2. SECTOR OVERVIEW

2.1 Fisheries sub-sector in the economy of Bangladesh

People in Bangladesh depend mostly on fish as their principal and cheap source of animal protein. Fish is an important component of total human food consumption. Historically, thousands of rice varieties and hundreds of fish species contributed to the diet of the people in Bangladesh[7]. About 22% of daily dietary protein required should come from animal sources. Fish alone contributes about 74% of total animal protein.

Fisheries are an important sub-sector of agriculture and have been playing a significant role in nutrition, employment, foreign exchange earnings and food supply. Agriculture contributed 32.24% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and the fishery sub-sector contributed 3.10% to GDP in 1995-96 (BBS, 1996, p.477). About 12.05% of the population depends directly, or indirectly, on fishing and ancillary occupations. The fishery sub-sector provides full-time employment to over 1.2 million people, which constitute about 3% of the active population (BBS, 1996). Another 11 million people indirectly earn their livelihood from activities related to fisheries (FFYP, 1998, p. 248).

2.2 Fisheries sub-sectors

The fisheries in Bangladesh fall broadly into four categories:

• inland capture (floodplain fishery),
• inland culture,
• marine industrial (trawler fishing) and
• marine artisanal (small-scale and traditional gear).

Bangladesh has a vast potential for expanding fisheries within her boundaries, as well as in her territorial and economic zones at sea. Inland capture fisheries consist of 4 047 316 ha of water area (rivers and estuaries 1 031 563 ha, beels 114 161 ha, Kaptai lake 68 800 ha and flood-lands 2 832 792 ha), and inland culture fisheries cover 290 374 ha of water area (ponds 146 890 ha[8], baors 5 488 ha and shrimp farms 137 996 ha). Total area of inland water is 4 337 690 ha. Total catch from capture fisheries accounts for 48.42% of the total, and culture fisheries contributed 30.14%, making production from inland fisheries 78.56% of the country's total production (marine fishes contributed 21.44%; DOF, 1995/96, Table 1). The country's total inland fish production is among the highest in the world, ranking third behind China and India (World Bank, 1983)[9]. Marine fish production is more capital-intensive than inland fish production.

2.3 Trends in fish production

By virtue of Bangladesh's geographical location close to the great Himalayas to the north and the Bay of Bengal in the south, the country has the unique advantage of possessing the world's largest river delta - the Ganges delta, which offers vast potential for various kinds of fisheries in its fresh-, brackish and marine waters. The country is endowed with vast water resources comprising innumerable rivers, tributaries, canals, lakes, oxbow lakes, land depressions and huge floodplains during the wet season (five to six months). Several large river systems, such as the Ganges, the Meghna, the Padma, the Jamuna and the Brahmaputra, flow from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal. The inland waters of Bangladesh are home to 260 indigenous and 11 exotic species of fish and 24 species of prawns. The marine waters of the Bay of Bengal team with about 475 finfish and 38 shrimp species (Rahman, 1995, p.2).

We estimated trends in fish production for both inland and marine waters sources for the last decade. Inland water sources comprise:

• open water,
• closed water and
• ponds.

Marine capture is divided into industrial-scale fisheries and small-scale fisheries.

We estimated changes in total fish catches from 1986-87 to 1995-96 (last data available). Estimated growth trends are shown in Table 1. Over the last decade, overall yield from inland-water fish production has increased at a rate of 5.67% per annum, open-water fish production has increased by 4.68% per annum; catches from closed waters have risen by 8.53%, and production from fish ponds has grown by 8.18% per annum. All increases were statistically highly significant. Catches of marine fishes increased by 2.15% per annum, yet industrial catches from trawlers did not rise significantly, whereas catches from small-scale fisheries increased 2.21% per annum.

Table 1. Fish production trends in Bangladesh (1986/87-1995/96)

Fish by source	Per annum growth (%)	Respective 't' ratio of the coefficient	Estimator	R2	Comment
Inland
i) Open water	4.68	7.83 hs	OLS	0.88	-
ii) Closed water	8.53	11.03 hs	OLS	0.93	-
iii) Ponds only	8.18	12.15 hs	OLS	0.94	-
Inland water (all)	5.67	4.71 hs	ML	0.84	1st order auto-corr. corrected
Marine
i) Industrial	1.08	0.80	OLS	0.07	Growth not significant
ii) Artisanal	2.21	13.44 hs	OLS	0.96	-
Marine water all	2.15	17.82 hs		0.97	-
Fish production in Bangladesh	4.88	5.36 hs	ML	0.89	1st order auto corr. corrected

SOURCE: Fishery Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh 1995-96, P. 43. Department of Fisheries, Govt. of Bangladesh (See Table 1.2, present text).

NOTES:

hs - statistically highly significant (equation estimated through fitting semi-logarithmic trend equation).
OLS - Ordinary Least Squares
ML - Maximum Likelihood Estimator (used when auto-correlated error tern is detected)

2.4 Ownership of ponds and size of ponds

Historically, almost every family owned at least one pond in the vicinity of the homestead. These ponds were dug to retain perennial waters for the family household for bathing, cleaning (utensils/clothes) and also, in some cases, to be used for drinking water. Today, few people use pond water for drinking water since the use of hand tube-wells is widely spread in rural areas. These ponds were family property and were shared by members of the household. Joint ownership of ponds was common. Only two decades ago, few fish were cultured in family ponds. During the monsoon season, regular floodwaters used to supply the ponds with fingerlings through narrow canals that were maintained for this purpose (in flood-free areas, ponds were refilled each year by rain waters). Thus, stocking of fish occurred naturally. This scenario has changed to a large extent, since 53% of ponds suitable for culture are now being utilized for fish-culture activities (stocking, artificial feeding and fertilizing are pursued to different degrees) in rural areas.

Table 2. Fish production in Bangladesh

Source	Production (t)
	1986-87	1987-88	1988-89	1989-90	1990-91	1991-92	1992-93	1993-94	1994-95	1995-96
A. INLAND WATER	597 106	599 523	607 645	616 464	654 397	706 605	770 162	837 566	908 218	988 238
Inland open water (capture)	431 006	423 598	424 140	423 872	443 404	479 742	532 419	573 376	591 145	609 151
(1) Rivers & estuaries	195 117	183 817	181 140	173 410	135 355	124 843	138 746	143 425	152 782	165 637
(2) Sundarban	6 035	8 066	6 416	6 393	6 651	6 297	6 939	7 127	6 951	7 265
(3) Depression (beels)	42 077	45 610	47 019	46 594	47 923	49 201	53 019	55 592	58 298	60 768
(4) Kaptai Lake	3 981	4 068	3 439	3 713	4 392	4 216	4 142	6 635	5 556	6 148
(5) Floodland	183 796	182 037	186 126	193 762	249 083	295 185	329 573	360 597	367 558	369 333
Inland closed water (culture)	166 100	175 925	183 505	192 592	210 993	226 863	237 743	264 190	317 073	379 087
(1) ponds	142 876	149 423	155 012	163 730	181 018	195 034	202 167	222 542	267 282	307 974
(2) ox-bow lakes (baors)	1 174	1 254	1 321	1 357	1 544	1 682	1 803	2 201	2 460	2 764
(3) shrimp farms	22 050	25 248	27 172	27 505	28 431	30 147	33 773	39 447	47 331	68 349
B. MARINE FISHERIES	217 579	227 582	233 281	239 063	241 538	245 474	250 492	253 044	264 650	269 702
(b) industrial	12 356	10 395	10 353	11 379	8 760	9 623	12 227	12 454	11 715	11 959
(a) artisanal	205 223	217 187	222 928	227 684	232 778	235 851	238 265	240 590	252 935	257 743
COUNTRY TOTAL	814 685	827 105	840 926	855 527	895 935	952 079	1 020 654	1 090 610	1 172 868	1 257 941

SOURCE: Fishery Statistical Yearbook of Bangladesh 1995-96, DOF, p.43

Data on average size of pond and area under fish cultivation for the 116 farm households engaged to various degrees in fish culture are presented in Table 3.

Table 3. Average size of land and ponds owned (in decimal) by fish farming families (according to farm size)

Farm size	Av. own land	Av. area under own cultivation	% cultivation	Av. size of pond	Av. size of pond under fish culture
Small (up to 300)	146	98	67	62	59
Medium (301 - 600)	419	300	72	40	37
Large (601 and over)	1 487	965	65	109	104
All	615	409	66	74	71

SOURCE: Field Survey, 1999.

Table 4. Average income (taka) per household from different sources according to size of farm

Income sources	Farm Size						All sizes
	small		medium		large
	Amount	%	Amount	%	Amount	%	Amount	%
Crops	11 456	8.68	30 558	18.39	110 003	25.92	45 584	20.44
Dairy	1 268	0.96	1 870	1.13	7 478	1.76	3 227	1.45
Poultry	456	0.35	14 801	8.91	2 058	0.49	5 487	2.46
Fish	59 485	45.07	94 627	56.95	153 844	36.31	94 655	42.45
Business	44 896	34.02	16 897	10.17	102 727	24.27	52 417	23.51
Teaching	-	-	3 600	2.17	12 715	3.01	4 765	2.14
Service	4 200	3.18	324	0.19	6 727	1.59	3 683	1.65
Rent	2 759	2.09	1 054	0.63	3 389	0.81	2 394	1.07
Others*	7 460	5.65	2 432	1.46	24 764	5.84	10 779	4.83
Total	131 980	100.00	166 163	100.00	423 705	100.00	222 991	100.00

SOURCE: Field Survey, 1999.

NOTES: For income calculation, only marketed surplus (kind and cash) of all commodities and products have been taken into consideration.

* Others include contractors in rural work-programmes.

Fish-farming households of all sizes leased out part of their cultivable croplands to others, probably in order to turn more of their attention to fish-culturing activities. However, few households were solely involved in aquaculture.[11]

Income from the sale of fish constituted a large share in total income for fish farmers. Fish sales contributed 42% to total family income, followed by income from marketed surplus of crops (20%, Table 4). Most income (57%) of medium-sized farms was derived from selling fish, amounting to 45% for small farms and 36% for large farms. Income of large farms from marketed surpluses of crops was 26%, 18% for medium-sized farms and 9% for small farms (large farms may have more marketable surpluses of crops). That is, of disposable income (cash income minus taxes and debts), income from fish represented a significant portion of fish-farming families' earnings, irrespective of the size of their farm. Farmers are starting to pay more attention to markets when managing their crop products and fish-cultural activities.

Families pursue activities in aquaculture as part of a multi-enterprise farming-system. However, today a new class of business entrepreneurs and retired public servants is also engaged in pond-aquaculture (excavating several new ponds) in the central region of Bangladesh, areas like Gazipur, Trishal, Bhaluka and in Savar, sometimes in conjunction with other businesses (e.g. raising poultry, dairy farming, etc.). Fishpond aquaculture is becoming more commercialized as agricultural development in the country progresses.

2.6 Prevalent production systems and management practices

Fish production depends on:

• technological knowledge,
• available inputs,
• economic and social environments,
• market access,
• prices and available credit,
• success in culturing and keeping fish.

Production practices are affected by:

• pattern of pond ownership,
• physical conditions of ponds,
• extension and motivation services available,
• role of women in production activities in the area, etc.

Fish farmers usually practise polyculture. Major species stocked are rohu, catla, mrigal, kalbaos, silver carp, grass carp, carpu, mirror carp, tilapia, nilotica, shorpunti, Thai sorpunti, African magur, etc. (scientific names are provided in Appendix 3).

Table 5. Production of main cultured species (kg/ha)

Species	No. of farmers cultivating (525 sampled)	% cultivate	Production (kg/ha)
Rohu	493	94	400
Catla	468	89	296
Mrigal	364	69	170
Kalbaos	23	4	10
Silver carp	369	70	400
Grass carp	132	25	84
Carpu	146	28	74
Mirror carp	53	10	27
Tilapia	44	8	20
Nilotica	7	1	2
Shorpunti	65	12	62
Thai shorpunti	23	4	7
African magur	1	0.19	2
Others	19	4	10
Total production			1564

SOURCE: MAEP Survey, 1994, p.51 (conducted by the author)

NOTE: (MAEP - A Bangladesh/Danida joint project for promotion of aquacultural activities. The project covers greater Mymensingh District, Lakshmipur and Patuakhali. The project arranges training of farmers in fishpond culture and semi-intensive method. It also provides credit support through NGOs).

Table 6. Production of fish in 1998-99 according to farm size

Farm size	Production t/ha
Small	1.73
Medium	2.13
Large	2.10
All	1.96

SOURCE: Field Survey, 1999

Cultured species, their stocking-rate per hectare and share of cost for each species' fingerlings are presented in Table 7. Stocking-rate per hectare seemed high due to the high numbers of fish fries included. Species preferred for cultivation in the villages surveyed were rohu, catla, mrigal, pangas, silver carp, mirror carp, shorpunti, grass carp, etc. Share of cost of pangas fingerlings was noticeably higher (29%) than for other species. Knowledge about managing fish ponds has certainly improved from earlier times. Costs incurred for fingerlings per hectare are shown in Table 8. Today, all fish farmers use chemical fertilizers and manures (cow-dung, compost), but they do not all follow standard recommended doses (inadequate doses are common) mainly because of ignorance and lack of information. The share of cost for fingerlings was the highest (35%) in total cost incurred per hectare, followed by the cost of feed (34.56%). Cost of labour (for draining ponds, cleaning, applying fertilizer, liming and applying medicine, etc.) constituted 13% of total operating cost. Total cost per hectare amounted to Tk 51 118 in current prices, and total sales revenue earned were Tk 91 177 yielding a net return of Tk 40 059 per hectare under low-intensity production practices.

Table 7. Per hectare stocking-rate and cost of fingerlings for all sizes of farms (small, medium & large)

Fish species	Stocking-rate (per ha)	Cost of fingerlings (Tk)	Share of cost for each species (%)
Rohu	3 561	1 938.00	10.77
Catla	1 979	1 461.00	8.12
Mrigal	3 052	1 532.00	8.51
Pangas	2 629	5 291.00	29.40
Silver carp	2 572	1 346.00	7.48
Mirror carp	1 421	720.00	4.00
Shorpunti	5 182	2 647.00	14.71
Grass Carp	2 250	1 452.00	7.85
Others*	2 149	1 609.00	8.07
Total	24 795	17 996.00	100.00

SOURCE: Field Survey, 1999.
NOTE: * Others include Chetal, Thai magur, Tilapia.

Table 8. Per hectare cost of fish culture for all sizes of farms (Tk)

Cost items	All size	% share
Fingerlings	17 996	35.20.
Lime	1,310	2.56
Fertilizer	3 853	7.54
Manure	2 399	4.69
Feed	17 665	34.56
Labour (paid)	6 583	12.88
Medicine	1,312	2.57
Total	51,118	100.00

SOURCE: Field Survey, 1999.

NOTE: Total cost = based on small-37, medium-31, large-22 farms. Total = 90 farms.

Leasing ponds for fish culture (from co-owners or from others in the village) has emerged as a business venture in rural areas. 'Joint' ownership of a family pond used to create a problem as to who would be responsible for managing a jointly owned fishpond dedicated to aquaculture. Today, it is common practice that one or more family members, singly or jointly, lease a pond from co-owners for a period of 1-10 years (as was observed in the areas surveyed). They pay other members cash-rent in advance for culturing only fish. User-right of the pond remains as before. Some people may lease more than one pond at a time to culture fish. Types of management of fish ponds in the villages surveyed are presented in Table 9. Management under a single authority is preferred for both family-owned ponds and for leasing ponds.

Table 9. Management of fish ponds

Type of management	Management of ponds
	Own ponds (116)		Leased in ponds (49)
	No.	%	No.	%
Singly (by lease)	78	67.24	27	55.11
Jointly* or shared	38	32.76	22	44.89

SOURCE: Field Survey, 1999.

NOTE: * Average number of members engaged in joint management of fish ponds is 4.