Bangladesh is a riverine country. There are innumerable rivers, canals, beels, haors, ponds, etc. in different parts of this country. These reservoirs are rich in different species of fish. Fish is our favorite food. That is why we are called Bengali in fish and rice. The fish of Bangladesh earns a lot of foreign exchange by meeting the demand of the country and exporting it abroad. Earlier, a lot of fish could be found in this country but now its quantity is decreasing day by day. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to these resources by considering socio-economic progress, prosperity, self-employment, etc.
*Fisheries Resources of Bangladesh:
Although not developed in the fisheries industry, Bangladesh is rich in fisheries resources. Bangladesh is known as the largest deltaic region in the world. There are different types of fish in different water bodies of riverine Bangladesh. Which makes a huge contribution to our national economy. Large quantities of fish are extracted every year from the inland and marine reservoirs of Bangladesh. About 10 percent of the people of the country make a living directly and indirectly through fishing, marketing and trade. Fisheries are about 5% of the total national product of Bangladesh. Bangladesh produces a lot of fish every year. According to the report titled The Global Aquacuture Production Statistics for the year 2011 published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2013, Bangladesh ranks fifth in the production of farmed fish. Annual fish production in Bangladesh is 15,24,000 tons. China is the first country in the world to produce farmed fish.
*Types of fish:
There are two types of fish in our country. Namely- fresh or freshwater fish and salt water fish. Hilsa is the main marine fish. Hilsa is our national fish. There are also Laksha, Rupchada, Shrimp, Lobster, Shark, Poya, Vetki, Coral, Boal etc. Among the freshwater fish are Rui, Katla, Mrigel, Chital, Ayr, Boal, Pangas, Kalbaish, Shoal, Gajar, Koi, Magur, Mala, Shrimp, Pabda, Tilapia etc.
*Fisheries of Bangladesh:
Rivers, canals, beels, ponds, haors, estuaries and coastal areas of Bangladesh are the main fisheries areas. About 250 species of fish are found in the fisheries sector of Bangladesh.
According to the field of fish production in Bangladesh, they are divided into two parts
(A) Inland fisheries.
(B) Marine fisheries.
(A) Inland or freshwater fisheries: Rivers, canals, beels, ponds, haors, paddy and jute fields and estuaries of Bangladesh are called inland fisheries. The area of ​​inland fisheries is about 1 crore 30 lakh 35 thousand 600 acres and the number of fishermen is about 6 lakh 72 thousand.
According to the nature and location, the inland fisheries sector is further divided into two parts-
(1) Open water bodies: There are about 40.25 lakh hectares of open water bodies in Bangladesh. These include rivers and estuaries, Sundarbans, beels, Kaptai Lake, floodplains. Fish production from open water in 2012-13 was about 9.53 lakh metric tons.
(2) Closed reservoirs: Dighis, ponds, baor ponds etc. of Bangladesh belong to this category of fisheries. There are about 6.41 lakh hectares of closed water bodies in Bangladesh. In 2012-13, fish production from closed reservoirs was about 16.28 lakh metric tons.
*Inland Fisheries Fields:
There are inland fisheries centers in different parts of Bangladesh. Such as Dhaka's Sowari Ghat, Kajla, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Chandpur, Jamalpur, Sirajganj, Pabna, Kishoreganj, Madaripur, Sylhet, Netrokona, Rangamati, Khulna, Patuakhali etc. districts are notable internal fisheries centers of Bangladesh.
(B) Marine Fisheries: Bangladesh is very rich in marine fisheries resources. Of the 465 fish species, only 133 have been discovered. Of which 42 species have been included in the trade. Due to the lack of skilled fishermen, capital, necessary equipment, equipment, large ships, etc., it is not possible to fish a large part of the fisheries.
The marine fisheries of Bangladesh can be divided into two parts.
(1) Coastal Fisheries: About 632 km in Bangladesh. There are coasts. Although fish farming is not widespread in the coastal areas, unplanned shrimp farming has become widespread.
(2) Deep sea fisheries: 320 km from the coast in accordance with international law. Bangladesh's maritime boundary extends to the deep sea. The deepest part of it is rich in fisheries resources.
*Marine Fisheries Centers:
Teknaf, Maheshkhali, Sandwip, Cox's Bazar, Kutubdia, Sonadia and Hatia in Chittagong region, Dubla Island in the Sundarbans region, Rangabali, Baishadia etc. are notable marine fisheries centers.