http://www.fao.org/fishery/en Presentation given by Mr Árni Mathiesen, ADG-FI at the 'International Workshop on Blue Economy' on 1-2 September 2014 in Dhaka, Bangladesh © FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. International Workshop on Blue Economy
Dhaka, Bangladesh
1-2 September 2014
Fisheries and Aquaculture in Bangladesh
and potential cooperation with FAO
http://www.fao.org/fishery/en
http://www.slideshare.net/FAOoftheUN/fisheries-and-aquaculture-in-bangladesh-and-potential-
cooperation-with-fao
Árni M. Mathiesen
Assistant Director-General
Fisheries and Aquaculture Department, FAO
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2. Importance of Fisheries and Aquaculture
in the World
• A major sector for food security and nutrition
– Producing 158 million tons of fish in 2012
– Providing 16.7% of animal protein intakes
• Providing job opportunities for 58 million
people, 0.9% of the world population
• Supporting livelihoods of 10-12% of the world
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population
• The most traded agricultural commodity with
a global export value of USD129.8 billion in
2011
• An integral part of the culture and life of local
people

3. The Great Importance of Fisheries and
Aquaculture in Bangladesh
• A major source of food and nutrition
– Producing 3.3 million tons of food fish in 2012
– Providing 56% of animal protein intakes (16.7%
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world average)
• Contributing 4.6% of its national GDP
• Supporting the livelihoods of 13 million people
• Producing 5.1% of the country’s foreign exchange
earnings
• To many, fish and fisheries are their tradition and a
integral part of life
• Rich water resource – one ha water area per 20
persons (one of the highest in the world)

4. Fisheries and Aquaculture in Bangladesh
2
1.5
1
0.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
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• Total production at 3.3 million
tons in 2012
• Capture fishery and
aquaculture were neck and
neck in 2012
• Capture fishery had a
significant drop in production
over last few years
• Aquaculture experienced a
rapid development since 1992,
increasing by ~5 times
• Inland waters always produced
more than marine waters, 3.5
times in 2012
0
1950 1970 1990 2010
Production (million t)
Aquaculture Capture fishery
0
1950 1970 1990 2010
Production (million t)
Inland waters Marine areas

5. The Need and Potential to Strengthen Fisheries
and Aquaculture in Bangladesh
• The needs
 Erasing poverty (listed as a LIFD country in 2014)
 Increasing food security (17% of the population are
undernourished, 5% higher than world average, FAO 2014)
 Fish is a major source of animal protein (56% -
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more than 3 times the world average)
 Overfishing and environmental pressure from
aquaculture
• The potential
 Rich fresh water resource with many large rivers
 The momentum of the fast increasing
aquaculture (by 160% over last decade)
 Sustainably managing wild fisheries & aquaculture

6. FAO’s Role in Fisheries and Aquaculture at
Various Levels
• A major driver for international instruments and norms: UNCLOS,
UN Fish Stocks Agreement, FAO Code of Conduct, Port State Agreement, etc.
• Providing technical support and policy guidance to IGOs and
member States on issues related to fisheries and aquaculture
• Global monitoring on fisheries, aquaculture, fishing industry,
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and international trade
• Implementing regional field projects: Nansen project, the GEF-ABNJ
project, the Bay of Bengal LME project, Canary Current LME project, etc.
• Working with States on a whole range of issues in fisheries and
aquaculture through its network and technical cooperation
projects

7. FAO’s Blue Growth Initiative
The Global Initiative is to support:
• Food Security,
• Poverty Alleviation, and
• Sustainable Management of Aquatic Resources
Its basic principles:
• Sustainable production
• Protection of biodiversity and ecosystems
• Efficient use of resources and energy
• Harmonization of social and economic development
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with the environment

8. FAO’s Blue Growth Initiative: 4 Paths
• Capture fisheries
• Aquaculture
• Ecosystem services contributing
to livelihoods and economy
• Trade/markets/post harvest and
social support
Countries for pilot implementation
Indonesia, Morocco, Algeria, Bangladesh + +
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9. What has FAO been doing in Bangladesh and
the Region?
• The RV Dr. Fridtjof Nansen surveyed Myanmar and
Bangladesh waters in 1979 and 1980
• Another survey was done in Myanmar waters
November-December 2013 (Myanmar requested in
2014 another survey in near future)
• The Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystem Project,
funded by GEF (USD 31 million over 5 years)
• Community-based Climate Resilient Fisheries &
Aquaculture Development in Bangladesh, PIF
accepted by GEF (USD 5.4 million)
• Country specific projects such as “Support to Safety
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at Sea for Small-scale Fisheries”
• Aquaculture feed/broodstock/quality analysis

10. Areas for Potential Cooperation with FAO
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• Capture fisheries
– Rebuilding overfished stocks
– Stopping IUU fishing
– Reducing post-harvest losses
– Increasing added values along the value chain
• Aquaculture
– High production technics
– Disease control and prevention
– Development of new feeds/quality assurance
– Genetic diversity issues
• Climate change
– Strengthening knowledge and awareness of adverse impacts
– Enhancing local adaptive capacity to climate change
– Promotion of best practices through lessons learned,
monitoring and evaluation.

11. WWW.FAO.ORG 11

12. WWW.FAO.ORG 12

13. Will address:
• Declining fish availability
• Changing species composition
• Too many juvenile fish in catches
• Changes in marine biodiversity
• Loss and degradation of mangrove, seagrass and
coral reef
• Sewage entering coastal waters
• Marine litter
• Increasing nutrients levels in coast al waters
• Poor living and working conditions of fishing
communities
• Ability of coastal communities to participate and
benefit from sustainable development practices
• Vulnerability of coastal communities to natural
hazards and climate change
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14. WWW.FAO.ORG 14

15. The SAP will strengthen:
• Institutional arrangements, legal
and policy reforms
• Management capacity
• Knowledge, awareness and
communication
• Human capacity development
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16. FAO role/leadership Fisheries:
• Safety at Sea and other labour
aspects of fishing
• Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries
• Marine Protected Area management
• Promoting the Small Scale Fisheries
Guidelines
• National plans of actions: IUU,
sharks, others.
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17. Total allowable
catch or
Equivalent
decision
Enforcement &
Compliance
Pentagram 1:
Fisheries Governance
Fisheries Management
Catch statistics,
Fleet information
TAC-setting
Rules
Stock
Assessment
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18. Pentagram 2:
Fisheries Value
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Post-harvest
Transport & Storage
Distribution
Marketing
Harvest Consumption

19. THANK YOU!
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