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DRAFT
THE FUTURE FOR FISHERIES
Findings and recommendations
from the
Fisheries Sector Review
and Future Developments
Study
April 2003
Dhaka
Bangladesh
CONTENT
ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATION ........................................................................................................ II
GLOSSARY ........................................................................................................................................ III
PREFACE: ..........................................................................................................................................IV
THE FUTURE FOR FISHERIES .......................................................................................................... 1
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES ............................................................................................. 3
FISHERY SECTOR REVIEW AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS (FSRFD) RECOMMENDATIONS
............................................................................................................................................................ 11
ROAD MAP ........................................................................................................................................ 14
AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT PERFORMANCE ............................................................................ 19
LIVELIHOODS ................................................................................................................................... 28
ENVIRONMENT ................................................................................................................................. 36
LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK ................................................................................... 41
POLICY FRAMEWORK ..................................................................................................................... 47
INSTITUTIONS ................................................................................................................................... 53
APPENDIX-1: GOB POLICY DOCUMENTS OF RELEVANCE TO
THE FISHERY SUB-SECTOR ........................................................................................................... 65
i
ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATION
ADB
BAU
BBS
BFDC
BFRI
BIDS
BADS
BWDB
CBD
CBFM
CBM
CBOs
CCRF
CEGIS
CPR
CSO
DAE
Danida
DFID
DoE
DOF
ECA
ECNEC
EIA
ESBN
EU
FAO
FDEC
FRSS
FSRFD
FTE
FTEP
FYP
FFYP
GDP
GEF
GIS
GNAEP
GoB
HACCP
HES
ICLARM
IPM
IUCN
LDC
LGED
MACH
MAEP
MoA
MoCA&T
MoEF
MoEP&MR
MoFL
MoI
MoL
MoLGRD&C
Asian Development Bank
Bangladesh Agricultural University
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics
Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation
Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (also abbreviated FRI)
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies
Bangladesh Aquaculture Development Society
Bangladesh Water Development Board
Conservation for Biological Diversity
Community Based Fisheries Management
Community Based Management
Community Based Organization
Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries
Centre for Environmental and Geographical Information System
Common Property Resources
Civil Society Organization
Department of Agricultural Extension
Danish International Development Assistance
Department for International Development
Department of Environment
Department of Fisheries
Environment Conservation Act
Executive Committee for the National Economic Council
Environmental Impact Assessment
Estuarine Set Bag Net
European Union
Food and Agriculture Organisation
Fisheries Development Executive Committee
Fisheries Resource Survey System
Fisheries Sector Review and Future Developments
Full Time Employment
Fisheries Training and Extension Project
Five-Year Plan
Fifth Five-Year Plan
Gross Domestic Product
Global Environment Facility
Geographical Information System
Greater Noakhali Aquaculture Extension Project
Government of Bangladesh
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point
Household Economic Survey
International Centre for Living Aquatic Resources (now known as the WorldFish
Centre)
Integrated Pest Management
International Union for Conservation of Nature
Low-income Developing Country
Local Government Engineering Department
Management of Aquatic Ecosystems through Community Husbandry
Mymensingh Aquaculture Extension Project
Ministry of Agriculture
Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism
Ministry of Environment and Forest
Ministry of Energy, Power and Mineral Resources
Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock
Ministry of Industries
Ministry of Land
Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives
ii
MoS
MoWR
MSY
NCSFA
NFA
NFEP
NFMP
NFP
NGO
NRMC
NWMC
PBAEP
PL
PRSP
PS
SPF
SUFER
SOE
SWOT
ToR
UNESCO
UP
USAID
WARPO
WB
WTO
Ministry of Shipping
Ministry of Water Resources
Maximum Sustainable Yield
National Committee for Shrimp and Fish Affairs
National Fishermen’s Association
Northwest Fisheries Extension Project
New Fisheries Management Policy
National Fisheries Policy
Non government organisation
Natural Resources Management Council
Nation Water Management Council
Patuakhali Barguna Aquaculture Extension Project
Post Larvae
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (also abbreviated iPRSP)
Private Sector
Specific Pathogen free
Support for University Fisheries Extension and Research
State-owned Enterprises
Strengths Weakness Opportunities Threats
Terms of Reference
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Union Parishad
United States Agency for International Development
Water Resources Planning Organization
World Bank
World Trade Organization
GLOSSARY
Aratdars
Baor
Beel
Char
Dighi
Ghat
Gher
Haor
Hapa
Jal
Jalmohal
Jola
Kua
Khas
M
mt
Polder
Parishad
Tk.
Upazila
USD
yr
Zila
$
Middleman
Oxbow lake
Deepest part of the floodplain, often with permanent area of water
Newly formed island or a point bar formed in a river
Big pond
Boat landing place
Area of land enclosed by dikes for shrimp culture
Deeply flooded saucer shaped depression in the northeast region of Bangladesh
Holding net usually used for fish fry
Net
Fishery leased out by government for revenue
Waterbody
A ditch or pond dug in a floodplain area to concentrate fish as the water level falls
(also known as pagar)
Government Land
Million
Metric tonnes
Land enclosed by an embankment
Council
Taka – Bangladeshi currency (equivalent to US$ 58 at time of review)
Sub-district
United States Dollar
Year
District
United States Dollar
iii
Preface:
The fisheries of Bangladesh represent a remarkable natural resource, with an intimate connection
with the life and well-being of the country and its people. Though subject to a range of natural and
human-induced change, and threatened in many ways by the demands of Bangladesh’s growing
population and economy, the resource has proved to be surprisingly resilient, and through the
tremendous growth of aquaculture in inland and coastal areas, a major success in national strategy,
has succeeded in maintaining vital contributions to food supply, income and employment.
Nonetheless, the challenges ahead, at every turn, are great. To maintain and extend benefits,
particularly in meeting the needs of the tens of millions of poor people for whom fisheries are an
essential livelihood issue, will require a clear vision, resolute national commitment, and the
engagement of ever greater levels of skills and knowledge. It will also require investment – in public
and private sectors, in facilities, services, and in human capital. Together with its development
partners, and with an effective and practical strategy for management and development of the
sector, Bangladesh and its people have significant opportunities to realise.
It has been both a challenge and a privilege to carry out the background review of the sector. With a
team of national and international specialists, we have sought to assess recent developments and
current trends, and through a series of site and project visits, and a range of meetings and
discussion groups with fisheries stakeholders, to explore future directions. We would like to
acknowledge the widespread interest and support for the work, and the generous response in time
and expertise from those concerned. We would like also to thank the Ministry of Fisheries and
Livestock and the Department of Fisheries and their staff for their co-operation, and other agencies
associated with the sector for their active interest and involvement. We are now pleased to offer for
wide consultation and response our perspectives and recommendations.
Dhaka
April 2003
iv
The Future for Fisheries
Almost every person in Bangladesh has a
connection with the country’s fisheries
resources, whether catching or producing
fish, supplying markets or services, or as a
consumer. A growing export sector is also
contributing substantially to the national
economy. This review sets out to provide a
strategy for fisheries, to enable priorities to be
established, and to explain how investment
can be placed to best effect.
Why is this important? Around one million
people are estimated to fish full time, and 11
million are involved part time – and four out of
every five rural dwellers are dependent to
some extent on aquatic resources. These
resources, from both capture fisheries and
aquaculture are estimated to supply between
60% and 80% of the animal protein needs of
the country, as well as being a key source of
essential minerals, vitamins and fatty acids,
vital factors in child development and adult
health.
A STRATEGY IS ESSENTIAL
In whatever category of association, whether
in rural or urban areas, the people of
Bangladesh, their social and political
groupings, and their national agencies, have
a direct interest in the health and productivity
of the country’s aquatic resources, and the
potential for continued delivery of food,
income and employment.
However, with a large and growing
population, a steadily urbanising and
industrialising
economy,
and
growing
pressures on the national resource base and
its capacity for food production and
ecosystem support, there is every reason for
concern for the fishery sector. There must be
further concern for the many millions of the
poorest people in Bangladesh, many of who
have essential livelihood dependence on
fisheries. These groups may be increasingly
vulnerable to both the potential threats to the
resource itself, and to growing trends for
control of resources and the movement of
aquatic products to formal markets.
THE FUTURE CAN BE POSITIVE
These are very real challenges, and there is a
clear possibility for declining output and
negative economic and social impacts.
However, with well considered strategies,
good
management
and
well-targeted
investment, the outlook for the fisheries sector
over the next decade can be very positive.
Linked in turn with initiatives and mechanisms
which recognise the needs and potential
opportunities of poorer groups, there is also a
Picture box 1– harvest or market?
very real prospect of harnessing the sector’s
potential for wider social and economic
development.
BUT IT NEEDS TO BE WELL GUIDED
The coming period will be one of substantial
social, cultural, economic and environmental
change, in Bangladesh as elsewhere in the
world. For fisheries and aquatic resources, as
in other sectors, new perspectives will be
required, new understanding will arise and
develop, and new approaches will be needed.
Strong drivers from private sector growth and
competition may deliver greatly increased
output and income, greater resource
efficiency and lower real prices. Partnerships
for social development may seek better and
more diversified strategies involving the
sector. Policies will need to recognise the
changing responsibilities within a more
market-oriented economy, and public sector
agencies will require to co-ordinate more
effectively and focus more clearly on service
delivery.
Large-scale
aquaculture
development needs to be planned to avoid
ecosystem damage, encroachment on Khas
lands and resultant decline of access to
wetlands by the landless.
The next sections explain firstly how we
propose the sector to develop in the coming
decade, and describe the connections and
implications for livelihoods, environment,
institutional support, legal frameworks, and
policy.1
1
Further details may be found in the Fishery Sector
Review and Future Developments theme documents and
background papers.
1
CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
KEY POINTS

There is scope for progress in most subsectors

The private sector will play an increasingly important role in development; it requires a
positive environment

Social development objectives need to be understood and linked with production and
market opportunities

Capture fisheries sectors will require careful support to ensure sustained benefits;
alternative livelihoods for fishing communities will be important

Sector and resource knowledge is critical and needs to be efficiently developed and used.
PRIORITY AREAS

To develop an investment and development framework and strategy with all stakeholders.
RECOMMENDATIONS

A Natural Resources Management Council (NRMC) should be set up to promote sectoral
objectives in production, social development and natural resource management and the
needs to co-ordinate and implement fishery sector development

Donor funds for renewable natural resources programmes should be coordinated via the
NRMC

A Fisheries Development Executive Committee (FDEC) should be established to enact
decisions made by the NRMC. The FDEC will coordinate commercial development
(aquaculture and commercial trawling) and conservation/protection of CPR pro-poor
national assets (capture fisheries).

Effective linkages might be made between natural resource policies (Appendix 1: GoB
policy documents of relevance to the Fisheries Sub-sector.
A Commercial/private sector development strategy to be implemented that allows for the
development of a sustainable aquaculture and commercial fishing industry.

2
CHALLENGES AND
OPPORTUNITIES
Perspectives for the fishery sector over the
coming decade suggest that with the right mix
of policy and investment, the potential can be
good, in spite of increasing constraints. Based
primarily on growth in aquaculture, but with
prospects of upholding and adding value to
the capture sector, increased output, and
corresponding gains in value and employment
could be envisaged. This should be
achievable within current expectations of the
quality and availability of Bangladesh’s
physical and biological aquatic resources, and
seek more diversified options. Growth in
aquaculture, if primarily linked with more
competitive commercialised production, may
limit options for resource-poor producers,
though niche opportunities may expand.
While urban consumers may benefit from
increased supply and stable or declining real
prices, rural people may lose informal access
to fish and face a shift from productive
opportunities to various levels of part-time or
irregular employment.
A range of public and private sector
investments and initiatives will be needed to
realise the potential for change, growth and
expanding
economic
output.
Though
Table 1. Outline scenarios for major subsectors (tonnes)
Production sector
Current
10 years
Low
Inland aquaculture
Coastal aquaculture
Inland capture fisheries
Coastal/marine capture fisheries
Total
Annual change (%)
High
Low
High
850,000
1,465,744
2,524,455
5.6
11.5
94,580
129,597
228,048
3.2
9.2
750,419
606,919
685,552
- 2.1
- 0.9
589,500
501,689
555,070
- 1.6
- 0.6
2,284,499
2,703,949
3,993,125
1.5
5.4
assumes broadly similar though differently
placed
levels
of
management
and
administration. However, the impact of such
changes in terms of food supply and
livelihoods, and access for different groups of
people, particularly the poor, will depend on a
range of factors. These must be understood
and applied if wider benefits are to be
maintained and extended. Table 1 indicates
the broad expectations for change. The
prognosis for aquaculture is positive, while
that for capture fisheries, is at best slightly
negative due to long term effects of a
declining resource base, and the practical
difficulties of management
To these core production sectors can be
added the networks of input supply, market
and distribution, and post-harvest added
value, particularly in the export sector. These
in turn involve substantial numbers of people
and generate significant economic output.
Taken overall, income and employment in the
sector should expand, and in areas of growth
are particularly likely to be enhanced.
However, more traditional subsectors might
only at best be sustained for broadly similar
benefits, or in some cases offer much
reduced opportunities. There are important
livelihood consequences for the many people
involved. Small-scale fishers will be
increasingly pressured by declining resources
and increased competition, and will need to
numerous constraints can be recognised, the
prospects for doing so are positive, and the
recent record of micro-scale and commercial
private sector enterprise, particularly in
aquaculture, demonstrates the emerging
strength and potentially positive impact of
these trends. However, while prospects for
the sector are positive, a significant challenge
is presented in translating benefits effectively
to the many millions of Bangladesh’s people
for whom fisheries are important. The issues
and the details are given in the following
sections.
Picture box2: people holding fish
3
The review has identified a number of key
development
trends
and
perceived
constraints for primary sectoral activities.
These are converted into potential outputs,
and associated value added and employment,
based largely on historic rates of change,
modified as appropriate by expected short to
medium term developments. Production
opportunities
and
their
underlying
assumptions identified include:




High rates of growth in hatchery based
seed supply of fish (15.9%) and shrimp
(22.5%)
Growth in all inland aquaculture sectors
by an average of up to 12% per annum
Growth in coastal aquaculture by an
average 9.2% per annum
Continuing decline in inland capture
fisheries A decline is anticipated in the
marine capture sector across all fisheries,
averaging 0.6 % per annum. A similar
decline in the inland capture fishery
averages 0.9%.
The assumptions underlying these projections
are as follows:
 Current levels of donor and NGO
investment will continue.
 Inbreeding issues associated with fish
hatchery brood stocks will be corrected.
 Specific pathogen free (SPF) stocks of
shrimp will be imported or developed.
Hatcheries will co-operate in the sale of
disease and chemical contamination free
PLs.
 WTO imports from neighbouring countries
will not significantly impact internal fish
prices.
 Food safety issues associated with
Bangladesh seafood exports will be
favourably resolved.
 Institutional and policy factors that lie at
the root of the inland fishery declines will
be resolved. Further habitat losses will
not occur.
 The DOF will be able to effectively limit
entry in the Marine/Coastal capture
fishery. Gears such as ESBN will be
resolved.
A summary of proposed output (tonnes)
changes in inland aquaculture, coastal
aquaculture, inland and marine capture
fisheries is as follows (Table 2):
Principal development areas within these
groups are identified as follows:
Capture fisheries
Table 2. Potential output projections
Current
Seed supply
PL (M)
Fish (‘000 kgs)
Market production
Inland aquaculture
production (tonnes)
Coastal aquaculture
production (tonnes)
Inland capture
fisheries (tonnes)
Coastal/marine
capture fisheries (t)
Overall growth in
production (excl
seed) (tonnes)
10 years
Annual
change
(%)
7,552
269,382
58,000
1,181,000
22.5
15.9
850,000
2,524,455
11.5
94,580
228,000
9.2
750,419
679,000
-0.9
589,500
552,000
- 0.6
2,284,499
3,983,455
5.29
The primary emphasis will be on maintaining
current levels of output as far as possible
within the increasing constraints of land and
water
use,
urban
and
agricultural
intensification, and social pressures on poor
communities.
While these fisheries will
remain important especially to
poor
communities, with limited and localised
exceptions, no increases in output are
proposed, nor is it expected that current
management approaches can realistically be
applied in such complex and demanding
circumstances.
However,
multi-species
tropical fishery systems are relatively robust,
though individual high value fisheries may
collapse as is apparently occurring in the
case of certain large carp and catfish species
and possibly in some of the high value marine
species. Total biomass across a narrow range
of species, particularly smaller fish and prawn
with more versatile habitat and feeding
requirements, may remain at similar levels.
Consequences in terms of employment and
value will continue in the same direction with
a continuing decline in full time fishers and
increasing number of part time and
subsistence users.
Where co-management or community-based
approaches can be developed to provide
some level of resource management, catches
of more valued species may be better
maintained, and with effort controls, it may be
more
feasible
for
alternative
or
complementary
income
generating
approaches to be developed and sustained.
However, the costs of management relative to
the gains in production need to be carefully
considered.
Other
important
issues
undertaken as part of these community based
approaches include the protection of key
4
habitats, the creation and maintenance of
refuges, limits to the further disruption of
migratory pathways and the avoidance of
chemical degradation.
Small scale pond carp polyculture of mixed
Indian and Chinese carps along with small
indigenous species will continue to the largest
source of production and offers the greatest
potential for expansion, with high returns to
labour
and
significant
value
added.
Depending in part on shifts in real prices and
potentially declining returns as the sector
expands, production could increase by as
much as 10% per year over the next ten
years. This would be based on increased
production from the present area, together
with growing contributions from small ponds
and irrigable land. The MAEP initiative has
shown that average yields can cost-effectively
be more than doubled from current levels.
Allowing for increased labour productivity, the
projected increase in employment is to 2.4 M
with a value added of Tk 78,500 M.
Small scale cage culture while of minor
production importance this form of fish culture
may allow the entry of the landless poor into
aquaculture and can generate income at
Picture box – small scale pond culture
critical times of year. It is flexible in terms of
the balance between investment and labour
inputs, and can be an important tool for
poverty alleviation in the short and medium
term. Profitability of these systems depends
on the availability of low cost feed ingredients
and proximity to markets. Where sustainable
feed sources exist and markets are available,
returns can be high. The main risk is theft and
an important constraint is access rights to
water bodies under existing rules and
practices. The total projected increase in
employment is to 17,000 with a value added
of Tk 232 M.
Commercial/Intensive Pond Culture will
likely shift away from Pangas to carp
polyculture or other systems. The major
constraints for large operators are a lack of
large contiguous pieces of land in addition to
a lack of high quality feeds.
The total
projected increase in employment is to 3,400
with a value added of Tk 1,397 M. A key
issue for expansion, and for wider social
impact, will be the extent to which more
commercially organised aquaculture of this
form will gain ground with respect to small
scale pond production. Current indicators
suggest that fertilised small-scale systems
can take advantage of local production
niches, and if marketing costs are acceptable,
can compete with larger scale enterprises.
However, with good market locations, good
quality fry, better fertiliser and supplementary
feed
materials
and
more
efficient
management practices, these systems may
become more dominant within the broader
inland aquaculture sector.
Stocked beels and oxbow lakes is a form
of extensive aquaculture and unlikely to be
of major importance.
This activity can
generate positive financial returns, and
moderate production costs through beelfloodplain stocking by private entrepreneurs,
or in association with government or NGO
initiatives. This production unfortunately
occurs at the cost of community access and
floodplain biodiversity. These returns are only
likely to be achieved in relatively small closed
and semi-closed baors or beels where groups
with common means and interests can be
identified or developed.
The greatest
potential is probably where a fishery is
dominated by part time fishers, who stand to
benefit most from stocking programmes.
Though continued support from the While
baor areas are quite well quantified, other
water bodies are not. Accounting also for
management potential and the means of
developing workable community structures, it
is difficult to estimate overall potential, but
increases of the order of 8,000 jobs are
feasible.
Rice-fish culture is likely only to achieve a
modest increase in production to perhaps
4,000 tonnes, though this could expand much
more with suitable support. Though benefits
to fish and crop management are clear,
poaching,
pesticide
use
and
water
management issues are notable constraints.
5
As with other systems, extension and farmer
learning/networking would be essential, with
key issues being the use of deeper water
zones, and avoidance of stock losses due to
poor water control. Additional employment
would be mainly in the form of greater labour
productivity within existing systems, together
with secondary benefits associated with
inputs and markets.
Picture box – extrensive areas of coastal
shrimp ponds or GIS image of areas
suitable for development in SW
Bangladesh
Rice-prawn culture; will have considerable
potential in certain areas; in the greater
Noakhali area alone, it is estimated that
40,000ha of seasonally flooded land could be
adapted, with a 10,000mt/yr prospective yield
worth $ 77.6 M to the farmers.
Pen culture after carp polyculture is probably
the most important culture system in the
country and has been increasing in popularity.
Growth projections suggest targets of some
20,000 tonnes of fish. There are however,
high risks from loss of stock as a result of net
damage, poaching or predation. The higher
the investment in pen materials and
construction labour, the lower the risk of
normal escapes - but vandalism is still
possible. This system is likely to be attractive
to more commercially orientated producers
closer to major markets. This system has an
employment potential of 4,000 and a value
added of Tk 2,886 M.
Shrimp (bagda) production has significant
growth potential. Much of this could be
accommodated through improved culture
systems without major growth in area, though
spatial expansion is also a possibility.
Improved approaches will require better
operational management with the support of
extension, improved pond construction, better
water management, a reduction in PL
Box 1: The shrimp industry in Bangladesh
Shrimp farming is key to the economy of Bangladesh,
currently producing 2.5% of global production, and the
country’s second largest export industry. There are
600,000 people employed in the sector generating
US$301 million annually, from bagda and golda farms
(US$243 million from bagda alone). Yet the industry
suffers from significant production inefficiencies and is
exposed to important social and environmental risks.
Despite the huge potential for a sustainable increase in
export earnings from shrimp and associated social and
economic development, the sector suffers from a lack
of vision and strategic direction. The industry urgently
needs a coherent strategy to prepare it to respond to
emerging trends in the competitive global market place
and reduce its exposure to the inherent risks currently
facing the shrimp sector.
(Source: Shrimp Option Paper, Department of
Fisheries).
mortality, improved stocking ratios, and most
importantly to the industry as a whole
improvements in post harvest handling.
These systems would generate improved
returns to labour and result in greater value
added, including a significant contribution
from fish processing. Confidence in the PL
supply is required with risks of disease
significantly reduced. There is a debate as to
the likely beneficiaries, depending on the
extent to which smaller farms will remain
competitive, though all groups, marginal
farmers, elite and the landless, will benefit
from increased employment and income
opportunities. The total projected increase in
employment is to 212,000 with a value added
of Tk 24,136 M.
Prawn (golda) production is likely to follow
the trends of strong growth experienced over
the last decade, with at least 300 ghers, from
the present 105, coming into production within
the next ten years, with total output projected
to 38,000mt. No assumptions have been
made for increased stocking densities or a
reduction in mortality, and hence this will
require further expansion in area. Golda can
be grown in any fresh water pond, though
hatcheries require saline water. There is no
technical bar to including Golda in carp
polyculture systems. This has successfully
been demonstrated throughout the country,
the bottleneck is the lack of marketing outlets
outside of traditional Golda producing areas.
The total potential projected increase shown
here is conservative and employment is
estimated to be 232,000 with value added of
Tk 5,000 M.
SUPPLY OF INPUTS
The developments described will require
corresponding input support, specifically in
feed and hatchery production. The following
scenarios are envisaged:
6
Carp seed production will need to expand
significantly to support growth to suggested
output levels of 1,500,000 t. This will require
an estimated 1,200,000 kg of hatchlingsoutput today is approximately 250,000kg.
Wild hatchlings and public sector hatcheries
will remain insignificant in production terms
but possibly critical in terms of a source of
pure or improved brood lines. Demand would
result in growth in numbers of hatcheries and
nurseries to 5,000 and 18,600 respectively,
with a corresponding increase in employment
to 131,000 FTE. The value added (hatchery
and nursery combined), based on current
prices, would increase to Tk 3,000 M.
Golda hatchery development would be an
essential element within the expected
increase in production, as wild seed supply is
unlikely to expand and would probably
contract. Whilst imports may become more
significant, local hatchery production is likely
to increase substantially as skills develop and
as confidence in investment increases.
Projecting reliance on wild caught PL to fall
from 380 to 60 M hatchery demand would be
for some 1,400 M PL. Based on current
projections for hatchery size, this would result
in the need for some 50-60 hatcheries,
generating around 1,000 new jobs. The value
added from this sector, based on price
projections from current levels, is likely to
increase to $ 106 M.
Bagda hatchery development is currently
beset with inefficiencies. However, key
developments are expected to improve
financial returns and stimulate further
investment, either in restoring unused
capacity, in the redevelopment of existing
hatcheries or construction of new units to
meet modern standards. Assuming farm
production of 106,000 t, and a significant
reduction in dependency on wild caught PL,
annual demand for would grow to 15,500 M
PL. This would suggest scope for some 80
additional hatcheries, which on current
regional industry ratios would generate
around 2,845 new jobs. As in the case of
Bagda production and processing food safety
issues could potentially have serious
consequences.
Co-operation
and
coordination with the other processors and
producers and the ability to produce SPF and
chemical contamination free PLs is of
importance.
Small scale hapa nursing of golda PL, and
possibly also bagda in more saline areas is of
minor importance for overall production,
requires slightly higher levels of investment
than small scale cage culture, but is able to
generate good returns to labour, and a
healthy profit margin. The short production
cycle means that investment can be recouped
quickly, and loans could paid off rapidly. This
could offer an excellent opportunity for poor
people in appropriate locations to achieve
good returns with only modest investment.
Nursing of a wide range of other inland and
coastal species is also possible. However,
some of these activities could also be carried
out by producers themselves, making better
use of their productive resources. Though
locally significant, and potentially valuable as
an income generating option, total projected
employment is therefore likely to be small, i.e.
in the region of 500, though numbers of
people involved could be much greater.
Feed supplies are a major impediment to
growth in the sector and are expected to
increase to accommodate demand, arising
primarily from a growth in commercial fish,
golda and more intensive bagda production.
For golda, a considerable network of artisanal
supply exists, based initially on snails caught
from nearby beels, for which resources have
been
seriously
depleted.
Current
developments involve homestead-based feed
production using more diversified raw
materials, offering additional opportunities for
family labour and potentially reduced
production cost.
Commercial
feed
production
through
international joint ventures has also been
initiated, but cost and quality remain
constraints. In the long term expansion of
commercial aquaculture will depend on the
further development of this sector. Based on
expected outputs in the relevant sectors and
on current regional trends for supplementary
feeding, some 50,000 t of commercial feed
might be required, with a substantially greater
amount produced locally in groups or
household level activities. Annual turnover in
the commercial feed sector could reach
Tk500 M, and involve some 200 FTE in
production and distribution. Additional FTE
levels in local feed supply, beyond that
already accounted within farming activities,
based on typical input costs could amount to
some 5% of production FTEs, reaching
100,000 or more over the longer term.
7
POST HARVEST DEVELOPMENTS
Domestic market throughput, based on
these output projections is likely to increase
by 4.6% per annum, or 57% over the whole
period. There are presently 3 M workers in
this sector at present. Allowing for a 1.5%
change in labour productivity over this period,
employment could rise to 4.07 M.
The
increasing level of throughput is likely to
intensify pressures on hygiene control, but
could also generate greater economies of
scale for existing operators, permitting reinvestment in improving facilities and
services. However, this will also depend on
changing expectations amongst domestic
consumers. Based on experience to date, and
on market development elsewhere in the
region, public sector investment in capacity
and quality improvement is unlikely to
generate significant change and private
sector and community-linked processes are
more likely to be able to respond to these
changes.
Post harvest supply of shrimp and prawns
is projected to quadruple over the 10-year
period. If this is to occur it must be associated
with a shift in product handling, based on
direct contact between producer and
processor. Current quality problems within the
supply chain relate to dispersed locations,
poor infrastructure, and insufficient knowledge
Picture box – artisanal feeds
of product care and the systems required to
ensure it. To meet increasingly stringent
international quality standards, actions will be
needed to enhance and maintain supply
logistics, traceability, and management/
monitoring functions. A combination of greater
throughput and more controlled standards is
likely to result in more simplified market
chains and pricing mechanisms, economies
of scale and some degree of industry
concentration. This is likely to increase buyer
power with respect to small farmers and
reduce their profitability. Traditional functions
such as credit may also be affected. These
changes may also reduce opportunities for
more flexible and informal employment but
may improve employment standards for those
within a modernised system requiring
certification to meet international standards.
Additional throughput could be expected to
raise employment to 23,200, an increase of
9,500 (FTE), with a potential increase in value
added by Tk 2,325 M.
Picture box – attractive picture of
processed shrimp either retail presentation
or well labelled pack.
The processing sector is likely to be a major
beneficiary of growth, provided the market for
shrimp remains buoyant and Bangladeshi
product remains acceptable to world markets.
Employment is likely to grow with production,
which will also increasingly extend beyond the
current 3-month period to 6 months. Levels
are expected to increase from 3,260 to
16,000 (FTE), representing another 32,000
jobs in total. Current capacity far exceeds
product availability, and replacement of
outdated and inefficient units may be required
to allow present capacity to accommodate
greater supply. The potential value added to
this sector is likely to be in the region of
Tk.65,000M.
Based on better capacity utilisation and more
reliable supplies, sector profits and value
added are likely to increase significantly (from
14 to 26%). The increase in labour is likely to
reflect the increase in product throughput.
However, savings will occur in fixed costs
(depreciation and other costs, assumed to be
20%).
Although these projections are very positive,
the projections depend on a resolution of
quality issues and the performance and
8
image of the Bangladesh shrimp industry’s
product. In an increasingly competitive
international environment, potential growth
and profitability could be substantially
reduced unless clear and continuing
improvements can be made. Most processors
are
broadly
compliant
with
HACCP
requirements, but problems lie in product
quality care from producer to processor, and
in buyer and ultimately EU and USA health
officials concerns. In addition, increasing
demands are being made by buyers to satisfy
attributes of social and environmental good
practice. Although a government-run quality
control system exists it has not to date proved
to be reliable, and regardless of proposals for
its expansion, this is unlikely to meet
international expectations, which are only
likely to be met through an independent and
effective internationally audited Quality
Assurance system such as that offered by the
Aquaculture Certification Council or similar
organisations.
OVERVIEW OF IMPACTS
Employment and value added
On the basis of projected production, total
employment and value added in the
Bangladesh fishery sector could increase as
outlined in Tables 3 and 4 respectively.
Though these propose a positive change in
both value (+6.1%) and employment (+9.1%),
distinctly negative outcomes are proposed for
Demand and prices
Over 70% of all animal protein consumed is
from fish (BBS HES 2000). Apparent fish
consumption2 in Bangladesh is around 14 kg
per capita and is estimated to have fallen by
1% per annum over the last five years. By
comparison, Malaysia and the Philippines
have an annual consumption of 35-45 kg per
capita, Thailand 20 kg/capita, while Sri-Lanka,
Myanmar, and Indonesia, have broadly
similar consumption levels to those of
Bangladesh. Consumption in India is much
lower at around 3-5 kg / capita.
Table 4. Summary of employment added
Current
Seed supply
11,990
66,572
Inland aquaculture
805,770 2,435,660
Coastal aquaculture 152,680
435,550
Inland capture
73,410
991,330
fisheries
Coastal/marine
271,510
150,250
capture fisheries
Post harvest
employment
Other
Total
5,162,900 7,244,750
Seed supply
Inland aquaculture
production
Coastal aquaculture
production
Inland capture
fisheries
Coastal/marine
capture fisheries
Post harvest value
added
Total
1,470
83,220
21.25
10,060
29,140
18.96
26,940
21,010
-2.2
27,820
8,330
-7
29,130
35,730
1.2
122,050
185,660
6.1
both inland and marine capture fisheries and
the millions of poor dependent on these
resources, due to the incapacity of fisheries
regulation and the practical constraints to
addressing these in a realistic and costeffective manner. Were management action
capable of restricting fishing effort by around
10 % this could be sufficient to reverse the
decline, for example in marine fisheries, to an
increase of an average 1.3% per annum.
125.04
-4.47
9.15
Table 5. Ten-year predictions for price and quantity
Fish Price
Quantity
Total value
Year
Tk/mt
(mt)
Million Tk
2001
42,316
2,197,737
92999
2002
43,480
2,228,506
96895
2003
44,675
2,259,705
100952
2004
45,904
2,291,341
105182
2005
47,166
2,323,419
109586
2006
48,463
2,355,947
114176
2007
49,796
2,388,931
118959
2008
51,166
2,422,376
123943
2009
52,573
2,456,289
129134
2010
54,018
2,490,677
134541
Projected
10 years
annual
(Tk)
increase
(%)
8,230
46.13
26,630
Projected
annual
change
(%)
45.79
20.23
18.53
Demand for fish is generally fairly elastic, i.e.
highly responsive to price. However, for
marine species demand is high while still
elastic it is less responsive to price increases
than inland species.
Table 3. Summary of sectoral value added
Current
(Tk)
10 years
Fish prices have increased by an average 2.3
% per annum in real terms over the last 10
years. Based on a forecast using a partial
equilibrium model (Table 5), overall fish prices
are predicted to increase by some 2.75%
annually over the next 10 years. This
projection does not incorporate possible
external impacts such as introduction of WTO
rules, nor does it allow for significant supplydriven expansion, but does indicate that
Production + imports – exports according to available
statistics; each of these figures is subject to estimate
errors.
2
9
production
will
remain
profitable
Bangladesh over the short run.
in
However, in these scenarios it will be
increasingly difficult for the poor to maintain
current fish consumption levels, unless supply
expands at a greater rate than that described
by this model. Rising real prices mean that
existing production systems would remain
profitable and that higher cost feed based
aquaculture systems could also remain
profitable, and have scope for expansion. In
any event, aquaculture currently appears to
have high margins and should generate
significant opportunities for expansion and reinvestment, even in static or decreasing price
scenarios.

prices, and possibly some import.
Returns to producers will depend on
fishing effort but could remain significant,
though competition from aquaculture may
reverse these trends.
Marine capture fisheries – with less
elastic demand and potentially declining
supply, hence steadily rising prices, and
possibly
increasing
imports.
For
producers, returns will depend on fishing
effort and may remain high, hence
continuing pressure on resources.
Table 6 outlines the implications of different
national economic growth rates together with
different rates of production increase on real
prices, showing how total expansion rates of
more than 5% annum are likely to start to see
price fall, unless the economy grows more
rapidly. Clearly, much will depend on the
distribution of changing incomes in economic
growth, and the effects of other price changes
in determining disposable income.
Table 6. Summary table of production and price
scenarios (price change, %)
Production growth
rate
Low
Growth
Moderate
Growth
High
Growth
3.00%
5.00%
7.00%
3%
0.23
1.02
1.81
5%
-1.13
-0.34
0.45
7%
-2.49
-1.7
-0.91
10%
-4.53
-3.74
-2.95
In practice it may be more effective to
separate supply and price projections into at
least four subsectors, i.e.:



Domestic aquaculture – with elastic
demand
but
considerable
current
profitability and scope for investment and
expansion, generating lower real prices,
reducing returns to producers and if land
and water resources permit, stimulating
export.
Export aquaculture – with elastic demand
at world market level, but limited impact
of local production on total supply, hence
less price dependence and good scope
for growth given present profitability
levels.
Inland capture fisheries
– with less
elastic demand but less scope for
expansion and hence gradually rising
10
FISHERY SECTOR REVIEW AND
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS (FSRFD)
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Fishery Sector Review and Future
Developments work conducted throughout
2002 has identified the national significance
and future potential of the sector. It has also
strongly emphasised the importance of
establishing and implementing a co-ordinated
cross-sectoral approach to its development, if
future benefits are to realised and sustained.
It recommends that the Government of
Bangladesh should consider:
1. The setting up of a Natural Resource
Management Council (NRMC) and a
Fisheries
Development
Executive
Committee (FDEC). The NRMC would
have representatives from seven key
Ministries and their Departments working
with
renewable
natural resources:
Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Fisheries
and Livestock (Department of Fisheries),
Ministry of Water Resources (BWDB and
WARPO), Ministry of Local Government
Rural Development and Cooperatives,
Ministry of Land, Ministry of Agriculture
(Department: DAE) and The Ministry of
Environment and Forest (Department:
Environment) and would be headed by
the Minister of Finance. The FDEC would
constitute three Ministries and their
Departments: MoFL, MoWR and MoEF
(Departments of Fisheries, Environment
and BWDB) plus private sector and civil
society.
The NRMC would be an advisory body
reporting to the Executive Committee for
the National Economic Council (ECNEC)
and Parliament, it would function as a
practical and dynamic forum, meeting on
a quarterly basis to co-ordinate and
promote
issues
relevant
to
the
development of the natural resources of
the country of which fisheries is a major
sector. Its executive role would cover
three main areas:
1.1 Commercial fish production and
foreign trade
1.2 Social issues relating to the use of
the resource
1.3 Strategies for linking these with
resource management and rural
development
Representatives from the full range of
stakeholders using the aquatic resources
in Bangladesh would be encouraged to
interact closely with the NRMC whose
modus operandi would involve active and
practical
consultation
with
these
stakeholders.
The NRMC ought to liaise with Donor
agencies in relation to future priorities for
development and investment within the
sector. It would be important to establish
close links between the Ministries
represented, relating to resource use, and
with the Ministry of Finance as the
coordinator of investment priorities. It
would review public and private sector
investment strategies and needs for
sectoral development; prioritise public
sector capital and recurrent expenditure,
and identify approaches to maintain and
expand private sector and external
investment. The NRMC should make
recommendations
to
the
ECNEC
regarding investment and Parliament
regarding policy development and would
manage the enactment of policies
relevant to the sector.
The NRMC must review access and
management
issues
for
fisheries,
including the current policy regarding ‘free
access’ to open water fisheries (inland
and marine), which currently tends to act
against the interests of fisherfolk
depending on the resource for their
livelihoods. Draw on case studies
provided by a range of GoB projects as
evidence for a need to modify GoB policy;
consider the assignation of an exclusive
artisanal fishery area – to include the
area from the coast a number of nautical
miles seawards. This would be combined
with management plans for the use of the
resource. The management plans would
be produced by fishing communities in
conjunction with partner NGOs and the
DoF and approved by the FDEC.
2. Once
constituted
the
Fisheries
Development
Executive
Committee
(FDEC) would create action plans
resulting from the NRMC decisions and
closely monitor enactment by the
responsible institutions. It would promote
full integration within the sector outlining
and monitoring public and private service
provision and investment needs. Key
areas to be covered include:
2.1 Water resource management to meet
linked national objectives
11
2.2 The development of viable and
effective systems of culture and
capture
production
meeting
international standards
2.3 Food supply, local consumption and
export, and related post harvest
quality control and market issues and
2.4 Access to the resource by those that
depend on it for their livelihoods.
2.5 Rationalization of the activities
executed
by
the
Bangladesh
Fisheries Development Corporation
(BFDC), the Bangladesh Fisheries
Research Institute (BFRI) and the
functions and activities carried out by
public sector hatcheries, broodstock
holding and GoB run training centres.
3. Adoption of an objective framework along
the lines recommended in the roadmap
(page 14) to describe the social,
economic and resource objectives
associated with the sector, and identify
potential indicators of progress:
3.1 Economic: current and projected
production under each fisheries subsector together with ‘upstream’ and
‘downstream’
multipliers,
prices,
margins
and
value
added
opportunities, linked to investment
needs and trade data; contribution to
GDP;
3.2 Social: consumption of aquatic
production;
nutritional
needs,
employment, poverty alleviation, use
of Khas lands (Common Property
Resources
CPR),
service
requirements,
skills,
education
(national curriculum modification to
emphasise the importance of aquatic
resources/wetland values), water use
conflicts, enactment of national
policies and corresponding strategies
related to the sector (National
Strategy for Economic Growth,
Poverty Reduction
and
Social
Development – PRSP, National
Fisheries Policy, National Land Use
Policy, National Rural Development
Policy, National Water Management
Plan,
Environment
Policy
and
Implementation
Plan,
National
Women Development Policy, National
Agricultural Policy) and other social
charters promoted by the GoB;
3.3 Resource: an expanded and more
effective valuation of fisheries and
aquatic ecosystem services including
an expansion of wetland resource
assessment models produced on a
project basis (USAID MARCH,
Danida GNAEP, DFID CBFM2) with
the objective of creating a National
Wetland
Resource
Assessment
Database and to promote a wider
awareness of this within national
policy and development planning.
4. Redefine the role of the Department of
Fisheries (DoF) to include cooperation
with a wider network of institutions
coupled with a more focused and
specialised role including:
4.1 The DoF responsibilities under the
FDEC with fishery management and
aquaculture
planning;
including
production/landing/marketing
statistics by species, weight and
value;
4.2 Enacting of sectoral initiatives such
as the recently agreed ‘Shrimp Option
Papers’ (DoF/DFID 2002);
4.3 Promotion of a diversified strategy
embracing
pro-poor
community
based fisheries management and
aquaculture activities, together with
better quality export output and wider
recognition of positive national
attributes;
4.4 Development of policy approaches for
rationalisation and reform, promotion
of research links; development of
guidelines for sectoral development
areas such as large scale intensified
fish culture;
4.5 Identification and promotion of
specialised services – broodstock
management, seed supply, aquatic
health management, EIA, and
knowledge transfer using appropriate
and efficient delivery systems;
monitor these where required;
4.6 Coordination of Reference Laboratory
work for private sector quality control
systems to improve awareness of
food health issues
- pesticide
residues, presence of biotoxins,
histamines due to fish spoilage during
transport/storage; and
4.7 Promotion of the longer term
rationalisation of legal frameworks
with key priorities of avoiding
disadvantage to poorer groups;
operationalise international accords
such as the Codes of Conduct for
Responsible
Fisheries/Aquaculture/Mangrove use.
12
5. Promote an effective data system and
integrated
resource
planning/social
development and policy development
approach for the sector. The Centre for
Environmental
and
Geographical
Information
Services
(CEGIS)
will
continue
to
develop
Geographical
Information Systems (GIS) to help
integrate fisheries and aquaculture
development in relation to land use and
the Coastal Development Strategy being
developed by the GoB/DFID/Royal
Netherlands Embassy Integrated Coastal
Zone
Management
project
under
WARPO. In addition:
7.1 Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) evaluation capability;
7.2 Aquaculture planning in relation to the
National Land Use Policy and Coastal
Development
Strategy
(under
preparation); and
7.3 Fishery
Management
Plan
preparation and evaluation.
5.1 Promote awareness and examples of
effective and efficient use of
data/information
for
enhanced
development and management of
sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
and
5.2 Use such examples to reinforce
political will and commitment to
promote strong and consistent
national
data
and
information
collection, as well as analyses.
6. The MoFL should adopt the Human
Resource
Development/Management
Strategy developed for and by the DoF
(Fisheries Training and Extension Project
II with DFID co funding); The Aquaculture
Extension Strategy developed by the DoF
in 2002 (currently being updated) should
be enacted as a means of promoting
technology transfer to the wide range of
stakeholders
operating
integrated
aquaculture operations in Bangladesh.
7. Strengthen
links
between
human
resources dedicated to aquaculture and
fisheries policy-making, planning and
management and those dedicated to data
and information collection. In relation to
the FDEC and its links to the Ministries,
ensure that the data/information needs of
the
policy-makers,
planners
and
managers are met and that the
information
gathered
is
readily
understandable and well defined. The
donors involved in the sector should
provide the GoB Departments associated
with the FDEC with specialist training in
effective communication of data and
information
analyses
to
promote
understanding of their applications for
aquaculture,
fisheries
management,
policy-making,
planning
and
management. This would also include:
13
ROAD MAP
Sector & Expected Outcomes
Indicators
Past 5 years
Current
10 years
Risks
POLICY
Recognition of sectoral objectives
in production, social development
and natural resource
management, and the needs to
co-ordinate and implement
Primarily production led with
focus on output and export
earnings
Statements of wider
objectives but unclear how
these are to be reconciled/
optimised
Broad and linked objectives
promoted in establishing the
National Resource
Management Council (NRMC3)
Without a sense of the need
to link these objectives,
sector policy will be distorted
and developmentally
unsound
Effective linkages between
natural resource policies
(Appendix 1 lists Ministries where
policies have been developed. A
brief policy summary is included)
No coordination or linkages
between policies. Contradictory
aims; no hierarchy or
overarching policy.
The interim Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper
(IPRSP4) requires
increased commitment to
coordination
NRMC provides effective
coordination; Fisheries
Development Executive
Committee (FDEC)5 enables
this sectorally
Without coordination of
national resource policies
little impact can be expected
from donor investments
National Fisheries Policy
effectively implemented and
updated through sectoral policy
process.
NFP prepared in 1998. Not
implemented or linked to other
NR policies
NFP is in place but not
effectively implemented –
few of the major reforms
suggested have been
employed.
FDEC coordinates commercial
development (aquaculture and
commercial trawling) and
conservation /protection of
CPR- pro-poor national assets
(capture fisheries).
If FDEC not developed,
national fisheries policies
and private, public activities
would not be linked; future
production, resource base
and social impacts much
impaired.
International conventions
embedded in national policies.
Signatory to all major
conventions, but not linked to
national policies or effectively
implemented
No change
Links established to major
conventions through effective
policy formulation
All signed conventions have
policy implications – trade
and other international
interactions could be
compromised
Lack of information and
awareness; some issues only
just emerging/their potential
impacts understood; growing
potential significance
Some awareness of
specific issues but little
connection to shorter and
medium term implications,
strategies or policy
approaches
Continuing process of scenario
development, global and
regional engagement,
awareness raising in sector,
translation into policy themes
Major external forces will
impact negatively on output,
yields, social benefits with
little mitigation, alternate
options
STRATEGIES
Strategy in place to realize
sectoral benefits in changing
global conditions of trade,
economic growth and
climate/ecosystem impact
NRMC – highest level inter-ministerial council responsible for sustainable management of natural resource assets.
The iPRSP is referred to by the GoB as the National Strategy for Economic Growth, Poverty Reduction and Social Development.
Fisheries Development Executive Committee – inter-ministerial executive committee responsible for sustainable fisheries development, reporting to NRMC. Two sub-committees one responsible
for sustainable commercial development- includes private sector-, the other responsible for conservation of aquatic resource assets includes civil society.
3
4
5
14
Sector & Expected Outcomes
Indicators
Past 5 years
Current
Commercial/private sector
development strategy
implemented that allows for the
development of a sustainable
aquaculture and commercial
fishing industry
Rapid expansion and major
production gains resulting from
GoB interventions in inland and
brackishwater aquaculture and
trawling
Government unable to
effectively regulate new
industries. All aquaculture
constrained by lack of
quality seed. Lack of quality
assurance and international
food safety concerns deter
shrimp industry. Use of
Trawlers not rationalized.
Government supports and
monitors-industry lead quality
assurance/ certification
process. Planning for largescale aquaculture complies
with CCRF. Increased
engagement with civil society
and the private sector.
Mechanized fishing fleet
controlled.
Without industry lead grave
concern whether foreign
markets continue to exist for
Bangladesh sea food/fish
products. Domestic
marketing and price are not
affected by WTO
agreement. If unchecked,
mechanized fishing boats
will continue to damage the
artisanal fishery
Effective strategies implemented
to protect and sustainably
conserve capture fishery assets
for the benefit of poor resource
users.
Inequity increasing –more of
the resources are controlled by
elites; few livelihoods options
set out;; coastal communities
have increasing vulnerability
Decline of resources
continues at increased rate.
Conflict over resources
increases. Key issues
better identified, some
approaches set out, but few
implemented on wider
scale.
Government strategies in place
and implemented for the
sustainable use and protection
of CPR6 areas along with
insuring access rights for the
poor Increased engagement
with civil society and private
sector; better range of
livelihood options
Inaction may create
irreversible damage to key
resources. Absolute poverty
may increase with loss of
natural resource safety nets.
Increased and more
entrenched conflict for
access of resources and
greater risk of breakdown of
community processes.
Create Natural Resource
Management Council
Many institutions involved in
the NR sector, with local
actions, and donor inputs, but
no coordination in strategic
management.
As before - but all natural
resources are overused
and misused and steadily
declining.
Increased collaboration and
coordination achieved through
involvement of key Ministries,
civil society and the private
sector
Failure to coordinate the
sector will mean that there is
no common policy. Collapse
of the NR base of the
country and social/economic
decline
Create Fisheries Development
Executive Committee (FDEC)
Importance of cross-sectoral
issues starting to be identified,
but not addressed. Investment
in aquaculture expansion,
community based fisheries and
water infrastructure.
Increasing cross-sectoral
constraints; declining
aquatic and fisheries
resources. Public/private/
civil society agents
disengaged.
Increased collaboration and
coordination achieved through
involvement of key Ministries,
civil society and the private
sector
No mechanism for planning
and developing crosssectoral approaches to
sector; further inefficiency
and loss; domestic and
international investors will
withdraw from the sector.
But without a regulatory
framework ,subsidies lead to
inefficient growth
10 years
Risks
ACTION AGENDA
6
CPR=Common Pool Resources or open access resource
15
Sector & Expected Outcomes
Indicators
Past 5 years
Current
10 years
Risks
Equip key public sector agencies
to meet the strategic
management and implementation
needs of the sector
Remit held with MoFL and
DoF, but not equipped to deal
with the changing demands of
the sector
FSRFD identifying possible
new strategic needs for the
sector and future agency
approaches/structures
MoFL /DoF able to support the
new needs of the sector with
close links to other key
GO/NGO/CSO, institutions
operating in the sector
Loss of confidence and
failure of structure and
management will lead to
reduced benefits and
disinvestment
Redefine approach for sectoral
investment and development
Wide range of micro-medium
scale private investment; donor
support to specific projects and
public sector infrastructure;
Commercial development of
marine sector, and fish markets
by Bangladesh Fisheries
Development Corporation
(BFDC)
Private sector investment
generally positive and
productive; some project
investment effective, but
discontinuous impacts;
public sector infrastructure
often inefficient; BFDC is no
longer relevant to status of
the industry
Micro-medium scale private
sector investment promoted;
donor support at wider more
co-ordinated sectoral level;
public sector investment in
staff/institutional change;
commercial interests of BFDC
privatized and staff expertise
used to support the GoB
management of fisheries
Misplaced investment will
continue inefficiencies,
hamper positive areas of
growth and benefit, and in
the case of BFDC be an
unacceptable drain on the
economy
Develop a knowledge
partnership, with public sector
agents (universities and BFRI)
meeting private and public sector
needs; linking biotechnical,
social, economic and policy
issues.
Public sector inputs have been
important in the early technical
success of aqua-culture; but
limited interests or impacts in
other areas; approaches
traditional and research station
based.
Key deficiencies in aquatic
resources, capture
fisheries, markets, social
processes;
NGOs/development
projects pioneered farmerbased research; poor
linkages between
universities, BFRI, DoF,
NGO/private sector
Outcome-based knowledge
processes taken up through
linked partnerships and multidisciplinary interactions, with
public sector agents taking a
more targeted and relevant
approach to sector needs,
linked with regional trends.
Promote the Fishery Research
Forum as a means of
coordinating research
Public sector investment is
wasted; knowledge
limitations restrict the growth
of the sector and
maintenance of natural
resource base. The poor are
less able to benefit from
innovations in the sector
Involve civil society agents more
fully in sector development and
promotion of related social
benefits
Though increasingly import-ant
in project initiatives, civil
society had little influence in
the development of the sector
Civil society starting to
exert influence at the local
level, but has limited impact
at national level
Civil society participates in the
management of the sector and
promotion of social aims
through the FDEC
Poor disenfranchised within
the sector; increasing
resource conflict, misuse
and depletion.
Involve commercial /private
sector in sector development,
value addition and national
economic development
Private sector has engaged in
and benefited via major
expansion of aquaculture
Potential constraints
through unregulated
growth; also in capture
fisheries; increasing
impacts of urban and
international markets
Dominant sector, but working
within a regulatory framework
administered by GoB but drawn
up in cooperation with the PS
in the FDEC
Failure to involve the PS in
the regulation of the industry
will lead to misplaced
investment and
unsustainable growth
16
Sector & Expected Outcomes
Indicators
Past 5 years
Current
10 years
Risks
ACTIVITES
RESOURCE
Conservation – strategic
inventory, values and ‘health of
resources’ overview to guide
future management decisions
Little data available, limited
institutional capacity, little
ecosystem/biodiversity
awareness
Wider data available but not
connected at a cross
sectoral level, hence no
prioritization for
management
Aquatic system/diversity data
available at strategic level to
guide resource management
for sustained value
Serious
biodiversity/ecosystem
function/value loss, long
term livelihood disbenefits,
and export trade sanctions
Biodiversity and production
initiative based on protection of
key resources/ habitats and
select better species and strains
for culture and stocking
Range of new stocks/strains
introduced, rapid expansion of
hatchery seed supply in culture
and enhancement
Growing awareness of
biodiversity risks, potential
losses due to poor/ inbred
stocks, need for refuges
Public/private sector hatchery
strategy and enhanced
sanctuaries support diverse
and productive stocks
Decline in
productivity/output increased
aquatic disease, shortage of
seed, loss of fishery stocks
Good growth in fish/shrimp
production from range of
systems, impacts not defined
Awareness of social,
economic, environmental
impacts but little action to
address these or identify
pro-poor benefits
Sustained and increased output with good food supply and
livelihood impact, promoting
pro-poor interests
Increasing habitat and
product-ion losses, negative
social impacts, reduced food
security, trade sanctions
Inland fisheries; sustained and
species diverse production
involving poor households and
communities in management
processes
Declining outputs and fishing
livelihoods, depleting stocks,
socially exploitative
management systems
Mitigation measures
starting, community-based
approaches being
developed, stocks being
enhanced/protected
Widespread adoption of
practical local/community
based approaches with good
levels of social equity
Excessive exploitation by
elite groups,
declining/degraded
resource base and
widespread social disbenefit
Coastal fisheries; sustained
production with community
involvement in wider range of
livelihood activities
Increasing fishing pressure,
declining yields and incomes,
greater poverty, poorer social
indicators
Continued/growing
pressure on coastal
resources and
communities, some
regulation but generally
ineffective
Value and diversity of coastal
fisheries sustained within
broader livelihood base for
coastal communities
Increased
poverty/desperation in
coastal households, conflict,
declining resource base and
value
Markets; efficient market systems
with good potential to retain and
add value, deliver benefit to
poorer sectors as producers or
consumers
Considerable part of rural
production available at a local
household and rural market
level – safety net for poorer
groups
Developing infrastructure
and urban markets bring
more into cash economy;
more earnings but less
local food
Markets deliver efficiently to
wide range of consumers in
rural and urban areas with
good secondary impacts
Market monopolies distort
prices and returns, exploit
poor producers/consumers;
poor products, trade
sanctions
PRODUCTION
Aquaculture; sustainable
development involving
diversified production sector
and expanded supply
17
Sector & Expected Outcomes
Indicators
Past 5 years
SERVICE AND SUPPORT
Management information effective Fisheries Data
System in place
Current
10 years
Risks
FRSS established in 1984 but
little developed/sustained
Remnant staff of FRSS in
place but generally agreed
that data is unreliable
Networked, objective-oriented
data system in place with
effective management outputs
No basis for management
decisions/policy guidance;
loss of resource, income,
benefit
Environment and aquatic health
management support for culture
and capture fisheries systems
Over-specialised expertise with
partial data and limited/
unbalanced perspective on
practical approaches
Some improvements in
addressing field issues; key
problems of chemical
contamination emerging
Effective support for sound and
well-managed environments/
production systems deliver
safe, good quality products
Reduced yield/productivity,
increased losses, declining
supply and food quality,
greater human health risks,
reduced export opportunity
Quality control; quality processes
embedded in supply chain
operations delivering safety and
value
Perceptions of post-harvest
quality very limited; only
realised through export bans;
public sector nominally
responsible but ineffective
Increasing awareness of
need for quality
management - control,
driven by export sector; no
agreement on public/private
sector roles/responsibilities
Private/public sector partnership operating an efficient and
trustworthy system for
domestic and export needs,
adding significant value
Continued loss of value
post-harvest, human health
risks, loss of export markets,
investment opportunities,
wider national image and
reputation
Human resources and
institutional development;
involvement of range of people
across income and skill levels,
based on skill needs (additional
requirement for legal, economic,
social and environmental
expertise) and HR and gender
objectives
Production/traditional extension
approaches; gradual shift to
household/community/ social
engagement , aware-ness of
institutional needs
Community and institutional
needs taking more frontline
role but mechanisms not
widely developed and
applied; public sector
resistance
A well developed network of
institutions/civil society agents
adopt, apply and ensure
access to emerging skill needs
Misapplied resources, poor
institutional function, poor
productivity, lost
opportunities for social and
economic benefit
Develop research forum/
knowledge/ communication
environment to address multidisciplinary challenges for
sectoral development
Research and knowledge
highly specialised, biotechnical,
limited relevance to national
sectoral needs
Awareness of wider needs
and disciplinary
approaches, links with
development agents but
much to be improved
An active process engaging
best practice/new knowledge in
improving management,
production and value gains
Wasted R&D investment,
poor policy/development
guidance, inability to tackle
emerging issues/problems;
risks, losses
18
AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT PERFORMANCE
KEY POINTS

Growth in the sector can be pro-poor and can contribute to Bangladesh achieving
Millennium Development Goals

Diversification implies the need for stronger capacity for integrated policy planning

The private sector will become the major player; government will have to support an
enabling environment that enables growth

Markets are critical; a strong focus is needed on ensuring quality in both internal and
external markets

Regional trade trends will have a direct impact. There is a clear need for scenario planning
with strong links to policy and public expenditure.
PRIORITY AREAS

Private sector development, social impact, and public sector investment on public policy
planning

Investment focus on regulation and on an enabling environment
RECOMMENDATIONS

Promote a sustained and increased output with good food supply and livelihood impact,
promoting pro-poor interests

Encourage widespread adoption of practical local community based approaches with good
levels of social equity

Make aquatic system/diversity data available at a strategic level to guide resource
management for sustained value

Develop a public/private sector hatchery strategy and enhanced sanctuaries, support
diverse and productive stocks

Ensure that the value and diversity of coastal fisheries is sustained within a broader
livelihood base for coastal communities

Guarantee private/public sector partnerships can operate an efficient and trustworthy
system for domestic and export needs, adding significant value to fishery sector products.
19
AN OVERVIEW OF CURRENT
PERFORMANCE
significant increases in fishing effort, which if
not contained will contribute to greater
reductions in production in the long term.
To establish the basis for future projections,
the study reviewed the full range of current
activities in the sector, their performance
characteristics, and hence the key factors
determining future potential. Relationships
between output, value, employment and
market price are particularly critical in
determining the wider impacts of the sector
and the ways in which these might change.
However, fish culture has had a major impact,
growing by ~14% per annum over the
decade. Specific areas of growth include carp
(20% per annum) and shrimp (3% per
annum). By contrast, there has been a
decline in market share for marine species,
snakehead and hilsa.
Box 2: Data sources and key sectoral outcomes
Accurate data on production and value from the
various fishery subsectors is difficult to establish. To
get the most realistic data, Bangladesh Bureau of
Statistics (BBS)/ World Bank household consumption
data were cross-checked with reported national
production figures, and further checked or validated
with data from smaller scale assessments. The data
trends derived were then used to develop a range of
expected outcomes:

Marine capture fisheries are unlikely to grow, and
more valuable species may decline further

Inland fisheries are likely to fall slightly, with
declining catch of floodplain stocks matched by
localised increases due to enhancement and
habitat management

Inland aquaculture will continue to grow strongly,
stimulated by good demand and increasing yields
and profitability. This will be the major source of
production gain.

Coastal aquaculture will grow steadily, assuming
international markets remain good and that
national product continues to be accepted. This
will be a major source of value gain.

More commercialised forms of aquaculture – at
small to medium scale – may well develop and
will be key sources for cheaper fish.
In 2000, the sector contributed Tk 92,914 M
(US$ 1,602 M) to national GDP, around 4% of
the total, involving a full-time equivalent of at
least 5.2 million people, or 9% of the labour
force. Exports were valued at Tk 2,369,640 M
(US$ 1,802 M), some 10% of total. The sector
functions as a safety net for income and food
for the rural poor, provides an important
source of animal protein and essential
elements for all consumers, and is particularly
important for poor people in both rural and
urban areas.
Table 7 Inland fisheries sub-groups
Types of
fishers
Subsistence
fishers
Part time
fishers
Landowners
with traps and
ponds (Kua)
Landowners
with fixed gill
nets (Katha)
Full time (small
scale) fishers
Full time
(medium scale)
Full time with
hilsa
Total
Value
added
(Tk M)
Employment
Return
s to
labour
Tk/day
165,321
2,480
275,534
30
99,192
3,591
26,451
453
99,192
3,690
6,012
2,046
165,321
5,057
153,075
110
66,128
2,123
77,149
92
66,128
2,205
113,996
64
89,137
7,791
78,191
332
750,419
26,937
730,408
3,127
Output
(mt)
The following sections provide further details
for capture fisheries, seed supply, stocked
systems and aquaculture.
Capture fisheries
Some 1.1 million people - landless, part time
and full time fishers and landowners - are
directly involved in capture fisheries. Around
650,000 (67%) are engaged in the inland
fisheries and 444,000 (33%) in coastal and
Picture box 3– inland fishing activity
Total output was estimated at 740,000t from
inland capture fisheries, 755,000t from inland
aquaculture, 95,000t from coastal aquaculture
(including finfish) and 587,000t from marine
fisheries. Over 70% of the fish consumed are
fresh water species. Data suggest that both
inland and marine capture fisheries are in
decline, respectively by around 2%, and 1.5%
per annum. Current levels of marine fisheries
production are only being maintained by
20
marine fisheries. The combined value added
from these is some Tk 56,000 M (US$ 974
M), of which Tk 27,000 M is from inland, and
Tk 29,000 M from marine fisheries. Average
value added per person is Tk 41,540 for
inland and Tk 65,320 for marine/coastal
sectors.
Seven groups can be described in inland
fisheries. Details of employment, value added
and returns to labour are shown in table 7.
Returns to labour are good within stocking
and enhancement schemes, and reasonably
high for fishers targeting hilsa. Returns
elsewhere are low and may fall further with
declines in catch per unit of effort and habitat
degradation. Further stocking of water bodies
might also exclude part time/subsistence
fishers.
Overall, though capture fisheries represents a
significant part of national output, employment
and livelihood, the picture for future
development is one of increasing pressure on
resources and a growing management
challenge in maintaining levels of output and
livelihood support. The complex and diverse
nature of these fisheries and their dependent
communities tell against uniform solutions,
and
requires
effective
yet
efficient
approaches.
Seed supply
The supply of aquatic seed is assuming an
increasing importance, meeting demands
both in aquaculture and in supplementary
stocking of open waters. Around 177,500
people are involved in fish and shrimp or
Picture box 4– shrimp seed collection
Five main sub-groups can be identified in the
marine fisheries sector, summarised in table 8
below showing employment, value added and
returns to labour per sector.
Returns to labour are highest in the
commercial gill net and shrimp trawl sector.
However, with continuing declines in catch
per unit of effort, these are likely to fall
significantly. Commercial gillnetting has
remained remarkably robust, largely as a
result of its dependence on hilsa. Artisanal
vessels diversifying to hilsa have also
remained reasonably profitable. All other
stocks are facing significant decline due to
overfishing.
Table 8. marine fisheries subsectors
Types of fishers Output
Value Employ Returns
(tonnes) added ment
to labour
(Tk M)
Tk/ day
Commercial gill 430,157 23,968 114,308
698
net fishers
Artisanal ESBN /
30,259
1,404
17,500
267
gill net
Artisanal ESBN / 103,394
1,348
32,561
138
Beach seine
Shrimp trawl
7,864
397
2,100
630
Industrial trawl
1,5326
83
900
307
PL collectors (M)
2,500
1,377 185,000
25
Total
589,500 28,577 352,369
2065
The poorer groups comprise the inshore
artisanal fishers who depend for much of the
year on catching juvenile species, which
cannot be sustainable in the long term, and
the Post Larvae (PL) collectors. PL collection
is highly sensitive given the size of the sector
in employment terms and its importance for
landless workers.
prawn seed collection, husbandry and
distribution generating a value added of
Tk1,467M. To this can be added a
conservative estimate of 185,000 (77,500 Full
Time Employed) collecting shrimp fry and a
further 2,000 collecting carp seed.
Some 630 private and 110 public sector
finfish hatcheries are estimated to produce
266,000 kg of fish seed. A further 2,700 kg of
wild hatchlings are caught from rivers.
Principal species are silver carp, Mrigal 7and
Rohu8, accounting for 67 % of the total. Other
species include Catla, mirror carp, common
carp, Rajputi, bighead carp, Pangas,9 grass
carp, black carp, tilapia and African Magur.10
There are a further 4,222 pre-stocking
nurseries, producing some 3,752 M ongrown
fry annually.
7
Cirrihina mrigala
An Indian carp- Labeo rohita
Pangasius – a robust and highly popular catfish species
10
Clarias spp, often hybrid catfish
8
9
21
The balance of supply between wild caught
and hatchery produced shrimp fry is more
even, although increasingly shifting towards
hatcheries. 3,460 M bagda11 fry are produced
from hatcheries, while wild caught fry
currently accounts for 2,000 M bagda and 380
M golda 12.
Though growing steadily, the hatchery sector
has notable constraints. For shrimp, problems
include early stocking and poor survival of fry
(12-15 days after PL stage); poor water
quality; poor pathogen and biosecurity
management; variable feed quality; excessive
use
of
chemicals;
and
inefficient
management. Consequently, most hatcheries
currently either break even or make marginal
losses, though potential profitability is good.
Picture box5: fry traders
For golda, hatchery productivity is still low,
and early stage water quality and feeding
problems have resulted in poor quality stock,
though this is improving steadily as
management expertise is developing13. For
carp, wild caught seed is still preferred
because of quality problems due to
inbreeding, though this is now starting to be
addressed with broodstock management
programmes. In all cases higher prices are
still paid for the wild caught seed.
Shrimp PL imports are prohibited because of
fears associated with disease introduction.
However, imports are increasingly common
for golda, milkfish and pangas, as there are
domestic supply shortages.
Stocked systems
The stocking of inland water bodies is now a
significant component of the sector. Various
approaches can be described, including:




stocking of enclosed water bodies; some
60,000 ha with yields of ~ 250 kg /ha
nursing and release into ponds, beels and
canals; some 2,500 ha with yields of up to
25 times previous production levels
direct flood plain stocking of beels;
90,000 ha were developed under the 3rd
Fisheries Programme,14 with yields of
between 30 and 250 kg/ha
stocking of rice-fields; some 5,000 ha,
with typical yields of 150-300 kg/ha.
The key issues are that whilst potentially
successful and profitable (30% margins have
been reported in direct flood plain stocking),
smaller units produce higher production
returns but management costs may increase.
While community based management (CBM)
regimes for such systems may offer
advantages for access and social equity,
management structures and their costs may
be critical.
In ricefields, stocking is only effective if some
degree of management of water and pesticide
use is feasible. Trends away from main crop
deep-water rice may reduce stocking
opportunities, though pressures on winter
crop capacity may revive interest. Stocking is
not universally successful, and habitat and
management conditions need to be carefully
assessed15.
Private sector initiatives, common in the NE
and SW, have worked well but with easier
access by local elite which led to the
exclusion of others, such as local community
groups. The greatest potential for expansion
and wider social impact is in the NW, where
social and physical conditions are more
favourable. All systems demonstrate high
yields at relatively low costs with good
potential for expansion.
Aquaculture
Bangladesh has seen a tremendous increase
in fish culture, growing by ~20% per annum
14
11
Tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon
Giant freshwater prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii
13
Two new private sector golda hatcheries in SE
Bangladesh, promoted by Danida, will be producing 12
million PL/yr from 2003 onwards
12
Third Fisheries Programme (1990-1997) Government
of Bangladesh/World Bank initiative to improve fisheries
output through stocking of water bodies and aquaculture
15
40,000ha of seasonally flooded rice fields in the
polderised areas of Noakhali District are gradually being
converted into rice cum prawn production units with 80%
pesticide reduction and 335Kg/ha production of golda.
22
over the last decade, with levels of ~ 750,000
MT in 2000 and 850,000 MT in 2002. More
than 400,000ha of freshwater pond and in the
order of 5 million households are involved.
There are also some 37,400 shrimp ghers
extending to 170,000ha producing 33,000 t of
shrimp, together with 37,000 t of finfish and
1,800 t of mud crab.

Nine major subsectors can be described, in
inland and coastal areas. Pond carp
polyculture accounts for 85% of production
from ~400,000 ha, producing Indian and
Chinese carps along with small indigenous
species. Pond monoculture, from ~ 700 ha,
produces a further 3%, mainly pangas and
tilapia. Other systems, of far less output
significance, include small-scale cage culture,
hapa16 nursing, commercial cage fish culture,
pen culture and lake/enclosure stocking.

The emphasis for inland aquaculture remains
mixed carp culture, with recent trends in
adding other species and in improving stock
quality. A current focus is on promoting small
indigenous species, with important local food
supply benefits, and increasing market prices.
Here, optimum use can be made of water
bodies, and many species are self-recruiting.

Observed average annual yields are as
follows:
 Pond polyculture: 1,500 kg/ha
 Pond monoculture: 2,500kg/ha
 Small scale cage culture: 30 kg/m 3
 Commercial cage culture: 60 kg/m 3
 Extensive shrimp (bagda17) culture: 188
kg/ha (excl. finfish, 235 kg/ha)
Picture box6: small-scale cage culture
Giant freshwater prawn (golda): 335
kg/ha (excl finfish, 417 kg/ha)
Value added from aquaculture is currently
estimated to total Tk 36,694 ($ US 643 M).
With fully costed labour, profit margins are:




pond polyculture, 57%, or Tk 43,000/ha
(US$ 747/ha)
pond monoculture, 42% or Tk 63,000/ha
(US$ 1,105 /ha)
small-scale cage culture, -20% (though
generating employment income, and
supplying food to poor households during
the monsoon period when there is a
severe food and income deficit)
Commercial cage culture: 11% (pangas)
– 16% (tilapia) or Tk 48.6/ m 3 ($ 0.85 /
m3)
Extensive shrimp (bagda) aquaculture,
46% or Tk 37,567/ha ($ 659/ha)
Giant freshwater prawn (golda), 55.4% or
Tk 75,099/ha ($ 792/ha).
Allowing for uncosted owner/operator inputs
in small-scale units, these systems all
currently generate high profits, as most input
costs are low. Whilst shrimp and golda fry are
relatively expensive18, savings are made with
the low cost of labour and limited use of other
inputs such as feed and fertiliser.
All of these systems have considerable
potential for expansion. For carp polyculture,
the largest subsector, a very significant
number of small ponds or ditches (dobas) and
some derelict ponds could be brought into
use under multiple ownership. Recent
analysis of the Mymensingh Aquaculture
Extension Project (MAEP) shows that a
modest extension effort raised average yields
to above 3t/ha. In the seven district MAEP
area, annual revenue from polyculture
increased to nearly US$200 million from an
investment of less than $30 million over a 13
year period. Other systems also exhibit strong
growth potential including pond monoculture
for pangas, though its market may be more
limited19.
Whilst cage culture and nursing systems e.g.
for golda, presently offer lower returns, their
scope for expansion as small-scale activities
is considerable, given adequate access to
resources. Profitability could also increase in
18
16
A simple fine mesh net bag suspended in a pond or
other water body, in which fry or fingerling are stocked
17
Other species are also produced but in far smaller
quantities
Increased private sector hatchery production has
reduced the price from Tk2/PL to Tk0.8/PL during the
2002 production season in Noakhali.
19
The market value for pangas has dropped by 50%
during 2002.
23
Box 3: Mymensingh Aquaculture Extension Project
(MAEP)
A good example of the potential impacts of aquaculture
development is given by the MAEP. Supported by the
DoF with Danish technical assistance this was initiated
in 1989 and is due to complete in 2003. The MAEP
has developed ad promoted pond polyculture systems
suitable for smallholders, with activities in 7 districts of
the greater Mymensingh area with a current population
of 17.8 million. The MAEP has had a tremendous
impact on production in the project area; rising from
80,000 metric tones (mt) in 1989 to 329,000 mt in
2002. Average yield has risen from 4kg/Dec (1mt/ha) to
13.5kg/Dec (3.3mt/ha).
Importantly, target group households reported a higher
yield than non-target wealthier pond owners indicating
the suitability of the MAEP approach. Production from
the MAEP districts of 329 thousand mt represents 39%
of the 850,000mt of inland fish culture production in
Bangladesh though representing only 10% of its
surface area. This demonstrates the clear benefits of
public/private service delivery providing inputs,
technology transfer and micro finance designed to
promote optimised and diversified integrated food
production at the homestead level.
This productionapproaches
impact translates
to verymore
substantial
commercial
using
cages
direct
economic
Conservative
and
with
moreimpact.
effective
labour calculation
management.
shows that annual revenue from fish cultivation has
Social
benefits
risen from
USD 44.6 for
millionthese
in 1980 techniques
to USD 235.7 are
considerable
food/income
million in 2001, an given
increase ofother
USD 191 million.
shortages for growers at the time of harvest.
A recent area of expansion is that of microscale aquaculture in small borrow-pits and
ditches and simple small hapas and
enclosures. Evidence at this stage is that
these systems, using low inputs and based on
tilapia and other non-traditional stocks, can be
very profitable over short-cycle production
periods. Though insignificant in output they
may have important roles in livelihoods of
poorer and landless groups.
Constraints to the expansion of aquaculture
include access to land and water bodies,
seed supply, soil fertility, water retention in
ponds, organic pollution, susceptibility to
flooding, and water shortages during the dry
season. Disease and poaching are common
risks, but particularly in the shrimp sector
where White-spot virus20 has reached almost
pandemic levels and has for now reduced
larger scale commercial interest. In other
sectors the development of polyculture
systems, and the use of pond-dyke cropping
are important in reducing risk. Poaching is
reduced if ponds are close to dwellings and if
social constraints are effective. Nonetheless,
pond guards are a significant overhead cost
in many systems.
20
Impacts can be reduced by screening broodstocks and
fry and by care in exchanging water, but procedures are
not well developed in Bangladesh.
Picture box7 – family golda gher
operations (or women tending to ghers)
Social issues have been particularly
prominent in shrimp farming where larger
owners had replaced historically marginal/
smaller farmers, involving considerable rights
abuse, conflict and social disruption. However
this trend is now being reversed as risks in
larger and more intensive farms had been too
great, and profits lower than in smaller scale
systems. The average size of bagda ghers
(4.5 ha) has been gradually falling. Apart from
disease risks, key problems for this sector
include poor pond design and construction,
high PL mortality rates, poor water
management, poor quality supplementary
feeds, and inadequate post harvest
conditions.
Table 9. Aquaculture sub-sectoral features
Type of
Output Value
Employment Returns to
aquaculture
(mt)
added
labour Tk
(Tk M)
per day
Pond carp
814,880 26,164 803,290
696
polyculture
Pond
5,000
455
1,120
1,284
monoculture
Small scale
10,000 11
1,200
45
cage /hapa
culture
Commercial
120
1.4
80
194-221
cage culture
Pen culture
20,000 1500
2000
Significant
Bagda farms* 32,824 7,674
94,342
223
Golda farms* 39,149 2,389
58,333
112
*producing an additional 22,500 t of finfish annually
In spite of these constraints, low-input small
scale systems are profitable, and there is
good potential for expansion in bagda and
golda culture, which continue to give returns
to use of land and labour input considerably in
excess of alternatives. Supplementary
feeding, common and gradually improving in
golda culture, could give significant gains in
bagda systems, whose yields are well below
24
regional averages. However, if appropriately
developed the simple systems now in use
may have potential in meeting international
interest in obtaining supplies from socially and
environmentally accredited sources.
Development along more conventional and
intensified directions is also feasible and has
potential provided stocks can be improved,
better and cost-effective supplementary feeds
made available, and disease losses reduced.
Higher input levels will reduce profitability but
overall returns will still offer considerable
scope for growth. Much however, will depend
on increasing management skills, improving
core infrastructure – water supply and pond
construction and support services.
Post harvest functions
Several different elements can be defined;
those serving domestic markets – based on
bulking, distribution, and limited processing,
mainly drying, and those targeted towards
exports, mainly for shrimp, involving grading,
primary treatment such as cleaning and deheading, freezing and packing in bulk,
catering or retail forms.
There are some 3 -5 million workers within
the domestic market and distribution sectors,
generating a value added of Tk 38,356M,
comprising Tk 33,302M from finfish and Tk
2,658M from shellfish. The fish processing
sector employs a further 9,780 workers,
(3,260 full time equivalents), adding value of
2,396 M (US$ 42 M).
Within the overall supply and value chain,
fishers/producers generate an average 50%
of retail price, and value added within postharvest sector is generally small, the result of
diversified markets with relatively high levels
of competition between buyers and market
intermediaries. Average margins from first
sale to consumer are some 16% for fresh
water finfish, 30% for marine finfish, and 16%
in the processing sector. There is some
evidence much greater margins for some
marine species. Where demand is inelastic,
with small numbers of buyers, fishers in
remote communities may be more heavily
exploited with margins as high as 75%.
Conversely, farmers selling to village ghats
may only lose around 10-20% of the final
retail price.
The fresh fish distribution system is generally
efficient in retaining a locally acceptable level
of fish quality and handling supply
fluctuations, with wide network of traders and
a reasonably efficient distribution system.
However post harvest quality control could
and should be greatly improved. Rural and
urban market centres are well distributed,
though informal markets, often favoured over
municipal or BFDC21 facilities are poorly
serviced. In contrast, the shrimp and prawn
distribution system is inefficient and less
competitive, compounded by difficulties
associated with access to ghers, ultimately
impacting on quality. Major concern relates to:






Picture box 8– fish market
declining supplies in the marine fisheries
poor quality dried fish
Financial and management constraints in
BFDC markets
Growth of ad hoc primary marketing
centres with poor facilities and sanitation
A failure of consumers to recognise the
benefits of improved sanitary conditions
on fish quality
Freshwater prawn marketing systems at
the local level provide a flexible
purchasing mechanism whereby poor
farmers can market anything from one
100g prawn to 50kg of prawns. However,
quality control needs to be greatly
improved.
Around 20 % of the total output of marine fish
is sold in dried form. While this provides a
relatively stable and easily distributed
product, much of the nutritional value is lost,
and the use of chemicals and pesticides to
cure the product and/or prevent insect
infestation during drying is a source of
continued concern for the health of
consumers. Research to improve drying
21
Bangladesh Fishery Development Corporation
25
systems and develop alternatives to chemical
use has been largely ineffective.
The availability of surplus raw materials, as
by-catch from shrimp trawling, or in seasonal
gluts, has led over past decades to a range of
proposals for further processing – salting,
pickling, canning or re-forming (e.g. fish flours
or fish balls) for domestic consumption, or for
the production of fish silages or fish meal for
animal
feeds
(including
those
for
aquaculture).
Whether artisanal or commercial, such
initiatives are in theory very attractive, offering
significant potential for increasing food
supply, adding value and generating
employment, However, they have been
constrained by variable supply and quality of
raw materials, by technology limitations,
particularly for small-scale applications, and
by poorly developed markets. Though future
opportunities are not out of the question, they
would require very careful assessment.
and India. However, national output from
aquaculture is increasing, and more people
will become involved in supply. This may also
bring about stable or slightly falling real prices
over the longer term, and as more predictable
aquaculture supplies increase, market chain
rationalisation can be expected. However, the
continuing diversity of retail market outlets will
reduce tendencies to market concentration
and greatly increased buyer power. Thus,
wholesale and retail margins may rise over
the longer term but are not expected to reflect
significant monopoly positions amongst
buyers.
Picture box10 – shrimp process workers
Picture box 9– typical market chain diagram
Apart from remote fishing communities, the
marketing system is not overly exploitative at
present, with trading margins usually kept low
through competition for raw materials. The
balance of market power and social impact is
however complicated by the role of aratdars
(primary market agents) and intermediaries
as sources of credit for producers, though
evidence suggests that competition reduces
the potential for exploitation.
Within the fish sector, increased competition
is likely, driven by demand, and some
aratdars are already importing from Myanmar
The shrimp and prawn distribution system is
currently beset with poor post-harvest
handling and excessive delays in product
reaching processors. This is primarily
associated with very dispersed production
sites and market chain networks, and carries
with it serious risks of product contamination
and loss of quality. Quality control has been
mainly directed towards processors, when
many of the issues arise earlier in the supply
chain; for example deheading of golda to
allow for household consumption of the
heads. The current reluctance of processors
to become actively involved in the trading
system will require to change if increasing
demands for product quality and traceability
are to be met.
The process and export sector
There are 124 processing factories in
Bangladesh, mostly located in Khulna and
Chittagong. Of these 73 are operational,
whilst the others are said to be awaiting
approval for HACCP22 certification. Capacity
22
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point –
26
far outstrips supply, and even the working
factories only operate at around 18-20%
capacity.
will also need to be addressed, and
management
and
monitoring
systems
developed to assure consumers that sound
practices are in use.
Product sales comprise 72% unprocessed
(i.e.
frozen
whole)
product,
24%
prepared/preserved and 4% other products
(largely frozen fresh water fish for export).
Though it is suggested that Bangladeshi
export prices fall below those offered for
products from elsewhere, the evidence for
this is not clear. Those price differentials that
occur, unless due to under-reporting, may be
as a result of a generally lower average sized
product, or the product mix.
The sector has benefited from a series of
direct and indirect tax concessions,
undertaken to promote production capacity
and enhance export earnings potential, and
more recently to facilitate adoption of HACCP
standards and procedures. However, these
incentives appear to have acted primarily to
stimulate inefficiencies, and considerable
rationalisation might be expected within the
sector.
The main markets for Bangladesh exports are
the USA, 40%, followed by the EU (UK,
Netherlands, Belgium and Germany), 39%.
Demand is strong for both bagda and golda.
Fresh water frozen fish is exported primarily
for expatriate Bangladeshi communities.
Other export commodities include salted and
dried fish and mud crabs. However, the
quantities exported, and their values, are not
significant.
The key concern for exporters is their
vulnerability with respect to hygiene practices.
Past experiences with inadequate quality
control and the inability to monitor handling
and process practices reliably leave them
widely open to price downgrading or even the
refusal to accept product. Due to a range of
incidents, poor inspection results, and lack of
trust by international buyers in the existing
monitoring capacity, the reputation of
Bangladesh product abroad is not robust.
For these reasons, and to restore and build
up
the
industry’s
reputation,
further
improvements will be required for the system
of quality control and post harvest care.
Rising international concern for negative
social and environmental features of the
shrimp industry, and for working conditions
within the production and processing sectors
systematised approach for food sanitary control widely
required for higher value international markets.
27
LIVELIHOODS
KEY POINTS

Civil society is important in ensuing continued access to common property and pro poor
forms of aquaculture

Broader policy planning processes are needed to reflect the livelihoods of poor people, with
specific focus for needs of poor women and children

Fish remains a critical element of food security in Bangladesh. Public policy needs to enable
increased and sustained access to fish products by the poor.
PRIORITY AREA

Need to support policy/institutional frameworks that can understand and respond to the
livelihoods of poor people engaged in fisheries
RECOMMENDATIONS

Landless fishing communities currently occupying Khas lands should be legally settled and
given land rights

The current policy of free access to open water fisheries should be examined as full time
fisherfolk have suffered reduced access to the resource due to the policy

Khas land occupation by large-scale aquaculture units should be stopped by improved
planning and regulation
28
LIVELIHOODS
It has been a particular aim of this review to
understand linkages between sectoral
features and their economic performance,
and the livelihoods of different groups of
people, particularly those who lack assets,
rights and access to opportunity. By
developing a better understanding of these
linkages it should be possible to identify how
change will impact on individuals, families and
communities, and whether growth in the
sector and its component elements might
compromise the interests of poorer and more
vulnerable people.
Picture box11: rural family or community
scene
More positively, change might be harnessed
to achieve improved outcomes in poverty
alleviation, food supply and security, and
social and economic empowerment. A
livelihoods perspective also allows fishery
sector activities to be defined within the wider
range of options potentially available to
specific groups, and the broader context of
human and social development.
Fishing activities are particularly associated
with poorer rural dwellers in Bangladesh, as
an opportunity to apply specialised skills and
generate income, and as a means of access
to food in seasonal shortages. Within the
wider fishery sector, value addition and
employment equivalents have already been
used to define national and local significance.
However, many other factors bear on the
social impacts of the sector and on the
implications of change.
These include access to resources and rights
to fish, opportunities for work within
production and supply networks, distribution
of earnings within communities and
households, and processes of debt,
indebtedness and access to credit. These link
in turn with factors such as the effectiveness
of social mobilisation or support networks,
and human resource issues such as skills,
information, security and confidence, There
are also important issues of access and
protection for women and children, and the
implications for their opportunities and the
security obtained therein.
A key issue within the livelihoods perspective
is the degree of dependence on fishery sector
activities, and how that dependence, and its
costs and benefits, is mediated by various
social and economic processes. Here,
profound longer-term changes can be
expected in the balance of economic and
ultimately political power between urban and
rural populations, and in the extent to which
small-scale, niche activities linked with
traditional social processes remain available
as safety nets for poorer people. While
economic values of rural output for national
markets could grow, the distribution of that
value may become more concentrated.
However, in potential mitigation, local,
national and international civil society agents
have been significant in promoting the
interests and opportunities for poorer
communities.
There are also important linkages with the
natural resource base and its capacity and
quality. This applies both to the significance of
Box 4 : Poverty definitions and the fishery sector
It is important to clarify the relative positions of groups
of people with respect to their access to fishery sector
activities and the benefits so derived. A key challenge is
to identify those whose poverty, by any indicator, is
extreme, and to understand how their opportunities are
constrained and how these constraints may be eased.
Several categories can be applied, eg
 World Bank (Rashed un Nabi et al, 1999) – rich, the
middle, the social poor, the helpless poor and the
bottom, or hated poor
 DFID/BIDS – tomorrow’s poor, moderate poor and
extreme poor - based on calorie intake, food deficit,
land ownership, per capita income and household
income
 CBFM2 – 5 categories based around the moderate
and extreme poor, and involvement in fishing
The extreme poor are heavily represented amongst
widows, deserted women, older people, disabled, highly
concentrated in riverine areas with poorer infrastructure
and less productive land, lack assets (only 50% own
homesteads) and opportunities (60% in day labour),
have poorer health, higher morbidity, poorer education,
lack patrons, access to officials, access to credit, are
likely to be socially excluded from NGO groups and
community organisations.
29
Box 5: Gender
There are important gender dimensions in most aspects
of the fisheries sector, though these are often either
ignored or imperfectly understood. Full time and part
time professional fishers in open waters are invariably
male. However, women are involved in fisheries
activities such as net weaving and repair, collection of
fish fry and shrimp postlarvae, fish processing and in
some cases selling fish in their locality. Women can be
involved in subsistence fishing, though the cultural
restrictions on their mobility mean that they normally
only fish close to their homes.
In general, relatively few women have traditionally been
involved in aquaculture. However, notable benefits to
women have been identified. Land and productive
assets still normally fall under the control and
ownership of men: women still require permission for
most decisions involving household expenditures and
this is a severe constraint to their full participation. The
improvement in food security resulting from a
productive pond is a significant benefit for a woman
both as the household manager and with their families,
as a potential consumer of the increased protein and
other nutrients which fish provide. Women report an
increased status in their communities as a result of their
increased knowledge of aquaculture. In addition,
roughly half of the people employed in shrimp/prawn
processing factories are women.
Within most poor households, women’s diets are less
nutritious than those of men, and pregnant and lactating
women are more vulnerable to problems caused by
poor nutrition. The availability of fish, or the opportunity
to purchase better quality food can have significant
health impact.
specific resources for particular groups, and
to the impacts of human induced or other
change on these resources. In addition to
broad indicators of resource output such as
trends of production and price, more
localised, species-linked issues can be
defined. One such is the importance of
smaller indigenous aquatic species, whether
in capture fisheries or aquaculture, which
form a large part of the fish diet of poorer and
often nutritionally deficient people. Here also,
growing commercialisation will lead to
changing levels of exploitation and the
removal of access to traditionally less
favoured species for local, often opportunistic
consumption by poorer groups.
The following sections set out the important
livelihoods dimensions of the fisheries,
aquaculture and post-harvest sub-sectors and
the livelihoods perspectives for poor
consumers respectively. A separate section
then addresses environmental issues. These
are all taken up further in considering the
directions and implications of future
developments.
Given the difficulties of introducing improved
management regimes, it seems unlikely that
the overall decline in output will be reversed.
However, capture fisheries are a relatively
open access activity for poorer and landless
people, and become a source of last resort
income. More widely derived processes of
impoverishment, whether longer or shorterterm in nature tend to result in greater
numbers
of
people
increasing
their
dependence on fisheries. The current
expansion of aquaculture will lead to the
compartmentalisation of wetlands or use of
floodplains for rice cum fish/prawn and
community based aquaculture. Typically
seasonally fallow land submerged during the
monsoon provides an area where the
landless can glean food23. A change in land
use will reduce the landless’ ability to cope
during food insecure months, hence
alternative income generating activities need
to be provided.
In coastal areas in particular such increased
dependence has placed additional pressure
on stocks and increased conflict between and
within fishing communities. In inland waters,
the numbers of professional fishers have
reduced, and those engaged part-time to near
full time have increased. Seasonal fishers
exploit not only areas such as the floodplain,
previously not fished intensively, but
increasingly also the beels and other areas
left ‘vacant’ by professional fishers who have
left, or been forced to leave the fishery.
Access
to
fishing
resources,
and
management, emerge as key factors in
livelihoods of those dependent on fishing.
This is equally as critical in both coastal
fisheries, with relatively open access, and
inland fisheries where a range of public and
private sector agents control access to water
bodies
through
formal and
informal
mechanisms, whose primary function is to
extract short-term rent. Provisions for longerterm sustainability of resources, or for
supporting or enhancing equity are negligible.
Where management measures are applied
they are likely to serve elite interests, and
tend to enforce social sanctions of poorer
sectors. These positions are further
strengthened by the increased private capture
of resources through the use of water
23
Capture fisheries
All capture fisheries of Bangladesh are under
intense pressure and social competition.
A study recently carried out for Danida in Noakhali has
shown that 28% of the landless depend on access to
seasonally flooded private and Khas land for 100% of
their animal protein intake during the monsoon and 15%
of their annual income. (Alamgir Chowdhury et al 2003)
30
controls, or private
attraction devices.
fish
sanctuaries
or
Key livelihood issues
There is substantial local variation in the
importance of fisheries, as reflected in local
economies and within rural households.
Contributions to household nutrition and
income also vary greatly from year to year,
due mainly to wide fluctuations in catch
associated with variable flooding conditions.
Key issues are that:











Part time fishing is a significant activity for
the landless in many parts of the country
Roughly 50% of the subsistence24 catch
is sold overall; the landless and poor sell
a greater proportion of their catch
Children play a large role in subsistence
fishing and selling
Women’s involvement in fishing is
commonly limited for sociocultural
reasons, except for very poor and/or older
widows
Women are particularly vulnerable to
intimidation in resource access conflict
Relatively few fisher families are totally
dependent on fishing for their livelihoods
and this is particularly true of inland
fishers.
Normally, even professional fisher
families have a diverse range of
strategies with which they create their
livelihoods
Many of these other livelihood strategies
also rely on natural assets associated
with fringing environments, which vary
with location. The more land a household
owns, the more of their livelihood will
come from farming activities
Social tension and conflict are particular
sources of vulnerability in conditions of
change and increased resource pressure
Literacy
levels
in
most
fishing
communities are lower than the national
average.
Fishers have skills and
knowledge related to fishing and fish
selling but few other specific skills to
which they can easily turn for alternative
income generation.
Minority fishing community groups are
having their access to the resource
reduced due to common access and
social pressure.
Resource and management Issues
Fishery-related livelihoods depend particularly
on the extent and quality of resource, access
opportunities, and the way in which all of
these are managed. Key issues are that:






Livelihood implications






24
Broadly defined as being carried out directly for food
supply, or supporting communities through traditional
systems of social exchange -- rather than explicitly for
market sale
Planned and unplanned changes to the
hydrology and management of inland
waters have resulted in loss of significant
fishing potential;
The Open Access Policy (1995) has
tended to reduce the access of poor
fishers to open water fishing
Leasing policies for closed jalmohals are
not implemented in a way which gives
poor fishers sustainable access to and
control over water bodies
There is competition between artisanal
fishers, and other fisher groups,
particularly in coastal areas
Civil society groups have been important
in mobilising communities to strengthen
the position of poorer groups in gaining
access to resources.
However, there are concerns about how
effective these processes can be without
continued external support.
The increase in numbers of fisherfolk and
the declining catch mean that it is very
difficult for the poor to secure a livelihood
from fishing activities alone.
Artisanal/coastal fishers are vulnerable to
exploitation by buyers in increasingly
competitive conditions when dependence
on credit increases.
It is difficult for most fishers to do more
than hold on to existing livelihood assets;
fishing provides few opportunities for
increasing
assets
or
reducing
vulnerability, but is essential in allowing
livelihoods to continue
Livelihood diversification even by full-time
traditional fishers has begun and is likely
to develop further. However, due to new
entrants into fishing, the overall level of
dependence may not markedly reduce.
Though the capture of wild post larvae
has been blamed for the decline of some
fish species, the fishery has been highly
important for a substantial group of the
very poor for whom few fishing
alternatives can be discerned.
Livelihoods
approaches
need
to
recognise the complete context in which
communities are placed, in which fisherylinked constraints and their resolution
may not be the only route for change.
31
Box 6: Floodplain fisheries management, enhancement and livelihoods
In many floodplains it had been the practice to leas waters annually to the highest bidder by the Ministry of Land. As a
consequence, persons with capital, not necessarily engaged directly in fishing or even residents of the area, often got the
leases and then sublet them. Under the New Fisheries Management Policy proposals were developed to allow better
access by fishing people. Under the World Bank Third and Fourth Fisheries projects, and other initiatives, floodplain
management committees comprising representatives of fishermen, NGOs, local government officials, and the Department
of Fisheries were established in selected locations to take up water body leases, develop fishing plans for the area, decide
on the annual fee for each type of gear used, based on such factors as gear efficiency, flooding level, and the risk of over
fishing and poaching. The combination of motivation and licensing has the aim of improving the ability of fishing groups to
organize themselves, take advantage of increased project benefits, and contribute to cost recovery.
While many of the operational details associated with participatory management are still being worked out within the local
communities, there are positive signs in some locations, with fishing groups developing and making collective decisions,
closing off fishing areas, building sanctuaries and rehabilitating nursery areas, and wintering water bodies. In a limited
number of cases, alternative income generating activities have been identified to cover periods in which fishing activities are
suspended. However, conditions vary – socially and ecologically -- very widely, and it is difficult to be certain at this stage
that many projects deliver sufficient benefits, particularly if project support inputs are required, eg to engage NGOs in
community mobilisation. Furthermore, although stocking water bodies appears to be a positive initiative, the fishing
resources are often complex, and the data and information required to make good management decisions can be difficult
and expensive to acquire and maintain. Moreover, in many project locations, genuine representation by poorer fishing
groups is still hard to obtain, even with social support, as local elites are often in a better position to gain access and
influence. Even without their direct involvement in management groups, the influence they may have as sources of
seasonal credit, or market buyers, may still continue their dominance in decision-making.
At best it must be realised that with good site and community selection and with broader-based support and involvement
(ie with a wider livelihoods approach), the potential for financial returns on better managed fisheries can be an important
incentive to maintain local management structures. However, a ‘one size fits all’ approach is unlikely to be workable and
reduced access to the floodplains by the landless will certainly harm their incomes and animal protein intake.

Fishing pressure on coastal stocks
means that artisanal fisherfolk need to
travel further offshore to find fish. As their
boats are not equipped for this (nonmechanised and small), the better off are
providing the boats and using the
artisanal fishers as labourers thus
reducing incomes and increasing risks.
Community based fisheries management
The role of local, community based fisheries
management is one of the most interesting
and potentially rewarding in terms of
establishing local responsibility for natural
resources, improving the efficiency and
accountability of management, and creating
structures whose economic outputs and
social distribution features provide the
potential to be self-sustaining in delivering
equitable outcomes. In cases where these are
combined with rehabilitation of water bodies
to create better access and better habitat for
fish stocks, or where low levels of stocks can
be enhanced with the addition of new seed
(Box 6) these potentials can be even more
marked.
However, the difficulty of establishing and
making operational these systems cannot be
underestimated. Particularly so if they
confront existing power structures and have
inadequate internal strengths. The time taken
to
establish
durable
self-sustaining
management structures involving poorer
groups can also be considerable. The
requirements for resource management data
and the means to apply these in effective
management action are also relatively little
tested at this stage. The costs of support and
of information supply and management and
the unproven effectiveness of sanctions for
non-compliance with management controls
are also practical concerns. Notwithstanding
these issues, community-based approaches,
perhaps if extended to embrace a more
complete array of livelihood components in
which communities may have a role,
represent one of the few means by which
these systems might managed
Aquaculture
Livelihoods connections with aquaculture are
also complex, and for poorer groups its
growth has brought both negative and
positive effects. Most of those engaged
directly, even relatively poor smaller-scale
producers, possess some assets, and
commonly have at least small land holdings
and access to funds or initial and working
capital. However, some form of aquaculture;
small-scale cage culture, hapa fry nursing,
community pond or enclosure production and
fish culture in rice fields, may be directly
accessible for poorer households, requiring
little initial asset base, but some degree of
organisation for social support, skill
development and longer-term protection of
land or water assets.
In other respects poorer groups are
negatively
affected
when
aquaculture
producers appropriate open water bodies or
32
khas land or block their connection to river
systems, thereby depriving access to a vital
livelihood resource, or reducing its fishery
potential. Where
aquaculture
supplies
compete with those from capture fisheries,
prices may drop, or more significantly, traders
may take advantage of greater supply
competition to increase their power,
particularly in more remote communities.
Positive effects can however arise when
aquaculture development provides new
income earning or employment opportunities.
As well as building new ponds, and repairing
existing systems, labourers are often hired to
harvest fish, and with expected increases in
output and productivity these demands are
likely to increase. A secondary benefit is that
labourers may share less marketable small
fish and other aquatic organisms for their
families’ consumption.
Bagda shrimp culture has had a particularly
notable impact on the livelihoods of many
people in coastal areas. While some
households have seen significant financial
benefits, either from conversion of land to
shrimp culture or from opportunities for wage
labour in the new developments, others have
been forced from their land to make way for
shrimp farms. In many cases, neighbouring
plots have suffered from salinity intrusion.
Marginal farmers and the landless have
benefited from the need for post-larvae, but
as earlier outlined, these activities are also of
questionable sustainability.
The production of golda has been important in
improving the livelihoods of many thousands
of moderately poor households in SW
Bangladesh, though risks associated with
disease losses, rising costs of seed and
locally produced feeds, and high costs of
credit, had reduced returns and some cases
led to significant losses and the need to sell
land, ponds and other essential assets. The
introduction of polyculture and dike-cropping
techniques, diversifying income and reducing
risks has been helpful in maintaining benefits.
However the continued expansion of the
sector has also been an element in blocking
access to open water bodies and reducing
fishing opportunities.
In all cases, expanded output has increased
economic activity in rural areas and brought
about increased demands for inputs and
services, creating a range of secondary
opportunities, many of which are accessible
to poorer groups, particularly in labour supply,
but also in collection, production or sale of
inputs. A recent development has been the
emergence of specialised work teams
contracting to build and repair ponds.
Key livelihood issues for aquaculture



Not all forms of aquaculture production
are accessible to poorer or more
vulnerable groups. However, some forms,
if properly selected, have good potential
for financial returns and do not add
significantly to risks.
In such circumstances, asset bases can
be significantly improved, and poor
groups can gain resources and social
standing.
Women and children have normally been
involved in household linked activities
such as preparing simple feeds, mending
gear and collecting fish for domestic use.
Box 7: Small-scale cage culture for poor
communities
Rampur village is on the banks of the Purnabab River
in the northern part of Bangladesh. It is a village of
Hindu families whose profession is fishing the river
during the flood season. During the winter months
these families frequently went hungry as there was
little water in the river and most of them had no land for
farming. Now they grow fish in small cages in the river
and they can eat all the year round. The fish are fed
on freshwater mussels that grow there, and rice bran.
The traps are guarded by the community, which uses a
shift system to which each family contributes. This
method of growing fish has kept these villagers in a
profession many of them thought was disappearing.
With the profit from the cages the villagers hope to
build more and expand the business. The
development of these new skills has also strengthened
the communal and social bonds in the village. These
changes are just important to them as the financial
gains they have made from growing fish in cages.
(Source: ‘Fisheries in the Livelihoods of the Poor’, Jim
Monan).





Some forms of aquaculture can increase
their direct involvement in production and
for women to gain greater financial
standing
Other opportunities relate to the
production of fish in golda ponds, to fry
nursing and to dike crop production.
Access to natural capital (land/pond) and
financial capital (credit for inputs) are
major constraints for the poor, although
the private sector in Noakhali is providing
PL on ‘pay at harvest’ terms.
Khas land and ponds are often denied to
the poor even with the support of policy or
local institutional organisations
No policies exist to support those forms of
aquaculture which are accessible to the
poor. These are needed to permit secure
access to public or privately owned water
33




bodies to rear fish in cages and pens
Few institutions currently have the
capacity to spread the knowledge and
application of pro-poor technologies.
For poorest groups, social organisation
and asset protection can be particularly
important, and would require similar
levels of care to those involved in
community fisheries management.
While labour inputs in aquaculture can be
important, there are few safeguards with
respect to work conditions.
Informal opportunities for food supply in
collecting unmarketed fish after harvest
may diminish as cultures become more
specialised and more species go to
market.
Picture box12 – women breaking snails
important. Employment conditions are often
better than those in surrounding areas, and
with significant numbers of seasonally mobile
workers, accommodation, basic health and
other services are sometimes available. This
sector offers particular opportunities for
women and while this has increased
independence and self-sufficiency, it may be
at the expense of separation from families
and children during the production season.
Traditionally,
work
opportunities
were
associated specifically with seasonal patterns
of capture fisheries, though nearer urban
centres, the aggregation of supplies from a
range of sources would tend to level out some
of the more extreme variability. Though
aquaculture production has tended to widen
out supply, and hence the potential to extend
employment through longer periods, much of
this is still seasonal and to some extent
related to specific periods of seed and water
availability.
Consumers
Post-harvest activities
The market chains for both capture fisheries
and aquaculture production involve significant
numbers of people, commonly working as day
labourers, offering short-term inputs for
specific but normally unskilled functions such
as transport, grading and packing of product,
shipping and breaking block ice, washing,
salting and drying fish, portering in market
stands, assisting retail purchasers. A range of
informal tasks, often carried out by children
includes assisting with carrying and grading
fish,
collecting
supplies,
conveying
information. Most labour is contracted based
around prevailing wage rates, though
networks of patronage usually determine the
amount of work available, and the terms in
which payments are settled.
A more organised structure can be described
for process workers, particularly those in the
export sector, for whom levels of training and
awareness of issues such as hygiene and
quality control are becoming increasingly
Primary livelihood associations for the fishery
sector have been described in terms of
involvement in production and in labour
supply, mainly for poorer and more vulnerable
people in rural areas. The issue has already
been noted of the risks associated with
declining capture fishery access and output,
and increased commercialisation of both
fishery and aquaculture sectors, in providing a
consumption safety net for poorer rural
households. While this may be compensated
for some by increased purchasing power
associated
with
better
wage
labour
opportunities, such options may not be
available to more vulnerable groups, for
whom access to good nutrition may also be
more critical. There are therefore continuing
concerns about how wide access to fish
consumption can be maintained.
The availability of fishery or aquatic products
to the population as a whole is also a
livelihoods issue. This is particularly the case
for poorer people in urban areas, for whom
access to higher quality food through
conventional market routes is an important
element in health and nutrition. Where fish
continues to be a culturally important item of
consumption, significance is also attached to
the ability to purchase it regularly, and its
importance in social exchange.
The limited evidence available suggests that
although alternative protein sources such as
milk and eggs are become significantly
34
Picture box13: poor urban settlement
cheaper and more accessible to poorer
groups, fish continues to occupy an important
place in urban diets, and consumers actively
seek opportunities to purchase fish. Better
physical access to urban markets has meant
that a wider range of fish is available,
including those which are less favoured and
cheaper than the higher priced Indian carps,
pangas, hilsa, marine fish and the more
valued small indigenous species.
Due primarily to aquaculture production, the
real price of fish has remained relatively
stable over the last decade. With rising
average incomes and continuing population
growth, the potential for prices to be
contained and remain within the reach of
poorer consumers will depend on greater
growth rates in output.
improve, though this will also depend on other
social
factors,
including
their
own
opportunities to earn cash income.
Key livelihoods issues
 Consumption for poorer groups is critical
amongst both rural and urban populations
 The poorest members of the community
depend on access to floodplains, beels,
roadside borrow pits etc during food
insecure months. Changing land use,
including unplanned aquaculture, is
reducing access.
 Artisanal fishing communities are also
suffering form the combined effects of
overfishing and reduced access to the
resource.
 In rural areas, poor people have
traditionally consumed a wide range of
unmarketed aquatic plant and animal
species
 Declining trends in inland capture
fisheries may threaten their food supply
 Greater market demands for a wider
range of species may reduce access, e.g.
to small indigenous species, and reduce
food quality
 Poor women and children are a special
concern as their nutrition needs are
unmet.
 Real prices of aquatic products will be
critical for access amongst the urban
poor.
Some potential may exist for wider marketing
of poorer quality marine fish, particularly
those taken as bycatch in shrimp fisheries,
but prices of these species will have to rise
sufficiently for an adequate return to be
available for vessel operators, and to cover
market margins. Increased supply from
aquaculture is likely to occur, and to retain a
substantial focus towards domestic supply,
hence increasing the potential for prices to
stabilise or even decline.
The implications for livelihoods are primarily
in terms of widening opportunities for food
security and increasing the disposable
income for other necessities. This in turn
would lower access barriers amongst poorest
sectors and improve their overall human
development or livelihood indicators. Within
households, access to better quality food for
women and children would potentially
35
ENVIRONMENT
KEY POINTS

Lack of fresh surface water in the dry season will be the main environmental issue and a
critical development challenge facing Bangladesh and the region over the next century.

Most of Bangladesh’s fresh water arises outside the country in India, China, Bhutan and
Nepal. Fresh water issues are political in nature.

It is predicted that Bangladesh will be amongst the countries most impacted by global
climate change.

Risks of agricultural, industrial and human contamination of fresh water systems and aquatic
foods are potentially serious.
PRIORITY AREA

Capacity to understand and respond to the longer-term implications of water and climate
change is required.

Conservation of dry season water and protection of water bodies from drainage for
protection of fish stocks and other aquatic resources.

Enforcement of existing regulations related to industrial pollution, agriculture chemicals and
encouraging appropriate treatment of human waste.
RECOMMENDATIONS

Encourage regional and bilateral dialog on water sharing and water shed management.
Take steps to protect watersheds in Bangladesh.

Develop capacity to understand and respond to the longer-term implications of water
scarcity and climate change.

Develop integrated planning and management systems for water use and develop systems
to conserve water for the dry season.

Encourage manufacturing associations, foreign buyers and concerned GOB agencies to
cooperate in development and enforcement of industrial pollution regulations.
36
ENVIRONMENT
A range of issues contributes in determining
the future potential of the fishery sector and
the ways in which livelihoods will interact with
these. Though the primary focus here is on
the aquatic environment and its ecosystem
quality in inland and coastal areas, these are
closely connected with atmospheric and
terrestrial systems. All in turn are increasingly
subject to human-induced change, and
impacts arise out of localised and distant
processes alike. This is particularly the case
for Bangladesh, being located at the seaward
end of three major world rivers all arising
outside of Bangladesh: the Ganges,
Brahmaputra and Meghna.
Bangladesh is largely flat and low-lying, 80%
of its area consisting of floodplains. These
have in the past supported rich and diverse
ecosystems while providing livelihoods for a
large section of the population. They supply
the bulk of the country’s water, and play a key
role in assimilating and diluting waste,
attenuating and regulating floods, drainage,
recharge of aquifers, and maintaining aquatic
habitats. However, though abundant and
sometime seasonally excessive, they are
under increasing pressure, with severe
problems of drinking water supply, sanitation,
and increasing seasonal drought risks.
Hydrological interactions
The country is interlaced with more than
24,000km of river channels, while significant
monsoon flooding arises from intense rainfall
in the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Meghna
catchments, 90% of which lies outside
Bangladesh. These are intensified locally by
the flat terrain, and the high number of
channel confluences, causing backwater
effects. In tropical cyclones, low barometric
pressure elevates tidal levels, exacerbating
this effect and greatly increasing risks to life
and livelihood for those in the fishery sector.
The high migration rates of the major river
channels renders flood defence problematic,
as these are highly vulnerable to erosion and
risks of widespread flooding. These massive
infrastructure developments, while improving
life for many, also disrupt natural drainage,
leading to increased likelihood, intensity, and
duration of flooding in some areas. A
significant factor for fisheries and aquatic
resources is the extent to which this complex
of hydrological features is subject to physical
interventions in controlling water flows and
protecting land areas. Flood control structures
now affect roughly 62% of cultivable land in
the country, and 35% of total land area, with
more than 3,674km of coastal embankments;
8,881 km of inland embankments; 7,907
hydraulic structures and 1,082 river closures.
These structures reduce seasonal floodplain
areas, restricting access of spawning stocks
and fingerlings, concentrating migrating fish
into locations where they are more easily
exploited, and in changing physicochemical
quality through changes in salinity and
sediment loading. In addition they encourage
drainage and have contributed significantly to
the loss of dry season wetland area.
Fresh Water
Regional Issues
Studies by the CIA and others identify the
lack of fresh water to be the dominant
environmental and possibly the most
important development issue facing the
northern parts of the sub-continent in the
coming century. The CIA’s interest is based
on potential conflicts arising from the lack of
fresh water in the region.
Box 8: Water
Access to fresh water will be the key environmental
issue of the next century.
Inland and coastal fisheries and associated
livelihoods will be negatively impacted as a result of
dry season water scarcity.
Climate change, industrial pollution and an increasing
requirement for agriculture related irrigation will add to
the cascade impacts.
There is little government capacity or even awareness
to deal with this looming issue
The evidence for this is compelling. As a
result of upstream interventions, particularly
the Farraka Barrage, dry season water flows
in the Ganges River within Bangladesh have
declined by as much as 50-75%. Head cutting
losses in other rivers have been shown to
have reduced those flows by as much as
30%. The water sharing agreement between
India and Bangladesh signed in 1998 calls for
minimum flows of over 28,000 cumecs in the
dry season compared to historical flows of
75,000 cumecs or more. These reduced dry
season flows are causing changes in dry
season salinity levels in the Sundarbans
mangrove system as well as in the aquifers of
SW Bangladesh. This loss of fresh water is
also a part of the explanation for the
continuing loss of dry season wetlands
throughout NW Bangladesh. In addition this
barrage has caused an almost total collapse
of the Ganges hilsa fishery and much of the
major carp fishery in affected areas.
37
This region’s population will exceed 1.5 billion
by 2025 with the majority residing in the
Ganges watershed.
The Punjab region,
India’s breadbasket, is now facing water
stress. Water stress is defined as extraction
of more than 10% of available water supplies.
It is predicted that by 2025 population
pressure and increased demands for water
will result in the extraction in excess of 40% of
available water resources. The entire Ganges
basin is predicted to be suffering from water
stress by that period.
Plans are now
underway in India and possibly in Tibet/China
Picture box14: industrial development or
waste water scene for Bangladesh
3mm a year. The rise in greenhouse gas
emissions and increase in temperature may
cause sea level to rise a further 50cm –
affecting up to one third of the coastal area –
by the year 2050.
A sizeable part of the coastal zone is
subsiding, so sea level rise may be greater,
though this may be partly balanced by
sedimentation25. Tidal ranges have also
increased substantially in recent years,
related to changes in coastal hydrology. A
one-metre rise in sea level is forecast to cover
14% of Bangladesh displacing 10% of its
people and 14% of its agriculture. The total
economic output lost would be equivalent to
13% of the country’s GDP26”.
Agricultural intensification
to further divert flows from the Ganges and
Brahmaputra. Political pressure in India, Tibet
and
Bangladesh
will
force
further
interventions in the region’s water systems
and are likely to result in the damming and
diversion of most major river systems. The
lower reaches of the Indus River in Pakistan
has no flow in the dry season with devastating
effects on the freshwater and estuarine
fisheries
of
that
region.
Without
comprehensive watershed and water planning
a similar fate is likely to overtake the MeghnaGanges- Brahmaputra system.
Climate change
All of these must be placed in the context of
probable major climatic change over the
coming century that is likely to have severe,
but somewhat unpredictable effects (Box 9) in
that longer term trends in global warming will
be associated with greater climatic variability
and a higher incidence of extreme events.
Changes
in
sea
level,
precipitation,
evaporation, sedimentation, erosion, and the
timing of climatic events will impact – largely
adversely – on the development of fisheries.
Sea level has already risen by 10-25cm over
the last century, and continues to rise some
Levels of cropping and yields have been
steadily increasing, partially due to higher
yielding crop varieties, particularly rice, and
partially due to more intensive use of land,
clearing of shrub and tree cover, and
increasing annual crop cycles. Traditional
fertilising and tilling techniques are being
replaced and increased use is made of
inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. More
intensive production of chickens, cattle and
goats is matched with a similar trend in fish
culture. There are widespread concerns for
declining soil fertility and structure – and
hence greater erosion risks – for nutrient
imbalances in land and water systems, and
for the impacts of pesticides.
Water pollution
Urban pollution
Municipal wastage includes raw and partially
decomposed sewage, solid wastes, human
excreta and slaughter wastes. Urban
sewerage and waste treatment is poorly
developed and in most cases non-existent
throughout the country. Dhaka is the only city
with a sewage treatment plant, but this has
limited capacity. The human excreta load,
estimated at 250 t/day in 1988 was expected
to increase to ~ 490 t/day by 2000. Solid
wastes produced daily in Dhaka City vary
from 1,500 t in the dry season to 2,000 t in the
rainy season.
Elsewhere, particularly in urban areas, the
situation is no better. Though river flow is
usually sufficient to dilute the load the dry
season dilution factor and capacity for selfpurification has reduced considerably.
25
26
Danish Hydraulic Institute (2000)
World Bank (1996)
38
Industrial pollution
Most industrial units discharge effluent
directly into river courses. These include
ready made garment dying factories,
tanneries, pulp and paper mills, distilleries,
steel mills, oil refineries, ship breakers,
shrimp processors, and producers of
fertilisers, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, rubber
and plastic, sugar, pesticides, paint, cement,
jute and textiles. While many are
concentrated around urban centres, others,
such as jute retting, also occur in rural areas.
Discharge of industrial effluents is largely
uncontrolled despite regulations.
Common
wastes
include
ammonia,
chromium, mercury, phenols effluents, colour
compounds, solids and sludge. Pollution in
urban centres, particularly in Dhaka, is locally
serious, but wider impacts on soil and water
quality and possible impacts on fisheries and
livelihoods are poorly understood. Moreover
heavy local pollution in the vicinity of Khulna,
including heavy metals and domestic wastes,
may adversely affect production of Bagda and
Golda. Testing of processed shrimp has at
times shown high heavy metal levels and
coliform counts. Chronic spillage of oil, and
residual heavy oil sludge, lubricants, engine
oil and possibly PCBs, discharged during ship
breaking operations in Khulna and Chittagong
have been identified as a major source of
pollution affecting coastal fisheries.
Pesticides
Pesticide use continues to increase rapidly,
and 12,000t were imported in 1998, a threefold increase over a decade. According to
Deb (1998) about 2000t of pesticides are
washed from farmland through the aquatic
system. Though reduced usage through
integrated pest management (IPM) has been
promoted
widely,
national
levels
of
participation are as yet limited. Recent shifts
to more intensive vegetable production may
increase pesticide use as IPM techniques are
not as widely promoted as for rice.
Evidence suggests that environmental
degradation not only continues apace, but
that its rate is steadily increasing.
Degradation and scarcity of water resources
can be as damaging for human health as for
aquatic organisms, through consumption of
microbially or chemically contaminated
produce
Fisheries and aquaculture interactions
A number of negative interactions have been
identified between fisheries and aquaculture
development and the environment. In the
case of aquaculture, these may include:







Inappropriate use of chemical fertilisers,
pesticides, and disease treatments;
Introduction and spread of diseases
Discharge of nutrients and organic matter
from more intensive systems,
Localised dumping of shrimp process
waste
Excessive harvesting of food organisms
such as the apple snail (P. globosa),
Excessive harvesting of wild shrimp
larvae and destruction of associated bycatch
Conversion of natural habitat, particularly
wetlands, mangrove and intertidal flats,
and associated spawning and nursery
areas;
Box 9: Climate change scenarios
Studies undertaken in Bangladesh have concluded:
 Climate change and sea level rise will affect the
whole of Bangladesh;
 The whole coastal zone is highly vulnerable to
saltwater intrusion, even under a low climate change
scenario;
 Both coastal and freshwater fisheries are likely to be
adversely affected by changing temperature,
siltation, inundation and salinity regimes
 Climate change will negate many of the benefits of
development, particularly in infrastructure and
agriculture;
 Rice and wheat yields are likely to decrease; and
 Bangladesh’s institutional capacity to respond is very
low.
While the potential for fisheries and aquaculture
remains strong, in spite of these serious challenges,
which will show discernible effect this decade, the
features of both sectors will change and will require to
be accommodated in development, management and
policy. Most critically, the wider impacts on livelihoods
will increase the pressure on resources, potential social
conflict, and challenges for the more vulnerable.


Modifications to water and soil salinity
regimes
through
infrastructure
construction
Disturbance of acid sulphate soils
Species introductions
Bangladesh is rich in fish diversity with 266
species of inland fishes and 442 marine
fishes. Many species have been introduced
(Table 10) mainly for aquaculture production
in closed ponds, but can escape and disperse
easily. Species such as Oreochromis
mosambicus (tilapia) may compete with the
small indigenous fishes and gradually occupy
their niches. Of all the species introduced to
Bangladesh, only Common Carp and O.
mosambicus are known to be breeding in the
wild. With the exception of O. mossabica in
estuarine areas, none of these introduced
39
species are known to exist in significant
numbers. It has been suggested, without
supporting data that exotic introductions may
have contributed to 54 indigenous species
becoming threatened within a very short
time27. It is more likely that a loss of habitats
and over-fishing are the cause of the decline
of most of these species, again with the
exception of estuarine species impacted by
O. mossabicus introductions.
However,
species
such
as
Puntius
gonionotus, Clarias gariepinus and other
introduced Pangasius spp are competitors of
existing species and might create a final
pressure on species which are already under
threat.



Industrial effluents are a growing problem
and bio-accumulating materials need
particular care
Impacts of fishing practice – such as
larval catching or the use ESBN– are
theoretically of major significance but the
impacts of specific practices amongst the
general are not clear;
There is a strong case for the protection
of key habitats such as the Sundarbans,
which probably have an important nursery
and biodiversity conservation role
Picture box15: Sundarbans
Further concerns relate to biodiversity – a
range of GEF28 studies is currently under
way, including assessments of common carp
introductions, analysing the genetic quality of
hatchery species, developing a management
plan for hilsa fisheries, and assessing the
biodiversity impacts of various water
management structures and their operation.
Table 10: Introduced species
Siamese Gourami
Trichogaster pectoralis
Goldfish
Carassisus auratus
Tilapia
Oreochromis
mossambicus;
Oreochromis niloticus
Guppy
Lebistes reticulatus
Common Carp
Cyprinus carpio
Grass Carp
Ctenopharyngodon idellus
Silver Carp
Hypopthalmichthys molitrix
Thai Sarputi
Puntius gonionotus
Mirror Carp
Cyprinus carpio
Bighead Carp
Hypothalmichthys nobilis
Black Carp
Mylopharyngodon piceus
African Magur
Clarias gariepinus
Pangas
Pangasius sutchi
Giant Pangas
P. giganticus
Coastal and Marine Environments
The environmental interactions with coastal
and marine fisheries are more difficult to
define, partly because of less precise data,
and partly due to even greater difficulties of
measuring catches and their distribution.
However, a number of conclusions may be
drawn:

27
28
Environmental Management Strategies
A range of strategies is currently being
developed. Along with the necessary
technical approaches it is most important that
these recognise the needs and livelihood
options of dependent communities, and that
realistic approaches are developed with these
in mind. A considerable task is in hand
simply to inventory key biophysical resources
and to model and represent their interactions
(e.g. using GIS approaches) and more
challengingly to describe key interactions
between these and the social and economic
dependence. Only when these are done can
practical planning and monitoring be
considered.
Impacts of pollutants are known to be
severe in areas adjacent to the coastal
cities of Khulna/Mongla and Chittagong.
Coastal areas immediately adjacent to
these cities are likely to be affected.
Plans to dispose of solid waste at sea
and bilge cleaning by ships are of
concern.
IUCN Bangladesh, 1999
Global Environment Facility
40
LEGAL AND REGULATORY FRAMEWORK
KEY POINTS:

The present framework lacks coherence and effectiveness; governance is critical

The protection of resources and rights is difficult within existing framework

International agreements will have increasing impact and need to be brought into the
national context and process
RECOMMENDATIONS:

Ensure that the framework reflects the national requirements and is in line with the policies

Promote social and environmental protection and create enabling environments for rural
investment

Fishery and related water management laws, rules and regulations should be enforced as a
means to protect natural resources and the livelihoods of those that depend upon them.

Laws and by-laws should be reviewed and updated to ensure that they link with recent GoB
policies and international agreements and at the same time the practice of regulation by
memos and circulars, as used my the MoL, is reduced.

Revise the restrictive laws and management systems that may contradict with the
customary rights of fisherfolk and those that depend on aquatic products for their livelihoods
as the current system tends to reduce access to CPR by the poorest sections of the
community hence their needs and welfare are largely unmet.

Mechanisms should be put in place to allow the most vulnerable groups in society access to
legal support to avoid ‘land grabbing’ tendencies by local ‘elite’.

A legal provision for an exclusive coastal artisanal fishery area should be considered.
41
LEGAL AND REGULATORY
FRAMEWORK
Responsible management of the fisheries
sector requires effective governance in a
coherent institutional context, supported by a
suitable legal framework. In broad terms this
framework can be understood to provide an
operational structure, created and endorsed
through societal negotiation. Within this a
range of activities and interactions can take
place in a safe and ordered manner, with
incentives for desired actions, and sanctions
for those that are not. It connects people and
institutions, articulates policy, and expresses
both ethical and managerial concepts.
In the context of the fisheries sector, this
framework comprises a range of different
elements and engages with a range of issues,
some of which are closely associated with the
sector, some generic, and some with only
incidental or occasional relevance. Amongst
these, however are:
 The ways in which the rights of
individuals, groups and other entities are
defined and sustained, particularly with
respect to resource access, and to selfdetermination
 Protection available for natural resources
and environmental quality, particularly as
they apply to water bodies, aquatic
ecosystems and exploited aquatic
species
 The environment within which civil society
organisations and businesses can
operate, their financial management, and
their rights and responsibilities for natural
resources, to clients, workers, consumers
and others.
 Ways in which conflicts of various types
and levels can be addressed and
resolved
 Responsiveness of the process of law to
changing needs and the ways in which
these can be expressed and enacted
 Linkages with policy processes – in
defining and implementing sectoral
objectives.
 The effectiveness of interaction with
international processes and instruments
In addition to the formal description of the
legal structure and process, the commitment
of key stakeholders and social will in the form
of an effective civil society, are required to
ensure that various rules are put to use. A key
issue for the review has therefore been the
extent to which laws and regulations are
effective and the processes which determine
their impact. In a related study29 the review
also examined the ways in which legal
systems might be developed to meet current
and future national aims and international
obligations.
Box 10: The role of governance
In practice, regulatory frameworks can be the set of
formal rules that govern social, political and economic
behaviour in a state, or the instruments, tools and
institutions used by the state to control social, political
and economic behaviour. This assessment is largely
concerned with the former, but it is important to note
that the implementation and performance of the rule
of law depends greatly on governance - the capacity
of state institutions charged with this implementation
(the judiciary, police force, enforcement officers etc).
This shapes and regulates all manner of behaviours
and institutions, and extends across the entire scope
of this review. Those concerned with human and
economic development have become increasingly
interested in governance, addressing poverty
alleviation by moving from growth to rights-based
approaches.
Governance failure includes deteriorating
administrative efficiency, a rise in corruption and a
breakdown in law and order. In such conditions, those
with the least power in society are usually the most
vulnerable. Bangladesh’s development partners were
becoming increasingly aware that this could hinder
many development outcomes, and sought to address
it. More recently, attention has been directed to the
political process, which some have argued is
becoming more confrontational and less about
democracy and consensus building, with increasing
concern about groups acting outside the law. So,
whilst it is essential that the role of laws and
regulations are understood in relation to the fisheries
sector, the impact that weak governance is also
critical and will influence any attempts to reform the
regulatory structure.
Laws and management of fisheries and other
related sectors have undergone major
changes in the last 10-12 years. In general,
the trend of these changes has been positive
although their performance and impact is still
not visible at the national level. This is not to
suggest that the laws do not require further
updating but to assert that the process has
perhaps begun that needs immediate and
adequate legal and policy recognition and of
course
further
activism
to
ensure
implementation. The changes in the
regulatory framework have been made
possible for a number of factors
Overview of the current system
An analysis of the existing framework reveals
positive features but also identify a number of
shortcomings and challenges. The positive
features include:
29
Keumelangan, FAO 2002
42



A formal structure exists and can create
and amend laws, develop and apply
regulation for fishery-related objectives.
A sizeable body of legal text pertains to
fishery issues;
Challenge and appeal systems and
processes also exist, and it is in theory at
least possible to open process to
question.
The negative features and shortcomings
include:
 Legislative text is often vague and so the
application of law is often discretionary
 The legal text is not well harmonized and
considerable discrepancies exist
 The process for amending laws is long,
complex and cumbersome,
 The legal system is unable to operate in
tandem with the policy environment,
further frustrating policy implementation
(see later)
 Access to legal redress for the poor and
vulnerable is difficult and costly
 Despite good legal training, there is a
shortage of well trained and committed
legal personnel, and considerable court
backlogs
 Legal and regulatory frameworks are
easily manipulated
by
the
elite;
independence of the legal system is not
guaranteed
 The capacity for legal and regulatory
frameworks to bolster social and
economic environments has not been
well developed
 Globalisation is forcing the pace of
change of national legal frameworks;
Bangladesh has to be able to actively
engage with the process rather than
reacting to it
The existence of a just, well functioning legal
and regulatory framework is a pre-requisite
for the creation of an enabling environment
and a collaborative effort should be launched
to meet the challenges of modify the
framework to meet the future requirements.
Judicial pronouncements
Since the management of fishery is regulated
largely by administrative circulars and
decisions, the judiciary in a number of cases
came forward in clarifying management
issues to remove anomaly and arbitration in
the management practices and defining the
rights of the lessee and lessor. This has often
been in the form of judicial pronouncements
which may have contributed to the
Box 11: The Code of Conduct for Responsible
Fisheries
The objectives of the CCRF are to establish principles
for responsible fishing practices, facilitate international
cooperation in the protection of fisheries resources,
promote the contribution of fish products to food
security/quality and to promote responsible trade in fish
products.
The aim of the CCRF is to establish international
standards of behaviour for responsible practices with a
view to ensuring the effective conservation,
management and development of living aquatic
resources with the respect to the ecosystem and biodiversity. The CCRF recognises the national,
economic, social, environmental and cultural
importance of fisheries and the interests of all those
concerned with the fishery sector. The CCRF takes
into account the biological characteristics of the
resources and their environment and the interests of
consumers and other users. States signed up to the
CCRF “should apply the precautionary approach widely
to conservation, management and exploitation of living
aquatic resources in order to protect them and preserve
the aquatic environment [and] should ensure that the
level of fishing permitted is commensurate with the
state of fisheries resources”.
development of legal notions, either by
interpreting existing provisions and adding
new dimension to the legal regime or
addressing gaps that affect recognised rights
of litigant parties. A large part of the fishery
law was developed from such judicial
pronouncement, including the definition of
"fishery". The following issues have been
addressed through these:
 declaration of title to protect leasehold
right
 legality of authority to grant lease
 authority
to
cancel
lease
when
possession was handed over
 legal force of government settlement
rules
 maintainability of writ petition in
contractual matters on fishery
 conflict
of
ownership
between
government agencies
Box 12: Participation and review in law
In Bangladesh, the law making process does not
incorporate the concept of people's participation. This
also applies to plans and programmes developed under
specific law. Except for the NEMAP, the policy regime
also follows the trend where people or stakeholders
hardly have any scope for participation. Neither is there
a mechanism to scrutinize laws before policies are
made.
The legal regime therefore needs to be updated to meet
changing demands. Most of the innovative practices for
fisheries management have no mention in legal
documents. There is also growing demand for law
making to be more inter-sectoral, to remove gaps and
contradictions as currently exist, and encourage wider
participation. The Parliamentary Standing Committees of
various ministries can effectively facilitate such a
process; if possible committees could also allow
stakeholders participation and access to information.
43


boundary of fishery
declaration of extension of lease on
compensatory grounds
The judicial pronouncement attached a
broader interpretation to the constitutional
right to life to include right to healthy and
sound environment and pollution free water,
air, and soil30. The right to livelihood was
declared an integral part of the right to life and
accorded judicial protection. In an action
against implementation of the Flood Action
Plan-20, the High Court Division directed the
payment of compensation to affected people
for all losses including right to water way and
fishery31.
The legal and
associated with




regulatory
framework
Human and social rights
Environmental protection
Public water bodies
Impact on marginalised groups require
specific attention.
Human and social rights
The Constitution describes it a fundamental
principle of state policy to raise the level of
nutrition and improve public health32. It also
guarantees right to profession and right to life
as fundamental. The FFYP gives express
recognition to the social benefits of fishery
and so does the National Fish Policy, 1998.
However, the laws on fishery in public water
bodies do not accord protection to the
traditional rights of fishing. In general, the
status and progress of laws on inland
fisheries do not reflect its importance in
national diet, employment and economic
values. Absence of such protection and the
unclear legal position of the fishery and
fishermen has on many occasions defeated
justice and allowed undue interference with
the ecosystem of fishery to the detriment of
the interests of the fishermen
Environmental protection
The State’s commitment towards protecting
its environment and natural resources is yet
to be expressed in the Constitution of
Bangladesh, unlike neighbouring countries.
The lack of constitutional commitment for
protection of wetlands and rivers, and
emphasis on agriculture and rights of the
peasant have been reflected in the legal and
policy regime, particularly in decisions for
developing the agriculture and water sector.
However, the obligation of the State under
international environmental law towards the
protection of ecology, environment and
biological resources has fostered changes in
the domestic legal regime. Obligations under
the Convention for Biological Diversity (CBD)
has prompted the GoB to draft a Biodiversity
Protection Bill while under the Ramsar
Convention, specific action plans are being
prepared for the management of Tanguar
Haor and the wetlands in the Sundarbans.
The pollution oriented environmental law33
was attempted to be more conservation
oriented by the enactment of the Environment
Conservation Act (ECA) in 1995, with quality
standards for various components of
environment and three wetland areas defined
as ecologically critical and requiring special
management34. Certain factors also required
attention to arrest further degradation of
fishery
ecosystems.
The
continuous
deterioration of water quality of all major
rivers forced the legal regime to incorporate
provision against industrial pollution.
Box 13: HACCP regulation and its impacts
The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)
standard is a seven-point programme which seeks to
eliminate microbiological hazards at various points in
the food processing chain. Adopted by the EU,
Canada and the US and with a similar set of
standards in Japan, the programme is a powerful
weapon in the pursuit of improved international
hygiene levels In mid-1997 the European Commission
banned the imports of seafood into the EU from
Bangladesh under HACCP standards. The ban was
lifted for a number of small companies in 1998 yet
even so exports during that year dropped by 64%. In
the period 1999-2000 some 45–50 export plants (out
of the 122 registered) become HACCP registered and
EU inspectors have lifted the ban on product from
Bangladesh. The costs of upgrading plants and
training staff to monitor standards is considerable and
falls to the exporting country who has to comply to
maintain markets.
The Environmental Impact Assessment
regime has been recently introduced but still
lacks adequate byelaws and guidelines for
sector specific projects. Punishments for
environmental offences have also been
increased recently but the institutional
capacity to require compliance is yet to
develop. The failure of the Factories Act,
1965 in checking industrial pollution has not
33
30
48 DLR (1996) page 439
31
*50 DLR (1998) page 84
32
Article 18 (1)) of the Constitution of Bangladesh
Environment Pollution Control Ordinance, 1977
The three areas of wetland include the Hakaluki Haor
(18383 ha), Tanguar Haor (9727 ha) and Marzat Oxbow
Lake (200 ha).
34
44
been examined nor has any polluting industry
been penalised for inadequate waste disposal
as required under the Act. Nor have state
owned industries set any good precedents in
pollution mitigation.
The shrinkage of fisheries due to extensive
flood control measures has already destroyed
important spawning grounds. The newly
enacted law of 200035 aims to protect open
spaces including wetlands of all divisional
headquarter, district and municipalities while
the Environment Conservation Rules, 1997
makes it obligatory for all water control and
other development projects to have strict EIA.
Public water bodies
The legal regime on public fisheries does not
detail procedures to regulate their physical
control or actual management. While
protection and conservation of fish resources
forms part of the responsibility of the MoFL,
their actual management and control is
enjoyed by the Ministry of Land (MoL), whose
decisions are not based on principles or
procedural guidelines, and rarely involve
stakeholders.
Over recent years, there have been
significant changes in management policies
on fisheries adopted by the MoL. Most are
reactive, focused on short-term revenue
generation, and not the outcome of future
vision. They are, therefore, restrictive in
nature and often do not suggest affirmative
measures to be taken to promote
development and conservation. Some of the
changes run contrary to the interests of the
private sector and the powerful elite who
continue to defy the spirit behind such
changes in the absence of a strong,
coordinated monitoring and implementation
mechanism.
The ad hoc management system of fisheries
has also affected the resource base. Policies
set forth management objectives, while legal
instruments
prescribe
management
procedures. These are so largely regulated by
the ad hoc decisions of the MoL that it can
undermine legal commitments for protection
and conservation of the ecosystem and its
resources.
The absence of long term
planning has been largely responsible for the
failure to introduce sustainable fisheries
management.
35
Open Space (Protection) Act, 2000 (*Act No. XXXVI of
2000)
Impacts on marginalised groups
Marginal and poor communities have been
affected by legislative changes (or failures to
change legislation) in a number of ways.
Where rights and access have been created,
the scope for asserting these against vested
groups has not always been facilitated or
indeed materialised, as intended beneficiaries
are often unaware of such changes and do
not know or have the means to address the
issues.
Protecting the rights of the poor, vulnerable
and marginalised has never been a top
priority of the regulatory regime in
Bangladesh, in spite of statements about
protecting the environment and supporting
poor fishers. Where the global community
presses for changes to legislation to protect
‘existence value of natural resources, the
livelihoods of those dependent upon those
resources are often overlooked, or adversely
affected because no one had championed
their rights when legislation was drawn up.
Box 14: Impacts of conflict
As paid ‘musclemen’ attached to political parties,
mastaans are able to undermine the rule of law,
remaining beyond danger of prosecution. The impact
on the fisheries sector has been demonstrated in recent
studies on conflict amongst fishers on the floodplains.
This shows that the rising level of violence, lawlessness
and corruption attached to fisheries enforcement is
having a major impact on the sustainability of many
fishing livelihoods. Similar issues of conflict are also
reported to have been associated with shrimp culture –
at least in early stages, where highly valuable land and
water resources were acquired by elite outside the legal
process. The use of community structures, often with
NGO support, to strengthen the interests of more
vulnerable groups is being developed, but these too
can be subject to capture and control by local elite
Another important factor is the role of legal
frameworks and legislative process in dealing
with natural resource conflicts. These conflicts
have a profound impact on marginal and poor
communities. Unchecked exploitation of
resources spurred by situations where conflict
has eroded previous respect for laws,
customs and community restraint have lead to
further decline of resources. The effect is
often enhanced as the legal process is
ineffective in most villages, which have no
real power over how access to resources is
regulated. As a result many are denied
access to open water bodies by elite who
illegally ‘capture’ these benefits.
Official
government intervention also affects access
and ownership. Villages located near sluice
gates typify the problems faced. Flood control
structures often restrict access to traditional
fishing grounds and affect fish stocks. Many
45
management conflicts have emerged, yet the
agencies and committees established to
mediate such conflicts are often co-opted by
elite who manipulate decisions in their favour.
Changes in national legislation which have
altered access to water may force fishers to
travel further to fish, exposing them to
demands for protection money and to conflict
with other fishing communities.
Whilst there is provision in the law to protect
fishers from violent behaviour and to manage
conflicts (if only through prosecution rather
than consensus building and mediation)
fishers rarely seek help from legal agencies.
Firstly, they perceive there to be a lack of will
to enforce the law on the part of the police.
Second, civil servants are reluctant to take
proactive decisions for fear of demotion,
whilst others only do so as a means to extract
rent.
Conclusions
Some conclusions can be drawn:
 The laws, rules and regulations as they
currently stand are adequate in most
areas, but the enforcement structure is
inadequate
 There is a total absence of regular law
review and updating mechanism. By-law
formulation is also isolated and slow
 The legal system is unable to keep pace
with the policy environment
 The prevailing practice of regulation by
memos and circulars from MoL is
ineffective in meeting constitutional
obligations and in promoting judicious
resource use
 Restrictive laws and management
systems may contradict with customary
rights that will only widen the gap
between the public, public agencies and
public property
 The needs and welfare of the most
disadvantaged in society are largely
unmet
 Access to due process is difficult for the
most vulnerable groups in society
 The importance of global processes and
Bangladesh’s position in the global
market cannot be ignored: at the moment
it is ‘reactive’ to the global market’s
demands for change – to survive it will
have to become more proactive in its
approach.
46
POLICY FRAMEWORK
KEY POINTS:

The sector policies are disconnected from macro-level goals and local level needs and
constraints

The policy process and wider stakeholder engagement is little developed and

Policy implementation strategies and monitoring capabilities are weak or lacking
PRIORITY AREAS:

Develop the National Fisheries Policy within the cross-sectoral forum and in the context of
the PRSP to address the wider development goals

Create the implementation strategy and develop modalities for policy implementation and
monitoring
RECOMMENDATIONS:

Policies and strategies pertaining to the sustainable use of renewable natural resources,
poverty reduction and economic growth should be rationalized and enacted through
appropriate action plans to be developed by the NRMC and FDEC

Existing policies should be harmonized to ensure there are no overlaps or contradictions in
relation to the Fishery sub-sector. Within this process an action plan for the NFP should be
developed

Ensure that policymaking, which has tended to be rather top-down originating from central
government favouring the priorities and interests of influential elite, is more participatory and
in line with the recommendations for decentralized government as outlined in the IPRSP
document
47
POLICY FRAMEWORK
In theory, policies are the result of a linear
process whereby key issues within a given
area of responsibility are identified, decisions
are made with respect to appropriate policy,
and this policy is then implemented. In
reality, the policy process tends to be rather
more broad-brush and iterative and often
reflects a shorter-term response to the most
pressing problems of a particular period of
government. Political groups are obliged to
put forward at least some populist policies in
order to get elected and must then attempt to
deliver at least some of the manifesto against
which they will be judged.
In this respect, there are major issues to
reconcile between economic growth, natural
resource management and social welfare. In
addition, the increasing internationalisation of
the economic and global policy environment
requires that national objectives reflect these
and can translate into locally workable
strategies.
Box 15: Poverty reduction strategies (IPRSP)
The Government of Bangladesh is currently
formulating a broad policy framework for national
development in which the natural resource base, the
sources and means of economic growth and the
mechanisms for meeting defined social and human
development objectives are clearly set out. The
process has involved extensive consultation at all
levels, representing a uniquely wide range of
stakeholder perspectives. It attempts not only to
explain, structure and prioritise the needs and options
involved, but also to set out the processes by which
objectives can be attained. As such it has the
potential to act as a key resource and guiding process
within which sectorally related policy can be placed in
context, with appropriate linkages and drivers, and
developed in suitable detail and focus to meet
sectoral needs. The contribution of sectoral outcomes
in meeting national development objectives can also
be clearly set out. As it has currently developed, the
(interim) PRSP recognises the fundamental aims of
human and social development, the need to
understand the processes of growth, empowerment,
resource access and equity, and the importance of
the agriculture sector more generally in rural
economic growth and national wealth creation, It
further emphasises the need for effective and crossconnecting sectoral policy, the need for such policy to
emerge from stakeholder processes , and the
importance of ensuring that policy is realistic and can
follow through to implementation.
The Fisheries Context In General
Over the last 50 years, many globally
applicable lessons have been learned about
fisheries policies and their effect on
development. Some of the promoted policies
and their implementation have not resulted in
the desirable and expected results. The
following issues and experiences are relevant
for guiding the future investment and
interventions, particularly for the small-scale
fisheries sector development. They include:



Fisheries development policy has been
dominated by expansionist, production
and technology-led approaches which
have failed to address the needs of smallscale fishers;
Despite a large global investment in
fisheries
development
programmes,
many fishers live in poverty and fisheries
resources are increasingly overexploited
There is a lack of information and
understanding of small-scale fisheries;
government and policy-makers have
remained remote and unaware of their
problems
While the above observations register some
of the mainly negative effect of policies the
following identify some of the challenges,
which lay ahead:



The
existence
of
multiple
goals
complicates
fisheries
policy
and
management; management systems
which have ignored the wealth-producing
(rent) function of a fishery in pursuit of
other goals (e.g. employment; poverty
alleviation; conservation) have tended to
perform badly
Fisheries development and resource
management need to be seen as
complementary aspects of the same
process; however, an unmanaged fishery
is an inappropriate vehicle to manage
economic growth and development
The
successful
management
and
development of small-scale fisheries is
difficult to achieve using Western
scientific-based approaches; the use of
technical assessment models and
regulations
based
on
well-defined
institutions are difficult to apply in LDCs.
Finally it should be noted that lessons learned
have resulted in the formulation of more
comprehensive and cohesive strategies which
may require policy changes. These include:

The problems of fisheries development
and management are increasingly being
viewed from a broader perspective;
adopting a purely sectoral approach to
fisheries analysis denies the fact that
many households and communities
integrate fishing into a diverse livelihood
strategy based on different activities and
48


resources; crucially the issue of poverty in
fisheries requires a multi-disciplinary and
multi-sectoral approach
New attitudes to fisheries management
and development in LDCs are emerging;
these include principally communitybased and co-management approaches
as strategies to attempt to include all
stakeholders in the management process
Despite the neglect of small-scale fishers,
many do thrive and there is increasing
recognition of their role in livelihoods
(socio-economic safety-net) and the
economy
The role of government has been increasingly
scrutinised in the light of the poor
performance of many fisheries development
initiatives; the need for government to provide
an enabling environment in LDCs for resource
users to participate in management and
development has been recognised
environmental issues in general, and fisheries
in particular:


The Twenty Year Perspective Plan (1990
– 2010) which sets out policy on
economic growth, poverty alleviation,
employment generation and increased
self-reliance
The National Environmental Plan (1995)
which
focuses
on
achieving
environmentally sound development and
the sustainable use of all natural
resources
There is implicit acceptance in these two core
policies of the (at least potential) compatibility
of economic growth and environmental
management. The Industrial Policy (1991)
further illustrates this point. This private sector
oriented statement emphasises that industrial
development should go hand in hand with
control of environmental pollution and
maintaining ecological balance.
Fisheries policy in Bangladesh
Policy has been developed specifically for the
sector, but should also be seen in the broader
context described in natural resource and
related policy areas (Box 16) Two GoB
policies have had a major impact on
Box 16: Natural resources policies
Water sector policy has received major attention in
Bangladesh, partly as a result of the serious floods of
the early 1990s. The initial emphasis of these policies
was on “hard” solutions – technical engineering
answers. The Bangladesh Water and Flood
Management Strategy (1995) recognises the need for a
shift towards a combination of institutional and crosssectoral policies and strategies. Institutional change
and strengthening and the facilitation of inter-sectoral
co-ordination has become a feature of sector policy.
The National Water Management Plan (1998) focuses
on the equitable and participatory (decentralised)
management of water resources, and includes
provision for fisheries and wildlife. The policy commits
GoB to minimalising disruption to aquatic environments
and the resources these support and to maintenance of
water bodies of value for fisheries production.
In terms of its written policies Bangladesh has
recognised the importance of economic
development and its close association with
environmental husbandry and optimum
sustainable use of natural assets. Although
the practice (e.g. in terms of environmental
pollution) lags behind the policy, there
appears to be growing awareness that policy
to guide natural resources management is
important both to support the livelihoods of
the poor, and to meeting the country’s
international environmental obligations.
The Five Year Plans (FYPs) of GoB have
guided sectoral policy processes. Each FYP
sets a total target for fisheries production, and
fisheries policy is, in principle, expected to
deliver these targets. (Table 11).
The Land Use Policy (2001) identifies issues of water
body loss and degradation and emphasises the need to
harmonise national agricultural and fisheries policies in
order to avoid conflict and simultaneously increase
agricultural and fisheries production.
Table 11. National Fishery Plans
Target
FYP Year
(lakh tonnes)
1st 1973-1978
10.20
2 year plan
8.08
1978-1980
rd
2 1980-1985
10.00
Tk 1,743M fisheries
development budget
3rd 1985-1990
10.00
Tk 7,490 M fisheries
4th 1990-1995
development budget
5th 1997-2002
20.75
6th 2002-2007
24.05
The New Agricultural Extension Policy (1996) further
emphasises increased agricultural production through
balanced use of land and water resources, and
embraces aquaculture production as part of this
process.
The FYPs were originally highly production
oriented but the texts have evolved over time
to include more references to social and
economic development. The 6th FYP (in
The Environment Policy (1992) emphasises the
conservation and development of fisheries and the
evaluation of any projects likely to impact on these
resources.
Achievement
(lakh tonnes)
6.43
6.46
7.74
Tk 1,583M spent
8.47 (estd)
Tk 300M spent
18.50 (estd)
49
draft) is markedly different in its focus on
livelihoods and aims to improve the status of
fishers and support their livelihoods through
increased production. However, the Plan is
strongly culture fisheries focused and does
not provide a strategy to link improved
livelihoods with the exigencies of sustainable
resource management
(e.g. control of
access). This is reflected in the current
National Fisheries Policy (1998), which seeks
“socio-economic
upliftment”
of
fishing
households.
The New Fisheries Management Policy
Although there is some confusion about the
impact and influence of the NFMP, it still
operates in some jalmohals and has
influenced the approach of donors and NGOs
to issues of access rights and their reform.
The NFMP was a major policy departure by
the MoFL in 1986; an initiative to overcome
problems of exploitation of resources. Its
objectives were to divert maximum benefits to
genuine fishers through harvesting, and to
adopt conservation measures to ensure
sustainability of resources. The approach was
developed on the basis of the slogan – ‘Jal
Jar Jala Tar’ (He who possess fishing net
should have access to fishing in water
Box 17: Dilemmas in the NFP
For shrimp production the aim is to increase production
– but this may be difficult without impinging on coastal
areas protected by the Ministry for Environment and
Forest. Further, the socio-economic and ecosystem
impacts would need to be further addressed. There is
a policy objective to expand production in the marine
sector against recognition that some stocks may
already be exploited at the maximum sustainable level.
To implement policy there is a strong need to gain
better knowledge of where there is scope for
expansion, and where change can be made without
threat to the livelihoods of dependent communities.
The NFP recognises the need to carry out research and
training in support of major objectives, but a human
resource development strategy is not considered and
there is no clear statement of the priorities and
responsibilities for research (eg the roles of DoF vis a
vis the BFRI). Inter-institutional coordination is a clear
intention of the policy but the mechanisms and
priorities are not spelled out.
Contributing to poverty alleviation is a stated objective
of the NFP. This is an important element in a sector
where property rights regimes and the potential social
and economic consequences of improved management
(eg control of access) are highly significant to the poor.
The Policy implies a relationship between increased
production and poverty alleviation, and suggests the
formation of cooperatives as part of this process. It
does not, however, mention co-management or the
participation of the poor in sustainable exploitation of
resources. The strategy by which fisheries will
contribute to poverty alleviation is not spelled out.
bodies).
Whereas policy before had focused chiefly on
production and revenue, the NFMP placed
the needs of “genuine fishermen” as central
and aimed to move the development of
national fisheries forwards by relieving
exploitation of the poor. The NFMP
acknowledged that ownership of Jalmohals by
the MoL severely restricted the ability of the
MoFL to ‘carry out its mandate to manage,
protect and conserve the inland fisheries of
the country’ and set out to protect fishers from
influential middlemen and limit the number of
fishers to protect stocks.
The policy was to be implemented by i)
identifying so-called “genuine fishers” and
organising them into groups, ii) providing
licenses for well-defined waters together with
the gradual phasing out of the yearly lease
system and iv) the provision of technical
inputs to these groups. These inputs included
integrated pest management and stocking –
both of which met with limited success.
The National Fisheries Policy, 1998
The NFP aims at developing and increasing
production of fish resources and create selfemployment to improve the socio-economic
condition of the fishermen. It commits to
ensure the lease of unutilised khas ponds,
dighis and other fisheries to the trained youth
groups. The Policy emphasizes the nutritional
value of fish in the improvement of public
health and also attaches importance to
maintaining
ecological
balance
and
biodiversity. It seeks to ban the import,
distribution and sale of any alien species of
fish or fry without prior approval of the
Government.
The Policy calls for precautionary measures
to minimise adverse impacts of agriculture,
industry, transportation, urbanisation, flood
control and irrigation. It proposes transferring
fish sanctuaries or parts thereof to the DoF
and commits for measures to prevent
industrial pollution and limit unrestricted use
of harmful pesticides. The policy also has
statements on use of prohibited methods of
fishing and emphasises the proper application
of law for protecting endangered fish species.
In leasing out government khas water bodies,
it seeks to ensure priority for the genuine
fisher folk. It also considers the control of fish
quality and marketing and export.
Poverty alleviation is a stated objective of the
NFP but related strategies are not discussed.
The role of property rights regimes in poverty
50
Box 18: Performance of the NFMP
The performance of the NFMP has been limited by local
level power relations. The National Fishermen’s
Association (NFA) was mandated to draw up a list of
genuine fishers; this was then approved by a thana
NFMP committee and subsequently the district
committee. However, middlemen were known to have
extracted ‘fees’ for putting fisher’s names on the district
approved lists and fisher cooperatives that were set up
to apply for licenses were co-opted by wealthy influential
elites.
It has been argued that the NFMP simply reflected unfair
power relations already present in the fishery. Others
have highlighted its positive impacts on poor fishers. A
study of its performance suggested that i) NFMP
eliminated exploitation by middlemen leaseholders, ii)
License fees charged for fishing units were reasonably
low, and iii) the fishermen obtained economic benefits.
The current status of the NFMP is unclear given the
revision of policy for leasing open water jalmohals In
1995, the GoB declared all rivers and open water bodies
open access, thus technically rendering the NFMP
licensing system defunct. However some NGOs are
attempting to apply the NFMP’s principles, and the DoF
has recently established new projects that build on
NFMP activities and assume continuation In 1998, the
Ministry of Land was reported to have placed some 31
Jalmohals under the NFMP and recently another 10.
The DoF is supporting management and organising the
fishing community of those Jalmohals under a GOB
financed development project.
and livelihoods has been widely discussed by
national NGOs, donors and researchers but
these are not taken up. However, the NFP
refers to an assumed link between increased
production and poverty alleviation. It suggests
the formation of fisher co-operatives but does
not propose how this might be achieved, or
acknowledge the apparent limitations of the
specially-designed fisher groups within NFMP
and elsewhere.
The NFP addresses all aspects of fisheries:
inland and coastal policies (fish and shrimp
culture); education, research and extension
policies; organisational policies (credit etc);
commercial policies (export, transportation,
marketing, processing and quality control);
management policies (inland - open and
closed; marine). Those parts relating to the
marine sector are comparatively detailed and
predominantly concerned with increasing the
quality of product. The implicit aim is to return
Bangladesh to the global marketplace for
marine products (particularly shrimp. Policy
statements relating to inland fisheries
predominantly concern production, culture
and enhancement but both the inland and
marine sub-sectors emphasise ecological
balance and the maintenance of biodiversity.
There appears to be lacking co-operation,
coherence and co-ordination with other
interested sectors and ministries within the
NFP. The MoFL asserts that it will ‘control all
aspects of the fisheries sector’ but makes no
reference to linkage with the numerous
agencies and ministries that currently manage
aspects of fisheries. The policy states that
coordination ‘will be established’ but the
mechanism by which this might occur is not
made explicit.
The NFP addresses the development of the
sector through activities and inputs such as
the provision of credit and the establishment
of a Fisheries Bank. It states that tax laws will
be changed to boost fisheries production, but
it is unclear which stakeholders would benefit
and how this would be implemented.
The NFP aims to increase exports through
increased production of raw product. Given
the lack of data on stocks, the need to
maintain extraction at current MSY, the
problems with enforcement of existing law
(see Legal and Regulatory Frameworks) and
the need to protect the coastal environment
there are obvious limits to pursuing this
objective.
With increased production as its leitmotiv, the
NFP states that it will implement the policies
listed by bringing all closed water bodies into
production, promoting aquaculture on open
Box 19 An Action Plan for the NFP?
This was to be addressed within the GoB/WB/DFID
Fourth Fisheries Project; where it was recommended
that the DoF establish a Fisheries Planning Team to
prepare a draft strategic Action Plan by September
2002. The TOR of the Planning Team includes the
following:

Review and define the core functions of the DoF
in the context of the National Fisheries Policy,
current sector needs and the roles of other
stakeholder institutions

Identify priority areas where DoF must take the
lead, and other areas which might be better
addressed through partnership with other
institutions and from this analysis prepare an
outline mission statement for the DoF

Design a time bound strategy for the
development and implementation of a coherent
plan to address the priority areas over a five year
(detailed) and ten year (indicative) timescale by
30 November 2002

Develop
an
outline
National
Fisheries
Development Plan, identify the necessary
resources and capacities to deliver the plan and
recommend a coherent and integrated
institutional framework for implementation

Identify current and future constraints to
implementation of the plan and propose an
integrated program for national and external
support
The core Planning Team was recommended to
include members from other institutions (eg NGOs,
WARPO and LGED), and to co-opt members from
other key institutions (eg Environment/Forests,
community based organizations and the private
sectors). The suggested deadline was revised to
September 2003.
51
Table 12: A strategic overview of fishery policy options
Strengths
Fisheries resources may be resilient;
Resource biodiversity
Rural producers are dynamic, innovative;
Rural producers could manage fisheries;
Indigenous skills adapt to new technologies;
Rural producers can organise themselves;
Government is amenable to international collaboration;
Good level of scientific fisheries knowledge in some areas
(aquaculture)
Some capacity in fisheries management in government;
Role of fisheries in economy (& livelihoods?) recognised by
policy-makers;
Opportunities
Encourage greater recognition of good governance and
economic management to enable fisheries development;
Build appropriate policy-making capacity in GoB (new
training);
Build new narratives/ideas which foster effective fisheries
management (sectoral);
Build new narratives which focus on rural livelihoods
(cross-sectoral);
Facilitate process of fisheries development (inductive
action research/development) through more
NGO/donor/GoB projects;
Encourage public-private sector initiatives;
water bodies (again, without acknowledgement of local level issues and
institutional sustainability), increasing hilsa
production and redrafting Fish Acts to ensure
implementation of policy.
Weaknesses
Poor understanding of policy process;
Policies lack coverage;
Limited policy formulation capacity;
Policy narratives are inappropriate;
Policy implementation is weak;
Fishers lack access to resources;
Fishers lack access to inputs;
Fishers lack access to education/information;
Fishers lack access to infrastructure;
Fishers lack experience of constituency form;
Rural economy is constrained;
Institutions favour elites;
Property rights not well-established;
Regulatory framework is weak;
GoB extensively involved in service provision;
Threats
Overexploitation of fisheries resources;
Increasing human population;
Environmental degradation;
Policy incoherence
Bureaucratic politics
Political instability;
Weak governance;
Limited policy space;
Weak economic management;
Resistance to institutional change;
Resistance to political change;
that these factors have been recognised, has
been variable.


Finally, the NFP proposes the setting up of a
National Fisheries Council to implement the
policy, to encourage more coordination and
recognises that new laws need to be
formulated in this regard. As such, the
implementation plan is weakened by its failure
to prioritise activities in terms of capacity and
needs.

This study have suggested that over the
last thirty years in Bangladesh:
A large number of policies have been
produced
covering
both
national
(overarching) and sectoral agendas, but
there has been considerable overlap and
lack of coherence between policies.
Policymaking has tended to be rather topdown,
originating
from
central
government and favouring the priorities
and interests of influential elite.
In broad terms, the NFP reflects the character
of the previous and current FYPs in stating
ambitious goals but failing to develop plans
for implementation. Although the Policy
specifically identifies thirteen priority areas for
action, twelve of these relate to increased
production and export while only one relates
to the ‘socio-economic condition’ of fishers.
Current overview
Table 12 provides a simplified SWOT analysis
of the policy context for the fishery sector.
Identifying where developments could be
positive, where constraints and threats lie and
where opportunities can be identified for the
sector. Any policy approach would have to
take these into account, and to identify ways
to control threats and develop opportunities.
To date, the national response, to the extent
52
INSTITUTIONS
KEY POINTS

The sector is institutionally linked to a wide range of players, from ministries to field level
agencies, who require guidance and coordination to implement the broader goals of the
fisheries sector

There is a need to understand the incentives for institutions to cooperate and work more
closely together

There is a need for a comprehensive strategic review of DoF, BFRI and BFDC coupled with
process, leading towards clear mission statements and ways forward

There is a need to redefine mechanisms for donor support, to agree with GoB where
institutional priority should be focused, and to direct support towards these priorities

Working with Local Government leading to increased decentralisation is important but
complex.

Means to ensure that needs and views of the private sector and civil society are
incorporated into sector planning and management need to be developed
PRIORITY AREAS

Improved mechanisms need to be installed to coordinate the management and planning of
the broader natural resources and rural development sector and in particular of the fisheries
sector.

There is need to explore new ways of funding the sector according to redefined roles. These
new mechanisms need to reflect the new institutional landscape.
RECOMMENDATIONS

The formation of two high level committees to coordinate the inter-institutional relationships,
implementation and management of the Natural Resources (NRMC) and the Fisheries
Sector (FDEC)

Develop a clear strategy for the sector, redefining the roles of the key institutions to support
its implementation
53
INSTITUTIONS
institutional complexity remains.
The fishery sector is characterised by
complex institutional and governance issues,
engaging a mix of formal and informal
institutions, public, private and civil society
sector agents, and involving a range of crosssectoral linkages and areas of responsibility.
Formal responsibilities for the sector are
vested in the Ministry of Fisheries and
Livestock (MoFL) and are executed through
the Department of Fisheries (DoF), though
these agencies interact with many others.
General institutional arrangements
Institutional challenges are considerable.
These include the changing public and private
sector balance, the need to reconcile
commercial, social development and resource
management objectives, and need to express
sector-based needs effectively within a
governance system which has to face
increasing cross sectoral demands in a more
open and accountable democratic process.
There is also growing pressure to focus and
rationalise government institutions, to improve
and decentralise service delivery, and to
reduce and refocus posts.
Specific functional issues for the sector range
from monitoring and advising on the quality
and output of the natural resource,
interceding in the management of the
complicated system of leases for water
resources, regulating fishing effort, promoting
and supporting aquaculture development, and
monitoring quality of aquatic products.
Expectations have also extended through to
the
sustainability,
accountability
and
ownership of development projects, and an
increasing involvement in social development
issues related to the sector. Finally institutions
are engaged in developing policy and
planning its implementation.
The potential for greater linkages between
private and public organisations had been
noted in the previous review of the fishery
sector36. Recent analyses have also
emphasised the need for greater coordination
between the public sector Institutions
mandated to support rural development and
those involved in wider issues of water
resource and environmental management.
Over the past decade various linkages and
reforms in public sector agencies have been
introduced, but examples of successful
implementation
remain
limited
and
36
World Bank Fisheries Sector Review, Report No.8830BD, 1991
Though the DoF can be seen as a key
element in the institutional environment (Box
20), many other institutions are directly or
indirectly involved in, or impact upon, the
fisheries sector, its resource base and
associated livelihoods. These embrace public
sector, private sector and civil society
institutions. Figure 1 provides a simplified
outline of key formal institutions; to these
must be added the many informal processes
and interactions, customary or newly
emerging, which constitute the wider
institutional environment.
Land
Planning
Education
Agriculture
Local Govt
Establishment
Community
Water
DoF
Fisheries
Sector
BFRI /
BARC
NGOs
Banks
BFDC
Environment
Private
Sector
Private
Moneylender
s
Figure 1: Sectoral Institutional Linkages
At the macro level many formal institutions
have an impact on the sector, broadly
grouped into those with an over-arching role
(i.e. applying across sectors) such as the
Ministries of Finance and Planning, and those
with a more direct impact such as the
Ministries of Lands and of Water Resources.
Many other Ministries, such as Health, Social
Welfare and Education also have relevance to
fisheries communities and their livelihoods.
Their role has not been examined in depth in
here, except where there is a direct and
specific link to the sector, as in the case of
fisheries research and education. However,
their involvement in broader sectoral-related
objectives can be significant. Other Ministries,
such as Home Affairs (police), Defence and
Shipping contribute to a regulatory role but do
not influence fisheries policy or planning.
54
Government below the central level remains
relatively little decentralised and the cadres
based at Divisional (5), District (64) and
Upazila (456) levels report upwards through
the formal government system rather than
through locally elected local government
bodies. The effectiveness of government and
governance at these levels and the resultant
service delivery to fisheries communities is of
paramount importance. A study was
Picture box: group of people in village
meeting
commissioned within the review 37 to
investigate current relationships between
local government and community, and to look
at the potential offered by various options for
change, notably those considered as current
government policy.
Many other government institutions control
access rights to fisheries, or play other direct
roles in fisheries development. The Ministry
of Land and the Ministry of Youth and Sport
between them control access rights to all
jalmohals larger than 3 acres38, and local
governments control smaller water bodies.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests
controls fisheries in the Sunderbans, and the
Ministry of Water Resources is responsible for
water-related aspects of haor development.
The Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute
(BFRI), formerly part of the DoF has the
formal mandate for sectoral research, while
the Bangladesh Fisheries Development
Corporation (BFDC), a parastatal, is intended
to develop fishing and market infrastructure,
and promote the effectiveness of the
commercial and industrial sector.
37
Full reference to background review
Management of selected jalmohals has recently been
ceded for a 7 year period to the DoF, to develop
community-based open-water fisheries management.
38
In recent years, international, national and
local NGOs have also provided a major role in
fisheries development. NGOs are involved in
fisheries extension (aquaculture) and in the
provision of micro-credit for fisheries
communities. Through donor projects, they
also have a role in efforts to establish
community-based management of inland
capture fisheries, and they are becoming
active, through various NGO fora, in social
empowerment of fishing communities.
The private sector is also increasingly
prominent in sectoral investment and
development, though the level of interaction
between the industry and government in
sector planning has been limited. Government
agencies are not well attuned to supporting
private enterprise in the sector. For
aquaculture in particular, and in the range of
service and secondary functions that are
increasingly features of the wider industry
supply chain, private sector interests are
increasingly important, and at least in
economic terms are assuming a lead in
development.
Within the social development related
processes, civil society agents, linked with
decentralised and local government agencies
are increasingly engaged in fishery sector
activities, and incorporating these within
broader
livelihoods-based
development
strategies. This change in the balance of
influence and responsibility and the widening
of approach requires a similar repositioning of
institutional balance.
In resource management, major international
agents such as IUCN and UNESCO, together
with area-based initiatives such as the
Sundarbans Action Plan, and the Integrated
Coastal Zone Management programme,
together with active local groups are
becoming more influential in identifying issues
and strategies, linking across formal and
informal
agencies,
mobilising
local
communities, engaging in and promoting
policy, and promoting good management.
The Department of Fisheries
The primary public institution engaged in the
sector, the Department of Fisheries (DoF) had
originated with a traditional resource
assessment
and
management
role,
developing in the last decades to have strong
focus on expanding production. The rise of
aquaculture output in this era, stimulated at
least in part by Departmental initiatives, and
supported through a range of GoB and donor
55
investments, had done much to endorse this
role and to shape future expectations.
Box 20 The Department of Fisheries (DoF)
The DoF management considers that it has an
inadequate human resource base in terms of both
numbers (at field level) and capacity (for example in
fisheries monitoring and management). The revenue
budget covers only staff salaries and operational
requirements are dependent on projectised funding.
The DoF has therefore very limited discretion in terms
of financial and human resource management.
Changing sectoral demands, and a changing
environment for public sector agencies to operate are
understood at a strategic level to require a significant
change in the DoF. For example, the DoF has a
mandate to contribute to poverty alleviation and the
“uplift” of fisheries communities, but has no professional
capacity to address social development issues. Should
the Department be encouraged to change and develop
socio-economic skills, or should it consolidate in the
areas where it has competence and confidence, and
provide inputs to other institutions with the skills to
address broader approaches to livelihoods
improvement?
The publication of the National Fisheries Policy (NFP)
in 1998 provided a platform from which the DoF could
improve its national profile and strengthen the case for
the revenue budget needed to support sustainable and
targeted sector development. The NFP states that the
Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) will control
all development, conservation and other management
aspects of fisheries resources. In practice, the current
sector arrangements are complex and multiinstitutional. The DoF has only recently begun the
process of strategic planning, but it is questionable
whether the wider linkages are so far being accepted or
taken into account.
However, the DoF is challenged with an
expanding population with greater resource
demands, more technically, socially and
managerially complex development needs, a
burgeoning private sector and increasing
vulnerability of aquatic resources, together
with an increasing burden on limited staff
resources. As a consequence it now requires
a fundamental re-think of how it operates, and
where its priorities should lie for the
employment of its resources.
Though the 1998 National Fisheries Policy
(NFP) provided the base for change and
improved positioning of sectoral issues within
national investment decision-making, little
progress has been made to date, and
strategic objectives are yet to be expressed.
The aim of this review is not to dissect the
DoF, but to examine the role it currently plays,
and to determine how best the broader needs
of the sector might be met in a modern and
efficient institutional context.
Given this wide multi-institutional participation
in control and development of the fisheries
sector it is arguable that the NFP gives the
DoF the institutional burden of responsibility
for resource conservation and management
but has not yet provided the capacity or
mechanisms necessary to deliver these.
Moreover it must also be proposed that the
NFP had not fully recognised the context in
which primarily output-defined objectives
would have to operate in within the evolving
governance environment of Bangladesh.
The key question to consider is how best the
Government of Bangladesh, together with
private and civil society interests and donor
partners, can collaborate in rationalising and
improving the structure of the fisheries sector
for the benefit of all stakeholders. Implicit in
this is the recognition that whilst the DoF may
be the most appropriate agency for technical
support, it might not be the appropriate
institutional platform from which to launch
initiatives
for
poverty
reduction
in
communities which depend to varying
degrees on aquatic resources.
Furthermore, its role as both a promoter and
regulator of the sector creates conflicts of
interest which are difficult to resolve.
The other core sectoral agencies, the BFRI
and BFDC have not distinguished themselves
in their performance, nor shown any potential
for progressive development, having been
largely the products of external investment
support in previous decades, rather than the
result of focused sectoral demand. The
current review does not seek to prescribe
their futures. However, public sector
investment planners should consider their
relevance and cost-effective performance in
an environment where more efficient systems
for delivering their functions can be identified,
including those in the private sector.
However, within a wider institutional
framework there will still be clear
responsibility for technical issues, and the
DoF has an evident relevance and capability,
albeit in need of redefinition and modernising.
In considering options for a redefined role it is
unlikely that government will provide
resources to permit expansion. In addition,
whilst donor agencies will continue to focus
on poverty reduction (embracing fisheries),
this is likely to be through a more holistic,
sector wide approach, where the lead will be
taken by institutions which are less
specialised and more people-focused. Direct
external funding for the sector is also unlikely
56
to increase, and is more likely to be redirected
within broader initiatives.

Deep-rooted changes in the DoF cannot be
expected to emerge from the urging of donors
or the impatience of the private sector. Rather
these should come about as through a
process involving a wider cross-sectoral
network, interaction with NGO and private
sector interests, and desire for change within
the organisation. In developing its role to
meet changing sectoral needs, the DoF would
have to take account of:
 The key institutional issues which
constrain sustainable development and
management of the fisheries sector
 The current and future roles of, and
linkages
with,
the
other
major
stakeholders involved in the sector,
including
local
governments
and
communities
An internal view of the DoF
An initial DoF in-house staff consultation
during the review identified a range of
priorities:
 A shift in emphasis from producing to
promotion and servicing of the sector
 More staff both for the field, and for
strengthened headquarters functions
 The need for a clearly defined goal for the
DoF, and a well defined plan for reaching
it
 Possible increased responsibility for
jalmohal management; the need for a
management plan and the institutional
capacity to take this on
 Generation, collation and dissemination
of information for sector development; in
particular the strengthening the resource
assessment and monitoring capacity, and
clarification of the BFRI’s role
 Increased and improved capacity and
responsibility for development, promotion
and regulation of product quality both for
internal and external markets; to include
field capacity, regulation of seed quality
and a quarantine service
 Separation of the community support and
community policing roles of the field staff,
and increased capacity to monitor
compliance and enforce the law; access
to a magistrate’s court for fisheries issues
 Diversification of capacity, to include a
small core of socio-economic skills; plus
access to other skills (particularly legal
skills)
 Appointment, or secondment of DoF staff
to other institutions with fisheries

management responsibilities; to form a
fisheries network
Core units for institution-wide coordination and management of training
and extension
Establishing and sustaining the DoF
Monitoring and Evaluation system being
developed under the 4th Fisheries Project
Given that an increase in human resources is
unlikely, even if refocused and strengthened,
the DoF could not alone deal effectively with
all of these responsibilities. This reemphasises the need to shift from a hands-on
approach towards a more promotional role
(eg planning, regulatory, advisory, oversight,
co-ordination, catalytic). A basic issue of
perception still has to be addressed, in that
the DoF interprets the need for improvement
(eg better quality control, policing, fish seed)
in terms of direct response rather than in
terms of supervision, guidance, and
monitoring of processes delivered by other
institutions
(eg
the
private
sector,
communities, Union Parishad, national and
local NGOs).
Many understand the trends and the need for
change in approach, but the strategic
institutional implications of addressing key
challenges with the same or reduced human
resources, are not widely accepted. The DoF
acknowledges that it is already difficult to fulfil
many of its priority tasks, such as jalmohal
management.
The
administration
and
management of all the jalmohals currently
held under the Ministry of Land would be a
massive extra task, unless considered as a
promotional
process,
leaving
direct
management and administration to others (eg
local government).
Under these circumstances of increasing
tasks and static human resources, the need
for partnerships and the role of other
institutions becomes crucial, be they GoB
central department, private sector, NGO,
community, or local government
Mechanisms for coordination and
cooperation
Inter-agency cooperation is not only a field
level issue. A range of platforms exists for coordination of institutions with responsibilities
for aquatic resources.
The National
Committee for Shrimp and Fish Affairs
(NCSFA) and the Nation Water Management
Council (NWMC) are two powerful apex
bodies led by the Prime Minister. Both have
Executive Committees of senior ministry staff.
57
The NCSFA makes key decisions (eg on
jalmohal leasing and shrimp fry collection)
and is charged with oversight of policymaking and legislation. However, neither the
Committees nor their executive wings appear
to be a routine force for co-ordination of
activities in aquatic resources (the NCSFA is
mandated to meet twice a year, but in fact
has met once a year since 1998).
The implementing departments do not appear
to have a suitable forum for interaction over
their various independent activities. This is
likely to result in overlap and inefficient use of
resources, and certainly erodes the capacity
of the DoF to maintain an oversight of
national resource conservation and sector
development.
establishment of elected Upazila Parishads is
still being debated, and the idea of a Zila
Parishad seems to have been put to one side.
The Union Parishad would thus seem to be
the only realistic elected local government
target for partnership with DoF. While the
institutional mechanisms for participating in
fisheries sector support exist, the UPs
currently have little capacity for, and little or
no role in, development planning. The support
available to UPs from Upazila fisheries staff is
also extremely limited. There are indications
that GoB intends to build capacity at UP level,
and there may be an opportunity for the donor
community to support GoB policy in a holistic
rural development context, which would bring
benefits for fisheries livelihoods.
Community based approaches
The GoB has a ready-made basis for sector
co-ordination in the NCSFA, if it were to
establish a sub-committee at a more junior
level (eg chaired according to meeting theme,
by Directors from relevant departments). This
sub-committee could meet more regularly and
could address departmental activities and
issues at a detailed level. Themes might
include, for example, environment and
fisheries, fisheries and water resource
management, fisheries management, quality
control and marketing. Non-governmental
stakeholders would participate as appropriate.
Such sub-committees are already used by
LGED under the umbrella of the NWMC, but
the context is specifically project related.
Local Government
There is a widespread shift towards
decentralisation of government amongst
developing countries.
In the natural
resources sectors this has tended to promote
a shift in the role of central line agencies from
hands-on activities to a supervisory, advisory
and co-ordinating function (Mali offers an
extreme case where the central fisheries
department has only three professional staff).
The central agency tends to retain
responsibility for policy, legislation and coordination of sector initiatives, but the handson work of regulation and technical support to
fisheries communities is in theory (and
perhaps in practice), devolved to a local level.
The technical staff involved answer (at least
in law) to local government, not to their parent
ministries.
In Bangladesh there is currently little
movement towards devolvement of authority
to local governments despite it being the
stated objective in many of its policies. The
The potential and the issues of community
based fisheries management have been
earlier described. These approaches are
being promoted in a range of natural resource
contexts around the world. In Bangladesh
this relies on the establishment of new
community-based organizations (CBOs),
usually through the services of NGOs. Some
doubts have arisen over the sustainability of
such mechanisms, partly on the basis of
cultural
considerations
(organisational
structures are highly location specific), and
partly because the ability of such CBOs to
survive without continuing support is as yet
largely unproven.
Whilst NGOs have a vital role in social
aspects of rural community development (eg
capacity building, social empowerment,
support to women) it is arguable that
sustainability of community endeavours in
natural resource areas might be best served
by the involvement of local government
supported by central government staff (eg in
terms of information provision, technical
advice and general guidance). The most
sustainable approach would probably involve
wider
co-management,
rather
than
management by communities and NGOs
alone. Furthermore, structures serving wider
community aims, rather than those focused
specifically on fisheries, are more likely to
have longstanding support and engagement.
More widely, community-based approaches
are likely to become increasingly important in
supporting coastal fisheries and their
dependent communities, promoting smallscale fish culture, hatchery production, feed
supply and local marketing initiatives, and in
supporting sustainable shrimp production.
58
However, this implies a capacity of
government at Union level and community
level that is currently hard to find (see Box
18). It also requires close partnership
between NGOs and government agencies,
and between the GoB agencies themselves –
something else which is not common. This
may also become an area for partnership
between the GoB and the donor community –
in helping to reshape the relationship between
NGOs and government agencies and in
operationalising existing frameworks for interagency collaboration. However, it is widely
acknowledged that in the context of
community approaches in fisheries the DoF
does not have the field capacity to execute its
extension,
regulatory
and
monitoring
functions.
To address this would require new
institutional mechanisms or increased human
resources. In any programme of support to
local government, the effective, integrated,
use of existing field capacity would be high on
the agenda, linking with effective social
institutions, as a step towards effective and
sustainable
community-based
natural
resource management.
Private sector
The role of the private sector, and the options
for investment in support, also require
consideration. At present the state is involved
in a range of activities through fish
farms/hatcheries and the BFDC, which had
an instrumental role in developing some of
the areas of commercial development now
bring the public sector into inefficient
competition with the private sector. Fully
consistent with the GoB’s policy of reducing
its involvement in SOEs (state-owned
enterprises), there is a strong case to divest
out of those areas where the private sector
has a comparative advantage, and encourage
government to invest in areas where support
is genuinely needed.
The primary focus would remain the strategic
oversight (though not ownership, and not
necessarily management) of national public
goods - essentially the living aquatic
resources. To this would be added so-called
‘normative’ functions - assessing the scope
and quality of the resource and its
management, and advising and monitoring on
desired states or objectives for these. Further
roles include strategic analyses of the sector
(with other agents as appropriate), the
provision of advice to apex policy makers,
and to sectoral interests, and the
representation of the sector in wider fora.
A number of other areas are best served with
public-private sector partnerships, such as
product quality control for domestic and
export markets. The private sector should be
encouraged to take responsibility, and to
develop the capacity for ensuring quality. The
government role can then become more
focused on monitoring and compliance rather
than routine testing and certification. This
would bring considerable human resource
savings to the DoF, whilst providing a credible
and appropriate competent authority. The
government could also provide guidance to
the industry in respect of the benefits to be
derived from an ethical trade and
environmentally
friendly
approach
to
production and post-harvest.
Sectoral research and knowledge
transfer
Though many of the features of the fisheries
sector are artisanal and technically simple,
the interactions between resource base,
social processes and economic output are
complex and not well understood or
described. The resource base is itself also
very diverse and its quality and susceptibility
to impact is poorly understood and described.
Given both short-term impacts and the major
climate
change
implications,
these
deficiencies in knowledge may be critical in
accessing future options and in developing
appropriate policy and strategy.
New initiatives such as community-based
management and integrated management of
coastal areas also pose particular challenges.
The development or application of new
technologies and the improvement of existing
approaches all require research or knowledge
capacity. In market and economic terms,
opportunities for maintaining and adding
value, and understanding of structural and
competitive forces, both domestically and
internationally, are also little understood, but
will
have
great
bearing
on
future
developments. Connecting all of these
elements, information on legal, institutional
and policy issues is poorly developed, and a
learning environment for these very strategic
issues is almost absent.
To these must be added the challenges of
communication and adoption of various
initiatives, and in particular the access by
poorer, more remotely located, socially
constrained, and less educated people to
knowledge which may widen their options and
59
reduce their vulnerability. While traditional
indigenous knowledge can be recognised as
a highly valuable resource, changing physical
and social environments, the breakdown of
many traditional structures of trust and
exchange, and the ready acquisition and
exploitation of better information by wealthier
and more educated groups reduces its
comparative effect, and unless enhanced by
new learning may act to diminish
opportunities.
The Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute
(BFRI) is the formal public sector agency
charged with identifying and addressing
information needs of the sector. However, in
spite of significant infrastructure and training
investment in the last decade, its focus on
specialist biological research in formalised
trials, its primary capacity in fresh water fish
biology, and the lack of multidisciplinary
demand-based and objective-led approaches
has limited its effectiveness in understanding
or resolving the important needs of the sector.
Within the public sector, the process of
uptake of knowledge has been allocated to
extension functions within the DoF, which
have largely focused on aquaculture
development, as for example recently
expressed through the National Aquaculture
Extension Strategy. This has been drafted
with the aim of developing a wider network of
extension agents, linked with the DoF, but is
yet to be implemented. Though a number of
activities have been promoted directly through
GoB initiatives, donor-funded projects have
been significant in developing and applying
knowledge, particularly amongst poorer rural
communities. With the DoF and others, a
range of initiatives such as FTEP39 1 and 2,
the NFEP40, MAEP41 and the World
Bank/DFID Third and Fourth Fisheries
Projects have been important in building
capacity, though primarily in aquaculture.
More widely, donor interactions with NGO
linked projects such as the CARE GOLDA,
Interfish, Go-Interfish, and CAGES projects
SHABGE, and BADS have been instrumental
in pioneering and developing participatory
approaches to problem definition at
community level and collaborative learning
techniques in which knowledge is developed
and applied in the local context. More recent
developments such as PBAEP42 and MACH43
39
Fisheries Training and Extension Projects - DFID
NW Fisheries Extension Project - DFID
41
Mymensingh Aquaculture Extension Project - Danida
42
Patuakhali Barguna Aquaculture Extension Project
40
are continuing this process, extending the
trend of these earlier initiatives towards wider
community level interactions.
The building up of national ‘knowledge
capacity’ in the sector, in the form of trained
people capable of understanding, exploring
and
communicating
key
strategic
development issues, has to date been poorly
focused. Past international investment in
post-graduate training, at MSc and PhD has
achieved
variable
results,
with
a
preponderance of capacity in specialised and
technically sophisticated areas of fish biology,
and consequently little capacity in social
research, or more importantly the capability of
integrating technical with social and policy
issues.
Universities – particularly BAU Mymensingh,
Picture box: participatory farmers group
Dhaka, Chittagong and Khulna have been a
source of research and training capacity, but
at least until recently, this was heavily
traditional and focused on fishery biology,
ecology, microbiology and parasitology,
together
with
traditional
processing
technology and more technically sophisticated
forms of aquaculture. Efforts are now under
way under the DFID SUFER44 project, linked
with the University Grants Commission, to
engage these groups in more demand-led
work involving a mix of social and technical
research, working in partnership with
communities, NGOs and the private sector. In
recognition also of the importance of these
groups in providing the human resources for
the sector, a range of initiatives has been
43
Management of Aquatic Ecosystems through
Community Husbandry
44
Support for University Fisheries Extension and
Research
60
taken in developing and updating training
content, and in opening out social
development issues and approaches to
students.
More widely, agencies such as WorldFish45
are active in sectoral research, in partnership
with the DoF, and increasingly with NGOs,
while bilateral programmes such as those of
DFID, and knowledge functions within
development processes, are also increasingly
dealing with practical demand-led issues. A
key constraint, overcome in some cases by
developing participatory processes and
establishing
sound
methodologies
for
establishing transferable knowledge, is that of
the uptake linkages and of defining impact.
Resources for learning from recent projects
are also extremely limited, and major areas of
knowledge are simply unavailable for wider
use. Communications in building a sound and
knowledge-based approach to sectoral
development are still widely recognised as a
constraint. These will be essential in
identifying and promoting the very real
practical opportunities in the sector, and
ensuring they engage with appropriate
groups.
Other options
It was proposed above that the nature and
role of DoF will have to change to meet new
challenges.
The option of direct donor
support to the DoF should also remain to
provide a means of strengthening the
institution in areas dictated by the new
“promotional” role. DoF is already moving,
with DFID support, towards the establishment
of strong units with an over-arching
responsibility
for
coordinating
human
resource
development
and
extension
activities. This change is being supported
using redeployed revenue budget posts. It is
equally important that the role and capacity of
the MoFL should be reviewed, since a change
in DoF would automatically have implications
for the capacity and functions of the parent
Ministry
The DoF is also in the process of producing a
fisheries development plan to implement
national fisheries policy. This process, which
will embrace the roles of non-fisheries
institutions, will require further support from
the donor community once the priorities have
emerged.
The exact needs cannot be
predicted, but as examples, emphasis on
promotion, would undoubtedly require DoF to
45
Formerly ICLARM
review its capacity in information collection,
analysis and dissemination. Emphasis on
carefully targeted support to the private sector
might require a revised quality assurance
function (eg a monitoring rather than
laboratory focused hands-on approach) and a
poverty alleviation mandate might necessitate
an entirely new area of human resource
capacity.
The detail is uncertain, but a
programmatic approach to institutional
support should be possible on the back of a
well-focused and time-bound fisheries
development plan.
The necessity for closer and more considered
partnership between GoB agencies and
NGOs working in the sector was raised
earlier. In the design of the 4th Fisheries
Project it was assumed that NGOs would be
capable of dropping straight into community
capacity building for fisheries management.
This proved to be over-optimistic. Even the
large national NGOs had difficulties fielding
staff with the necessary skills, and small
NGOs were not always able to deal with basic
community capacity building needs such as
book-keeping. NGO capacity building was
therefore a necessary first step.
Any
programme of institutional strengthening for
DoF and/or local government could usefully
embrace
contemporary
(and
ideally
integrated) capacity building for a carefully
targeted group of NGOs with clear
commitment to fisheries-related community
development.
Generic Issues
This report identifies a wide range of
institutional issues, and some possible
options for the future.
The over-riding
question remains of how much sectoral
change can be achieved in the absence of
enabling changes in the overall environment
of government? Without improved motivation
for individuals and an improved overall
climate for institutional reform, can DoF be
strengthened in any meaningful way? In the
absence of clear GoB commitment to
decentralization,
would
building
local
government capacity really improve service
delivery to communities? Without incentives,
will diverse government and non-government
stakeholders work together to better coordinate the conservation and utilization of
national resources?
A further, very fundamental, question is
whether it is appropriate or necessary to
focus specifically on the fisheries sector at all,
or should donor support be concentrated on
61
building the necessary institutional network
for integrated rural livelihoods support? Allied
to this is the question of coherence between
key government policies, and between GoB
policies and donor priorities. The National
Fisheries Policy mentions poverty alleviation
as an objective, and the more recent
development of the Policy Reduction Strategy
Paper has emphasized the importance of this
objective to GoB. However, inland waters
administration practices suggest some lack of
coherence between poverty reduction and
revenue raising objectives.
The appropriateness of fisheries as an entry
point for poverty reduction programmes in
Bangladesh is discussed further in the
economic theme paper. From an institutional
viewpoint, this highlights the question of the
kind of organisations and processes
appropriate
to
fisheries
management,
conservation and development on the one
hand, and to improvement of fisheries
livelihoods on the other. Given that the
degree of dependence on fisheries amongst
the poor probably varies greatly from family to
family, from place to place, from season to
season and from year to year, it is
inescapable that a range of capacity beyond
any single institution will be required. This in
turn implies the level of national co-ordination
and cooperation assumed under the National
Water Management Plan, but not yet realised.
Inevitably, an institutional review ends by
asking more questions than it answers. What
is clear is that after many years of donormanaged development, the fisheries sector
will not change unless the process is totally
owned by, and driven by the various key
stakeholders.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The Fishery Sector Review and Future
Developments work conducted throughout
2002 has identified the national significance
and future potential of the sector. It has also
strongly emphasised the importance of
establishing and implementing a co-ordinated
cross-sectoral approach to its development, if
future benefits are to realised and sustained.
It recommends that the Government of
Bangladesh should consider:
1. The setting up of a Natural Resource
Management Council (NRMC) and a
Fisheries
Development
Executive
Committee (FDEC). The NRMC would
have representatives from seven key
Ministries and their Departments working
with
renewable
natural resources:
Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Fisheries
and Livestock (Department of Fisheries),
Ministry of Water Resources (BWDB and
WARPO), Ministry of Local Government
Rural Development and Cooperatives,
Ministry of Land, Ministry of Agriculture
(Department: DAE) and The Ministry of
Environment and Forest (Department:
Environment) and would be headed by
the Minister of Finance. The FDEC would
constitute three Ministries and their
Departments: MoFL, MoWR and MoEF
(Departments of Fisheries, Environment
and BWDB) plus private sector and civil
society.
The NRMC would be an advisory body
reporting to the Executive Committee for
the National Economic Council (ECNEC)
and Parliament, it would function as a
practical and dynamic forum, meeting on
a quarterly basis to co-ordinate and
promote
issues
relevant
to
the
development of the natural resources of
the country of which fisheries is a major
sector. Its executive role would cover
three main areas:
1.1 Commercial fish production and
foreign trade
1.2 Social issues relating to the use of
the resource
1.3 Strategies for linking these with
resource management and rural
development
Representatives from the full range of
stakeholders using the aquatic resources
in Bangladesh would be encouraged to
interact closely with the NRMC whose
modus operandi would involve active and
practical
consultation
with
these
stakeholders.
The NRMC ought to liaise with Donor
agencies in relation to future priorities for
development and investment within the
sector. It would be important to establish
close links between the Ministries
represented, relating to resource use, and
with the Ministry of Finance as the
coordinator of investment priorities. It
would review public and private sector
investment strategies and needs for
sectoral development; prioritise public
sector capital and recurrent expenditure,
and identify approaches to maintain and
expand private sector and external
62
investment. The NRMC should make
recommendations
to
the
ECNEC
regarding investment and Parliament
regarding policy development and would
manage the enactment of policies
relevant to the sector.
The NRMC must review access and
management
issues
for
fisheries,
including the current policy regarding ‘free
access’ to open water fisheries (inland
and marine), which currently tends to act
against the interests of fisherfolk
depending on the resource for their
livelihoods. Draw on case studies
provided by a range of GoB projects as
evidence for a need to modify GoB policy;
consider the assignation of an exclusive
artisanal fishery area – to include the
area from the coast a number of nautical
miles seawards. This would be combined
with management plans for the use of the
resource. The management plans would
be produced by fishing communities in
conjunction with partner NGOs and the
DoF and approved by the FDEC.
2. Once
constituted
the
Fisheries
Development
Executive
Committee
(FDEC) would create action plans
resulting from the NRMC decisions and
closely monitor enactment by the
responsible institutions. It would promote
full integration within the sector outlining
and monitoring public and private service
provision and investment needs. Key
areas to be covered include:
2.1 Water resource management to meet
linked national objectives
2.2 The development of viable and
effective systems of culture and
capture
production
meeting
international standards
2.3 Food supply, local consumption and
export, and related post harvest
quality control and market issues and
2.4 Access to the resource by those that
depend on it for their livelihoods.
2.5 Rationalization of the activities
executed
by
the
Bangladesh
Fisheries Development Corporation
(BFDC), the Bangladesh Fisheries
Research Institute (BFRI) and the
functions and activities carried out by
public sector hatcheries, broodstock
holding and GoB run training centres.
3. Adoption of an objective framework along
the lines recommended in the roadmap
(page 14) to describe the social,
economic and resource objectives
associated with the sector, and identify
potential indicators of progress:
3.1 Economic: current and projected
production under each fisheries subsector together with ‘upstream’ and
‘downstream’
multipliers,
prices,
margins
and
value
added
opportunities, linked to investment
needs and trade data; contribution to
GDP;
3.2 Social: consumption of aquatic
production;
nutritional
needs,
employment, poverty alleviation, use
of Khas lands (Common Property
Resources
CPR),
service
requirements,
skills,
education
(national curriculum modification to
emphasise the importance of aquatic
resources/wetland values), water use
conflicts, enactment of national
policies and corresponding strategies
related to the sector (National
Strategy for Economic Growth,
Poverty Reduction
and
Social
Development – PRSP, National
Fisheries Policy, National Land Use
Policy, National Rural Development
Policy, National Water Management
Plan,
Environment
Policy
and
Implementation
Plan,
National
Women Development Policy, National
Agricultural Policy) and other social
charters promoted by the GoB;
3.3 Resource: an expanded and more
effective valuation of fisheries and
aquatic ecosystem services including
an expansion of wetland resource
assessment models produced on a
project basis (USAID MARCH,
Danida GNAEP, DFID CBFM2) with
the objective of creating a National
Wetland
Resource
Assessment
Database and to promote a wider
awareness of this within national
policy and development planning.
4. Redefine the role of the Department of
Fisheries (DoF) to include cooperation
with a wider network of institutions
coupled with a more focused and
specialised role including:
4.1 The DoF responsibilities under the
FDEC with fishery management and
aquaculture
planning;
including
production/landing/marketing
statistics by species, weight and
63
value;
4.2 Enacting of sectoral initiatives such
as the recently agreed ‘Shrimp Option
Papers’ (DoF/DFID 2002);
4.3 Promotion of a diversified strategy
embracing
pro-poor
community
based fisheries management and
aquaculture activities, together with
better quality export output and wider
recognition of positive national
attributes;
4.4 Development of policy approaches for
rationalisation and reform, promotion
of research links; development of
guidelines for sectoral development
areas such as large scale intensified
fish culture;
4.5 Identification and promotion of
specialised services – broodstock
management, seed supply, aquatic
health management, EIA, and
knowledge transfer using appropriate
and efficient delivery systems;
monitor these where required;
4.6 Coordination of Reference Laboratory
work for private sector quality control
systems to improve awareness of
food health issues
- pesticide
residues, presence of biotoxins,
histamines due to fish spoilage during
transport/storage; and
4.7 Promotion of the longer term
rationalisation of legal frameworks
with key priorities of avoiding
disadvantage to poorer groups;
operationalise international accords
such as the Codes of Conduct for
Responsible
Fisheries/Aquaculture/Mangrove use.
5. Promote an effective data system and
integrated
resource
planning/social
development and policy development
approach for the sector. The Centre for
Environmental
and
Geographical
Information
Services
(CEGIS)
will
continue
to
develop
Geographical
Information Systems (GIS) to help
integrate fisheries and aquaculture
development in relation to land use and
the Coastal Development Strategy being
developed by the GoB/DFID/Royal
Netherlands Embassy Integrated Coastal
Zone
Management
project
under
WARPO. In addition:
sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
and
5.2 Use such examples to reinforce
political will and commitment to
promote strong and consistent
national
data
and
information
collection, as well as analyses.
6. The MoFL should adopt the Human
Resource
Development/Management
Strategy developed for and by the DoF
(Fisheries Training and Extension Project
II with DFID co funding); The Aquaculture
Extension Strategy developed by the DoF
in 2002 (currently being updated) should
be enacted as a means of promoting
technology transfer to the wide range of
stakeholders
operating
integrated
aquaculture operations in Bangladesh.
7. Strengthen
links
between
human
resources dedicated to aquaculture and
fisheries policy-making, planning and
management and those dedicated to data
and information collection. In relation to
the FDEC and its links to the Ministries,
ensure that the data/information needs of
the
policy-makers,
planners
and
managers are met and that the
information
gathered
is
readily
understandable and well defined. The
donors involved in the sector should
provide the GoB Departments associated
with the FDEC with specialist training in
effective communication of data and
information
analyses
to
promote
understanding of their applications for
aquaculture,
fisheries
management,
policy-making,
planning
and
management. This would also include:
7.1 Environmental Impact Assessment
(EIA) evaluation capability;
7.2 Aquaculture planning in relation to the
National Land Use Policy and Coastal
Development
Strategy
(under
preparation); and
7.3 Fishery
Management
Plan
preparation and evaluation.
5.1 Promote awareness and examples of
effective and efficient use of
data/information
for
enhanced
development and management of
64
Appendix-1: GoB Policy documents of relevance to the Fisheries Sub-sector

Environment Policy and Implementation Plan (MoEF 1992);

Livestock Development Policy (MoFL 1992);

National Tourism Policy (MoCA&T 1992);

National Forestry Policy (MoEF 1994);

National Energy Policy (MoEP&MR 1996);

New Agricultural Extension Policy (MoA1996)

National Women Development Policy (1997)

National Fisheries Policy (MoFL 1998);

National Policy for Safe Water Supply and Sanitation (MoLGRD&C 1998);

National Agricultural Policy (MoA 1999);

Industrial Policy (MoI 1999);

National Water Policy (MoWR 1999a);

National Shipping Policy (MoS 2000);

National Rural Development Policy (MoLGRD&C 2001); and

National Land Use Policy (MoL 2001).

The National Strategy for Economic Growth, Poverty Reduction and Social Development (Draft)
65