The author was contacted by ICLARM, Manila, in April 1999 to prepare this study. The author accepted the proposal, and ICLARM provided him with an outline of the research paper (Appendix 1). An agreement towards this end was signed between ICLARM and the author. The first draft of the study was to be completed by August 1999. The author started his work in May and completed the first draft by 15th October 1999. The author spent initial few weeks familiarizing himself with the literature, made contacts and met with the main actors of the fishery sub-sector involved in production, extension, research, marketing and trading of fish and fish products. To date, aquaculture is overwhelmingly confined to fish-culture and its management. No commercial cultures of crabs, tortoises, shells, crocodiles and snails have started yet anywhere in Bangladesh.
Organizations visited for collection of data, information and relevant documents were the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MOFL), Department of Fisheries (DOF), Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC), Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), Proshika, CARE, BRAC (NGOs), ICLARM-Dhaka Office, Mymensingh Aquaculture Extension Project (M-AEP), Fisheries Research Institute, DFID (Department for International Development) Library, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh and Gachihata Aquaculture Farm Ltd. Kishoregonj. The first two months' work included preparing an inventory of references and reading materials, collecting and reviewing those materials and visiting relevant institutions and persons.
To fulfil some of the requirements outlined in sections of the framework provided, the author initiated the collection of original data, visited fish markets (different markets to understand the nature of the fish trade and the intermediaries involved) and generated information by following the techniques of rapid rural appraisal (RRA). The author also designed a checklist, which included a formal, brief and structured questionnaire to collect data. To substantiate several areas of inquiry, such as production, stocking, management practices, disposal patterns, etc. the collection of original data was conducted with utmost care and close supervision. Six graduate students from Bangladesh Agricultural University helped as field investigators. They were trained and briefed carefully before they were sent into the field to collect data. Field investigators went to 43 villages in 12 Upazila areas of Bangladesh (names of villages and Upazilas are provided in Appendix 2). Twelve Upazilas were randomly picked from a list of 458 Upazilas (excluding Chittagong Hill Tracts District) of Bangladesh. In each Upazila, villages were selected on the basis of easy access by road and concentration of fish cultures in the area. After selecting the villages, a list of fish farmers was compiled and categorized according to ownership of cultivated land. Fish farmers were selected randomly for the study from each category of farms: small, medium and large farm holdings. Sources of secondary data were DOF, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), M-AEP, and reports/publications of a number of NGOs, BARC and BAU.
This study is limited by the lack of reliable data from secondary sources, such as prices and quantity of consumption by income groups. We also cannot precisely assess the quality of the data, because they were conceptualized and collected by others for their own purposes. Time-series data on prices of fish by species and quantities consumed by different income groups were not available. Therefore, precise price elasticity of demand for fish and cross-price elasticities could not be estimated as suggested in the outline for the study. However, we estimated income elasticity of demand for fish. Estimates of price and cross-price elasticities might have been quite useful for forecasting changes in the demand of fish due to variations in prices and income, and for studying effects of substitute commodities and products in the market.
