Tapping the fisheries potential: Focus on marine resources

Bangladesh is a densely populated country with the size of 147,570 sq. km. and a population of 160 million people. It is fortunate in having extensive water resources in the form of ponds, natural depressions (haors and beels), lakes, canals, rivers and estuaries covering an area of 4.56 million hectares. Bangladesh is one of the world's leading inland fisheries producers. Bangladesh's total fish production for the year 2005 totalled 2.1 million tonnes.
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations in 2005 ranked Bangladesh as the sixth-largest aquaculture producing country, with its estimated production of 0.9 million tonnes in 2003. Aquaculture accounted for about 43.5 per cent of the total fish production during 2003-2004, with inland open-water fisheries contributing 34.8 per cent. It is also estimated that around 14,000 fishermen (2.5 fishers per hectare water body) are directly involved and 70,000 rural people are the direct beneficiaries of oxbow lake fisheries. The present per capita annual fish consumption in Bangladesh stands at about 14 kg/year against a recommended minimum requirement of 18 kg/year. Hence there is still need to improve fish production and consumption in the country. Fish for local consumption are generally of freshwater varieties.
Fisheries in Bangladesh are diverse. There are about 795 native species of fish and shrimp in the fresh and marine waters of the country, and 12 exotic species that have been introduced. In addition, there are 10 species of pearl-bearing bivalves, 12 species of edible tortoise and turtle, 15 species of crabs and 3 species of lobsters.
Fisheries and aquaculture play a major role in nutrition, employment and foreign exchange earnings with about 12 million people associated with the fisheries sector, of which 1.4 million people rely exclusively on fisheries-related activities. An estimated 9.5 million people - 73 per cent - are involved in subsistence fisheries on the country's floodplains. The number of fishermen increases dramatically to 11 million between June and October each year. There are 3.08 million fish farmers, 1.28 million inland fishermen and 0.45 million fry collectors - fish and shrimp - in Bangladesh. It is estimated that fisheries and related activities support more than 7.0 per cent of the country's population. Currently, more than 0.6 million people are engaged in shrimp farming.
SHRIMP FARMING: As of the end of 1987, the prevailing methods for culturing shrimp in Bangladesh were still relatively unsophisticated, and average yields per hectare were low. In the late 1980s, almost all inland 'shrimping' was done by 'capture' rather than by intensive aquaculture. Farmers relied primarily on wild post-larval and juvenile shrimps as their sources of stock, acquired either by trapping in ponds during tidal water exchange or by gathering from local estuaries and stocking them directly in the ponds. Despite the seemingly low level of technology, shrimp aquaculture became an increasingly important part of the frozen seafood industry in the mid-1980s. But the shrimp farming industry has been handicapped by low quality and low prices.
The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank financed projects to develop shrimp culture in the 1980s. Much of the emphasis was on construction of modern hatcheries. Private investors were also initiating similar projects to increase capacity and to introduce modern technology that would raise average yields. The FAO has provided assistance to the shrimp and fishing industry in meeting fish safety and quality control standards based on the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) approach.
Shrimps in the wild are associated with mangrove. Mangrove estuaries such as those located in the Sundarbans are especially comprised of productive ecosystems and provide the spawning grounds for shrimp and fish. Intensive shrimp farming often involves conversion of mangrove stands to brine ponds where shrimps are grown. The shrimp and fish industry in Bangladesh generated around US$ 600 million - US$ 598.42 million during 2011-2012 - in export earning annually. Total production of shrimp and fish has achieved 3.1 million tonnes in the year 2010-2011. The sector employs over 5.5 million people including fishermen, shrimp and fish farmers.  It is the second-largest export industry in Bangladesh and produces 2.5 per cent of the global production of shrimps.  The industry had the participation of 2.73 per cent in the total export income of the country during the year 2011.  Besides, the contribution to GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was 4.43 per cent in 2011 and to the agriculture sector was 22.21 per cent in the same year.
Despite these impressive figures, the industry suffers from serious production inefficiencies and is exposed to various social and environmental risks. Bangladesh has so far realised only a fraction of its production potential. The industry urgently needs to prepare for and respond to emerging global needs in respect of food safety, environmental sustainability and social issues. A sustainable increase in export earnings from shrimp and other fisheries and the associated social and economic development are possible, but this may prove to be difficult to achieve because the sector is highly fragmented, and is not adequately organised to meet the requirements as situations demand. The industry requires a number of technological advancements to be made together with a greater understanding and dialogue in environmental and social aspects. Recent efforts to assess the economic, social and environmental impacts of the shrimp industry have greatly improved understanding of the sector, but much of this work is being carried out on a piecemeal basis with insufficient coordination. The sector is a dynamic and important part of Bangladesh economy. The knowledge gathering needs to be planned, coordinated and updated on a timely basis building on previous knowledge and learning.
INCREASING AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION: Fisheries and aquaculture in Bangladesh play a major role in reducing protein deficiency and malnutrition, in generating employment and foreign exchange earnings. Over the last decade, the price of fish has increased at an annual rate of 2.5 per cent. Following full implementation of improved technologies and better utilisation of water bodies, it is estimated that aquaculture production could be increased by about 150 per cent over the next five years.
The following issues require to be addressed by the government in the future: (i) bringing all available water bodies under modern fish culture regimes; (ii) generating increased employment opportunities in fisheries and allied industries; (iii) conserving fisheries resources and species biodiversity; (iv) developing fish landing and marketing systems; (v) establishing institutional frameworks to ensure research findings are made available to the relevant people; (vi) providing an adequate provision for financial assistance to fish and shrimp farmers, and (vii) increasing and sustaining fish production for both domestic consumption and export.
Moreover, with the expansion of aquaculture, checking environmental degradation, biodiversity preservation and the control of the outbreak of diseases, especially in the coastal farming operation, have become major issues. Shrimp post larvae (PL) collectors have been found to destroy nearly 100 species of flora and fauna while collecting post-larvae of Penaeus monodon (the giant tiger prawn or Asian tiger shrimp). Moreover, the destruction of the mangrove forest for coastal shrimp culture and the spread of viral diseases in semi-intensive farms have also become serious issues of concern. For inland aquaculture, habitat destruction, the use of insecticides and the introduction of diseases like Epizootic Ulcerative Syndrome (EUS) have also become causes of concern.
Bangladesh being a 'first-line littoral country' of the Indian Ocean has a very good source of marine resources in the Bay of Bengal. The country now has a large exclusive economic zone. On the other hand, the country is a small and developing one overloaded with an almost unbearable pressure of human population. In the past, people of Bangladesh were mostly dependent on land-based proteins. But the continuous process of expanding human settlements and industrialisation has eaten up the country's limited land area. Now there is no alternative to harvesting the vast underwater protein sources from the Bay of Bengal, which can meet the country's present demand.
The writer is a retired Professor              of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre.                                     [email protected]