shelf. R.V.
Anushandhani trawling survey results (Sept. 1984-June 1986). Report prepared for the
FAO/UNDP project Strengthening of the National Programme for Marine Fish Resources
Management Research and development. FAO, Rome, 1987; Fl. DP/BGD/80/025, Field
document 1: 26 p. also consult – Lamboeuf, M. 1987. Bangladesh-Demersal Fish Resources
of the Continental Shelf. 86. Final Report. Vol.FAO, Rome. 26 p.
Lirdwitayaprasit, P., C. Nuangsang, P. Puewkhao, M.J. Rahman, U.A.H. Oo and U.A.W. Sien
2008. Composition, abundance and distribution of fish larvae in the Bay of Bengal. p. 93-124.
In: The Ecosystem-based fishery management in the Bay of Bengal. BIMSTEC, Department
of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries and Cooperatives and SEAFDEC, Thailand. 250 p.
Lleonart, J. 2002. Overview of stock assessment methods and their suitability to Mediterranean
fisheries. 5th session of the General Fisheries Council for the Mediterranean Scientific
Advisory Committee, 1-4 July 2002.
Mahmood, N. and M.Z.R. Chowdhury 2007. A study on Seasonal variation of micronutrients and
chlorophyll-a in the coastal waters of Bangladesh. J Remote Sensing Environ., 4: 38.
Mahmood, N., J.M. Chowdhury, M.M. Hossain and S.M.B. Haider 1994. A review of the state of
environment relating to marine fisheries of Bangladesh (ed. by Holmgren), Bay of Bengal
Programme (BOB) of the FAO.
Migdalski, E.C., G.S. Fichter and N. Weaver. 1989. The fresh and salt water fishes of the world.
Greenwich House, New York, USA, 316 p.
MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests). 2008. Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and
Action Plan 2008. Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoB, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 68 p.
MoEF (Ministry of Environment and Forests). 2004. Bangladesh: National Programme of Action
for Protection of the Coastal and Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities Prepared
by Department of Environment, Ministry of Environment and Forests, GoB in collaboration
With IUCN Bangladesh Country Office.
Mustafa, M.G. and P. Day 1994. The effect of environmental factors in the ecosystem of the Bay
of Bengal, Bangladesh. Paper presented in the 9th National Zoological Conference of the
Zoological Society of Bangladesh. 26-28 January, 1994. Suvenior Abstract no. 61.
Mustafa, M.G. and M.G. Khan 1992. Studies of interactive fisheries of Bangladesh. The bottom
trawl fishery. BOBP/WP/89. p. 89-106.
Myers, R.A., J.K. Baum, T.D. Shepherd, S.P. Powers and C.H. Peterson. 2007. Cascading effects
of the loss of apex predatory sharks from a coastal ocean. Science, 315: 1846-1850.
Penn, J.W. 1982. An assessment of potential yield from the off-shore demersal shrimp and fish
stock in Bangladesh water (including comments on the trawl fishery 1981-82). FE:
DP/BGD/81, 034, Field Doc. 22 pp. Fishery Advisory Service (Phase II) Project, FAO, Rome,
Italy.
Pingree, R.D. 1979. Baroclinic eddies bordering the Celteic sea in late summer. J. Mar. Biol.
Assoc., U.K. 59: 689-698.
119
Prasanna, K.S., P.M. Muraleedharan, T.G. Prasad, M. Gauns, N. Ramaiah, S.N. de Souza, S.
Sardesai and M. Madhupratap. 2002. Why is the Bay of Bengal less productive during
summer monsoon compared to the Arabian Sea? Geophys. Res. Lett. 29(24): 22-35.
Preston, G.L. 2004. Review of the status of shared/common marine living resource stocks and of
stock assessment capability in the BOBLME region. Sustainable Management of the Bay of
Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem (BOBLME). GCP/ RAS/ 179/ WBG. 97 p.
Promas, R., P. Naimee and N. Sukramongkol. 2008a. Distribution of nutrients in the Bay of
Bengal. p. 33-44. In: The ecosystem-based fishery management in the Bay of Bengal.
Thailand. 250 p.
Promas, R., P. Naimee, P. Laongmanee, N. Sukramongkol and N. Khumthong. 2008b.
Distribution of chlorophyll-a in the Bay of Bengal. p. 45-52. In: The ecosystem-based fishery
management in the Bay of Bengal. BIMSTEC, Department of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries
and Cooperatives and SEAFDEC, Thailand. 250 p.
Quader, O. 2011. Presentation on Ecosystem indicators of LME module primary productivity of
BOBLME project. Paper presented at the National Consultation on Ecosystem Indicators-
Bangladesh of BOBLME-Bangladesh Project held at Hotel Sea Crown, Cox’s Bazar from 8-9
January, 2012.
Rahman, M.J. 2012. Coastal and marine fisheries status of SAARC countries - Bangladesh. Key
note paper presented in a workshop of SAARC coastal countries marine fisheries status. 6
November, 2012, BARC, Dhaka.
Rahman, A.K. 2007. Marine fisheries management: possible options. Sub-editorial published in
‘The Daily Star’, 19 October 2007.
Rahman, M. 2001. The impact of shrimp trawling fisheries on living marine resources of
Bangladesh. In: Tropical shrimp fisheries and their impact on living resources. Shrimp
fisheries in Asia: Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines; in the Near East: Bahrain and
Iran; in Africa: Cameroon, Nigeria and the United Republic of Tanzania; in Latin America:
Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela’. FAO Fisheries Circular,
No. 974, FAO. 378 p.
Rahman, M.J. and M. Zaher 2006. Status and prospects of mackerel and tuna fishery in
Bangladesh. Bangladesh J. Fish. Res., 10(1): 85-92.
Rahman M.J., M.A. Mazid, M. Zaher and A.K.Y. Haroon. 2007. Catch compositions of marine
set-bag-net (MSBN) in Bangladesh waters. Bangladesh J. Zool. 35(1): 115-129.
Rashid, M.H. 2001. Report on the activities of the coastal and marine fisheries strengthening
project. Marine Fisheries Wing of the Department of Fisheries, Chittagong. 129 p.
Rashid, S.M.A. 1997. Country report on the marine turtles of Bangladesh. In: IUCN/SSC MTSG
Northern Indian Ocean Workshop. Bhubaneswar, India.
Saetre, R. 1981. Survey of the marine fish resources of Bangladesh, Nov.-Dec. 1979 and May
1980. Report on surveys in the R.V. Fridtjof Nansen, Institute of Marine Research, Bergen,
Norway. 67 p.
120
Sampath, V. 2003. National report on the status and development potential of the coastal and
marine environment of the east coast of India and its living resources. BOBLME, FAO GCP/
RAS/ 179/ WBG, Chennai, India.
Sattar, S.A. and R.C. Anderson. 2011. Report of the BOBLME Sharks Working Group. 5-7 July
2011, Male’, Maldives. BOBLME (Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem) Project.
BOBLME-Ecology-2011-15. 50 p.
SHED (Society for Environment and Human Development). 2002. Bangladesh Environment:
Facing the 21st Century, 340 p.
SICD Project (Strengthening Institutional Capacity of DoF Project). 2010. Training Module.
Marine fisheries management: Monitoring, control and surveillance. Strengthening
Institutional Capacity of DoF Project. ASPS-II: DoF-Danida, Department of Fisheries,
Matshya Bhaban, Dhaka. 128 p. (In Bangla)
Singh, O.P. and T.M.A. Khan 2001. Sea level changes along Bangladesh coast in relation to the
Southern Oscillation Phenomenon'. Marine Geodesy, 24:71-72.
SMRC (SARC Meteorological Research Center). 2000. Report no. 3. The vulnerability assessment
of the SAARC coastal region due to sea level rise: Bangladesh Case (SMRC-SARC
Meteorological Research Center).
Sompongchaiyakul, P., S. Chaichana, C. Bunluedaj and N. Sukramongkol. 2008. Comparison of
total phosphorus contents and total alkalinity in seawater of different area in the Bay of
Bengal. p. 17-32. In: The ecosystem-based fishery management in the Bay of Bengal.
Thailand. 250 p.
Tomascik, T. 1997. Management plan for coral resources of Narikel Jinjira (St. Martin's Island),
(Draft for Consideration, Feb., MoEF, UNDF, vol.182.
Uddin, S. and M.M.R. Khan. 2011. Marine fisheries resources and its management policies in the
Bay of Bengal. In: M.E. Hoq, A.K.Y. Haroon and M.G. Husain (eds). Ecosystem Health and
Management of Pollution in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Support to Sustainable
Management of the BOBLME Project, Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute. 57-68.
West, W.Q.B. 1973. Fishery resources of the upper Bay of Bengal. Indian Ocean Programme,
Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission, Rome, FAO, IOFC/DEV/73/28. 28 p.
White, T.F. and M.G. Khan 1985. The marine resources of Bangladesh and their potential for
commercial development. Key note paper. pp. 1-4. In: Proc. Nat. Seminar on Fisheries
Development in Bangladesh. BFDC, MoFL, Dhaka. January 1985.
121

Marine Fisheries of Bangladesh. Prospect & Potentialities

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Marine Fisheries of Bangladesh. Prospect & Potentialities

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Marine Fisheries of Bangladesh. Prospect & Potentialities

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Marine Fisheries of Bangladesh:

Prospect and Potentialities

Support to Sustainable Management of the BOBLME Project

Printed in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Cover design by Enamul Hoq

BFDC Bangladesh Fisheries Development Cooperation

Table1: Extent of EEZ and depth distribution of the continental shelf of 4

Depth zone (m) Area (km2)

Saint Martin’s Island

Ecologically Sensitive Areas (ESAs)

Table 2. Coastal and marine ecologically critical areas (ECAs) of Bangladesh

Name of the ECA Habitat Types Area (ha) Year of declaration

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Marine Managed Areas (MMAs)

Type Name Area (ha) Location

Table 4. Marine reserves of Bangladesh

Ground Distance from shore Geographical location Depth Total area

Hydro-morphology and meteorology

Primary productivity and nutrient

Ecosystem study of BIMSTEC indicated that a total of 135 phytoplankton species

i. R. V. Novara (1857-1859: Oceanographic and functional in nature), Austria

Immediately after independence Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation started

Fig. 2. Fishing grounds of the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh.

Type Shrimp trawler Mixed trawler Non-shrimp trawler

Table 6. Marine fish harvest by industrial fishing trawlers during 1999-2011

Shrimp Trawler Fish Trawler Squid jigger

Table 10. Present trawler fleets* engaged in fishing in the Bay

Permission source of license Shrimp trawler Fish trawler Total

Trawlers specification Shrimp trawlers Fish trawlers

Fishery/Gear Mesh size Depth of Target species/ group Level of water

Gear Mesh size (mm) Depth Type Water column

Historically traditional non-mechanized boats were the major fishing vessels in

Table 11. Fishing gears used in the coastal/marine waters of Bangladesh

Fishery/gears Target species/group Depth of operation (m)

District Fishermen ESBN Gillnet Push net SMD, Other

Fig. 4. Mean contribution of major fishing gears to

The marine capture fisheries of Bangladesh consist of complex, multi-species resources.

Year Demersal Pelagic Shrimps Reference

Shared fish stock of the BoB

Common name Scientific name Countries primarily concerned

Unsustainable resource use may be signaled by a number of indicators, including

Much of overfishing occurs as a result of increasing fishing pressure exerted by highly

Marine fisheries resources include 475 species of fin-fishes (including 70 species of

Most exploited fish Most exploited Un-exploited and Non-conventional

Catch composition of industrial trawlers

Fig. 6. Mean trawler catch composition (t) during 2005-06 to 2010-11

An artisanal small-scale fishery is a complex multi-species and multi-gear scenario which

Table 16. Relative abundance of family/groups of marine fishes of Bangladesh

Family/group Common name Relative abundance (%)

Table 17. Important species of fin-fishes that contribute about 75% of

Scientific Name English/common name Local/Bangla name

Family English/common name Depth strata (m)

Fig. 15. Average contribution (industrial and artisanal combined)

Table 20. Criteria used for fish stock classification

Stock classification Recent average catches in historical maximum (%)

The maximum landing of Bombay duck (Harpondon nehereus) 62,817 t was

Hilsa Bombay duck

Indian salmon Pomfret

Jew fish Catfish