Bangladesh is a densely populated country of 147 570 km2 with a population of 160 million people. It is fortunate in having an extensive water resource in the form of ponds, natural depressions (haors and beels ), lakes, canals, rivers and estuaries covering an area of 47,03,658 ha . 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 consumption in the country. Fisheries in Bangladesh are diverse, there are about 795 native species of fish and shrimp in the fresh and marine waters of Bangladesh 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 crab and 3 species of lobster.

1. Bangladesh is a densely populated country of 147 570 km2
with a population of 160
million people. It is fortunate in having an extensive water resource in the form of ponds,
natural depressions (haors and beels ), lakes, canals, rivers and estuaries covering an area
of 47,03,658 ha .
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 consumption in the country.
Fisheries in Bangladesh are diverse, there are about 795 native species of fish and shrimp
in the fresh and marine waters of Bangladesh 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 crab and 3 species of lobster.
History and general overview:
The origin and development of Fisheries in Bangladesh are not well documented;
historically the country's natural water bodies were stocked during the monsoon season
through natural spawning. Fish farming had been a traditional practice dating back
several centuries to when the country was ruled by Hindu kings
It was one Dr. Nazir Ahmed (1947–1960), the then Director of Fisheries in East Pakistan
who laid the formal foundation for fish culture in ponds and lakes within Bangladesh. Dr.
Ahmed worked keenly on the development of large scale carp culture in ponds and lakes
and by the late sixties and early seventies some progress had been made in this area. In
the late sixties Ali (1967) successfully carried out induced breeding of Indian major carp
species using carp pituitary gland extracts, over the last few decades, however, natural
breeding grounds and fish habitats in Bangladesh have been degraded considerably by the
development of flood control measures which, as a consequence, have resulted in a
decline in natural fish production. As a result government, NGOs and private
entrepreneurs have come forward to develop improved fish culture techniques especially
in ponds and lakes.
On the basis of habitat you can classify two types of aquaculture being carried out in
Bangladesh; freshwater and coastal aquaculture; there is no marine aquaculture
production currently. Freshwater aquaculture comprises mainly pond aquaculture
especially the polyculture of both native and exotic species; on the other hand, coastal
aquaculture is comprised mainly of shrimp farming.
In Bangladesh, aquaculture production systems are mainly extensive and extended
extensive, with some semi-intensive and in very few cases intensive systems
Table : Comparison of the profitability between different types of aquaculture
production systems in Bangladesh (ICLARM, 2002)

2. –
Annual
yield(kg/ha)
Operating
cost(US$/ha)
Net
profit(US$/ha)
Carp polyculture 4 000 1 840 2 241
Tilapia monoculture 4 050 453 1 420
Integrated rice-fish
culture
1 440 453 400
Feed and labor comprise the two most important components of the total operating cost
for most culture systems in Bangladesh, each accounting for approximately 20 percent
and 17 percent, respectively of the total operating costs.
The species cultured in the coastal regions of Bangladesh include mainly tiger prawn but
also prawn, brown shrimp, white shrimp, mud crab, giant sea perch and yellow tail
mullet.
Human resource:
Fisheries and aquaculture play a major role in nutrition, employment and foreign
exchange earnings with about 12 million people are associated with the fisheries sector,
of which 1.4 million people rely exclusively on fisheries related activities. There are 3.08
million fish farmers, 1.28 million inland fishermen and 0.45 million fry collectors (fish
and shrimp) in Bangladesh (DOF, 2003) and it is estimated that fisheries and related
activities support more than 7 percent of the country's population.
Currently, more than 600 000 people are engaged in shrimp farming activities (Karim,
2003), it is also estimated that around 14 000 fishermen (2.5 fishers per ha water body)
are directly involved and 70 000 rural people are the direct beneficiaries of oxbow lake
fisheries .
Farming system distribution and characteristics:
Table : Freshwater pond farming systems as defined in the context of Bangladesh
Farming
systems
Farming practices
a) Extensive
Stocking mainly with the three Indian major carp species, no fertilisation
and feeding.
b)
Extended
extensive
Stocking mainly with the three Indian major and three exotic (silver,
common and grass) carps, irregular use of fertilisation (mostly cow dung)
but without feeding. Silver barb is also occasionally stocked.
c)
Semi-
intensive
 Stage 1: Stocking mainly with the three Indian major and three exotic
carps. Regular use of fertilizer with occasional use of low quality
supplemental feed consisting of rice bran and oil cakes. Silver barb is
generally stocked and also freshwater prawn and Nile tilapia.
 Stage 2: Stocking mainly with the three Indian major and three exotic
carps. Regular use of fertilizer and supplemental feed. Silver barb is
generally stocked and also freshwater prawn and Nile tilapia and
striped catfish.
 Stage 3: Monoculture of striped catfish. Regular feeding with rice
bran/wheat bran/oil cakes and/or commercially manufactured

3. pelleted diet.
d) Intensive
Monoculture of striped catfish. Regular feeding with commercially
manufactured pelleted diet.
Pond aquaculture:
There are an estimated 1.3 million fish ponds in the country, covering an area of 0.151
million ha, of which 55.30 percent is cultured, 28.52 percent is culturable and 16.18
percent is unused. In 2002 the percentage of production from the above three systems
was 72.09, 20.01 and 7.90 respectively (BBS, 2002). In Bangladesh, the highest number
of ponds exists in the Barisal district (12.11percent), followed by Comilla (9.36 percent),
Sylhet (9.10 percent), Chittagong (8.02 percent) and Noakhali (7.75 percent) (BBS,
2002).
. The polyculture of major and exotic carps and monoculture of striped catfish (Pangasius
hypophthalmus ), Nile tilapia and Java barb (Barbonymus gonionotus ) and to some
extent catfish (Clarias batrachus ) are the most widely practiced culture system in
Bangladesh. Three Indian major carps namely, Labeo rohita , Catla catla and Cirrhinus
mrigala and one exotic carp, Hypophthalmichthys molitrix now account for more than 78
percent of total pond production .
Shrimp farming:
Shrimp farming in the south and southeastern coastal belt of Bangladesh began in the
early 1970s. From less than 20 000 ha of brackishwater ponds in 1980, the area under
cultivation expanded to approximately 140 000 ha by 1995 .DoF (2005) estimated that
the total area under farming has expanded to 203 071 ha in 2003–2004. The major shrimp
producing districts are Bagerhat, Satkhira, Pirojpur, Khulan, Cox's Bazar and Chittagong,
recently farmers especially in the Bagerhat and Pirojpur districts have begun shrimp
farming in their paddy fields. Traditionally shrimp farming began by trapping tidal waters
in nearby coastal enclosures known as 'gher' where no feed, fertilizers or other inputs
were applied.
Semi intensive farming began in 1993 in the Cox's Bazar region, with this system ponds
were stocked with 10–35 post larvae (PL)/m2
using supplemental pellet feed but without
reservoir tanks
Fish culture in cages:
Cage culture was introduced into Bangladesh in the late 1970s on an experimental basis,
a series of experiments were conducted at the Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU)
which demonstrated the potential of cage aquaculture. The Department of Fisheries
conducted a cage culture project in Kaptai lake during 1985–86 achieving a production of
6 900 tonnes of fish (Hasan, 1990). CARE, an international NGO, initiated a project at
the end of 1995 until 2000, supported by the Department for International Development
(DFID) named Cage Aquaculture for Greater Economic Security (CAGES).

4. Integrated fish farming:
The integration of aquaculture with duck and chicken production was begun
experimentally at the BFRI, Mymensingh producing some promising results. The project
demonstrated that 500 khaki Campbell ducks can be profitably raised on a 1 ha carp pond
while also producing 4.5 tonnes/ha of fish without any additional need for supplementary
feed or fertiliser for the fish. The most promising integrated farming in Bangladesh is rice
fish culture.
Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture(IMTA): provides the by-products,
including waste, from one aquatic species as inputs(fertilizer)for another. In
Bangladesh , First developed this design by Dr. M. Mahfujul Haque,
Department of Aquaculture, Bangladesh Agricultural
University,Mymensingh,2202.
Indian Carp and stinging catfish are cultured in Bangladesh, but the methods
could be more productive. The pond and cage cultures used are based only on
the fish. They don't take advantage of the productivity increases that could take
place if other tropic levels were included. Expensive artificial feeds are used,
partly to supply the fish with protein. These costs could be reduced if freshwater
snails, such as Viviparus bengalensis, were simultaneously cultured, thus
increasing the available protein. The organic and inorganic wastes produced as a
byproduct of culturing could also be minimized by integrating freshwater snail
and aquatic plants, such as water spinach, respectively.
Figure : Off-bottom snail grown on bamboo split in IMTA

5. Fish culture in ox-bow lakes
The most successful example of culture based fisheries has been accomplished in oxbow
lakes located in Southwest Bangladesh (Hasan and Middendrop, 1998, Hasan, 2001a).
There are approximately 600 oxbow lakes in Bangladesh with an estimated water area of
5 488 ha (DoF, 2003). Most of these oxbow lakes are located in five districts of
southwest Bangladesh (Khulna division: Jessore, Jhinaidah, Chuadanga and Kushtia
districts and Dhaka division: Faridpur district).
Fish farming in Kaptai Lake
The Kaptai Lake was created in 1961 by damming the river Karnaphuli at Kaptai in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts. It covers an area of approximately 68 800 ha, initially the lake
operated a capture only fishery, however, a regular stocking program of about 35 tonnes
of carp juveniles per annum is now carried out as a part of a fisheries management
program. The species used for stocking are the three major carps and exotic carps (silver,
grass and common carps) . The lake also contains 76 other freshwater fish species, of
which 68 are indigenous and the rest are exotic, in addition, there are also a few species
of freshwater prawn.
Cultured Species:
A total of 260 fish species have been recorded in the freshwaters of Bangladesh
(Rahman, 1989) of these it is estimated that about 200 species are truly freshwater while
the rest are examples of estuarine and marine species.
Practices /System of Culture:
Traditional methods of fish culture in ponds do not use inputs or at least only minimal
inputs through the natural recruitment of young fish. Polyculture of native and exotic
carps is a popular technology used by many farmers throughout the country, in such
systems pond preparation, species selection, stocking density, the application of feed,
fertilizers, water exchange and proper husbandry are generally maintained.
In general fish culture in Bangladesh is characterized by the use of both extensive and
semi-intensive systems.
Production:

6. Contribution of the economy:
The fisheries sector is currently contributing 3.8 percent of the GDP. Fish
provide 55 percent of animal protein intake in Bangladesh.
(Source: www.fao.org)

7. The institutional framework:
The following institutional bodies are involved in aquaculture and fisheries in
Bangladesh:
1.The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL), 2.Department of Fisheries (DoF),3.
Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) and 4. the Bangladesh Fisheries
Research Institute (BFRI) are the main organizations responsible for aquaculture and its
development.
The country's universities are responsible for higher level fisheries education.
 1. Faculty of Fisheries , Bangladesh Agricultural University ,mymensingh.
 2.Department of Fisheries ,University of Dhaka, Dhaka
 3.Faculty of Fisheries, Hajee Mohammad Danesh science and Technology
,Dinajpur.
 4. Fisheries and Marine Resource Technology discipline ,Khulna University,
Khulna.
 5. Faculty of Fisheries, Sylhet Agricultural University ,Sylhet.
 6. Institute of Marine Science and Fisheries , University of Chittagong ,Chittagong.
 7. Bangladesh Marine Fisheries Academy, Chittagong.
 8. Faculty of Fisheries ,Bangabandhu sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural
University, Salna, Gazipur
 9. Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Jessore University of Science and
Technology, Jessore.
 10. Department of Fisheries and Marine Science ,Noakhali Science and Technology
University, Noakhali.
 11. Faculty of Fisheries , Patuakhali Science and Technology University,Patuakhali.
 12. Sheikh Fajilatunnesa Mujib Fisheries College, Jamalpur.
 Bangladesh Krishi (Agriculture) Bank, Bangladesh Samabay (Co-operative) Bank
and some other commercial banks are responsible for issuing credit to the
aquaculture sector.
 Many of the national and international NGO's provides credits to the fish farmers
and as well as takes up projects for aquaculture extension and development.
 International organizations (DFID, Danida, NORAD, JICA, World Bank, IMF,
ADB etc.) provide grants and credits for aquaculture development.
 Youth Development Training Centers, under the Ministry of Youth, deals with
extension and the training of unemployed young people and fish farmers.
The governing regulation:
The basic act regulating inland fisheries is the Protection and Conservation of Fish Act
(1950) , as amended by the Protection and Conservation (Amendment) Ordinance
(1982) and implemented by the Protection and Conservation of Fish Rules (1985) .
The Marine Fisheries Ordinance (1983) , as implemented by the Marine Fisheries Rules
(1983) , is the basic act regulating marine fisheries
Other legislation that is relevant to aquaculture includes the Tanks Improvement Act
(1939) , which provides for the improvement of tanks for irrigation and aquaculture
purposes. The Shrimp Culture Users Tax Ordinance (1992) stipulates that shrimp
cultivation areas developed by the government by construction of embankments,
excavation of canals or other water management structures shall be liable to payment of

8. tax.Development Corporation (BFDC), established under the Bangladesh Fisheries
Development Corporation Act (1973) , supports DoF in developing the fishing industry.
Applied research , education and training:
Formal fisheries education and research first began at the Faculty of Fisheries,
Bangladesh Agricultural University in Mymensingh in 1967, the faculty offers B.Sc.
Fisheries (eight semesters), M.Sc. (three semesters) and Ph.D. degrees in various
specialized areas of fisheries and aquaculture.
Recent Major project Activities of Faculty of Fisheries, BAU:
Name of the PI
Title of the Project
1. Enhancement of maturation for spontaneous spawning
fatty
acid
Prof. Dr. Md. Fazul Awal
Mollah
Dept. of Fisheries Biology & Genetics
2. Rui genetics-BAU-worldfish-BFRI Prof. Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam
Sarder
Dept. of Fisheries Biology &
Genetics
3. Conservation of three indigenous endangered fish species
Tengra (Mystus vittatus), Gulsha (Mystus cavasius)
and
Bata (Labeo bata) through cryopreservation of sperm
Prof. Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam
Sarder
Dept. of Fisheries Biology &
Genetics
4. nfluence of chemicals and drugs on microbial flora used Prof. Dr. Md. Ali Reza
Farukindiscriminately in aquaculture Dept. of Aquaculture
5. Histological study of gamesomeness in riverine and marine Prof. Dr. Harunnur Rashid
populations of Tenualosa ilisha in Bangladesh Dept. of Fisheries
Management
6. Utilization of Pangus, Tilapia and other fish processing Prof. Dr. A K M Nowsad Alam
wastes into value-added products Dept. of Fisheries Technology
Source: Annual Workshop On BAU RESEARCH PROGRESS 2014-15
Later, the Institute of Marine Science was established at Chittagong University in 1973,
followed by the Fisheries and Marine Science discipline in Khulna University in 1991,
the Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries at Dhaka University in 1998 and the
Department of Aquaculture at Rajshahi University in 2000 for fisheries education and
research.
The Bangladesh Agricultural University offers training to the Government and NGO
fisheries officers through its Graduate Training Institute, other institutes offering fisheries
education and training are the Marine Fisheries Academy, Chittagong which offers 1–2
year diploma courses, the Fisheries Training Academy at Savar, Dhaka, the Fisheries
Training Institute, Chandpur, offers 1–3 months training.